WBNQ (101.5 FM) is the most powerful FM

radio station Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radi ...

in McLean County,

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, broadcasting on at 50,000

watt The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named after James ...

s of

effective radiated power Effective radiated power (ERP), synonymous with equivalent radiated power, is an IEEE standardized definition of directional radio frequency (RF) power, such as that emitted by a radio transmitter. It is the total power in watts that would h ...

. It has had a contemporary hit radio music format since 1975.

History

WBNQ first signed on the air as WJBC-FM in 1947. It was the practice among the early FM stations to simply add FM to the "sister" AM call letters and simulcast programming. After the call letter change to WBNQ in the 1960s, the station aired a home-grown easy listening/beautiful music automated format recorded at the old studio site above the Castle Theater in downtown Bloomington. In August 1972 WBNQ became an oldies station using the Draper-Blore Olde Golde syndicated format, then changed to the

Drake-Chenault Drake-Chenault Enterprises (originally American Independent Radio Inc.) was a radio syndication company that specialized in automation on FM radio stations. The company was founded in the late-1960s by radio programmer and deejay Bill Drake (1937� ...

Solid Gold format in 1974 and evolved Top 40 using Drake-Chenault's XT-40 format in late spring 1975. In the spring 1976 Arbitron, using Drake-Chenault's XT-40 format, WBNQ attained its highest ever 12+ share of 24.3%, making it one of the highest-rated FM stations in the U.S. at that time. In 1976 Denny Adkins, the operations director of WBNQ, joined Drake-Chenault as a programming consultant working with their client stations on format presentation, promotion and community involvement. Adkins rose through the ranks at D-C, becoming president in 1985. While WBNQ is reportedly an acronym for "We're Bloomington Normal Quality", the slogan was never used after the format change in 1972. In the early 1980s, WBNQ became a "live" operation with a contemporary hit radio station, a format that remains today. WBNQ began airing

Casey Kasem Kemal Amin "Casey" Kasem (April 27, 1932 – June 15, 2014) was an American disc jockey, actor, and radio personality, who created and hosted several radio countdown programs, notably ''American Top 40''. He was the first actor to voice No ...

's American Top 40 during the XT-40 era and continued to do so through the 1980s, while former AT-40 station WIHN began airing

Rick Dees Weekly Top 40 ''Rick Dees Weekly Top 40'' (sometimes known as ''The Weekly Top 40'') is an internationally syndicated radio program created and hosted by American radio personality Rick Dees. It is currently heard on over 200 radio stations worldwide. It is d ...

. WBNQ enjoyed #1 ratings in 2000 and had a run of consecutive number one ratings from 2001 to 2004. Despite increased competition in 2005 from

WRPW WRPW (92.9 MHz) is a commercial FM radio station licensed to Colfax, Illinois, in the Bloomington-Normal radio market. WRPW broadcasts a talk radio format known as "Cities Talk FM 92.9." It is owned by Pilot Media, a subsidiary of Great Pla ...

which was then operating as a Rhythmic, but has since changed to News/Talk, WBNQ has remained a top rated station with #1 or #2 12+ Arbitron rankings. Currently, it is #1 overall in the Bloomington-Normal market. On April 30, 2012,

Townsquare Media Townsquare Media, Inc. (formerly Regent Communications until 2010) is an American radio network and media company based in Purchase, New York. The company started in radio and expanded into digital media toward the end of the 2000s, starting wi ...

announced the sale of its Bloomington-Normal radio cluster, which includes WBNQ, to

Cumulus Media Cumulus Media, Inc. is an American broadcasting company and is the third largest owner and operator of AM and FM radio stations in the United States behind Audacy and iHeartMedia. As of June 2019, Cumulus lists ownership of 428 stations in 8 ...

."Cumulus, Townsquare Swap Involves 65 Stations, 13 Markets, $116 Million Cash"
from All Access (April 30, 2012) The assignment of the station's license to Cumulus was consummated on July 31, 2012.

Personalities

* The Susan Show with Susan Saunders (5:30a-10a) * Faith (10a-2p) * Cody West (2p-7p) * Eliott & Nina (7p-12m) * Roula (Sat; 8a-11a) * Romeo (Sat; 6p-11p) * Carson Daly (Sun; 9a-12n)

References

External links

101-5 WBNQ
- official site * BNQ Contemporary hit radio stations in the United States Radio stations established in 1974 Cumulus Media radio stations 1974 establishments in Illinois {{Illinois-radio-station-stub