WBOW was a radio station on

640 AM 640 AM - The following radio stations broadcast on AM frequency 640 kHz: 640 AM is a North American clear-channel frequency. KFI in Los Angeles, California, KYUK in Bethel, Alaska, and CBN in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada share ...

Terre Haute, Indiana Terre Haute ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Vigo County, Indiana, United States, about 5 miles east of the state's western border with Illinois. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 60,785 and its metropolitan area had a ...

, which broadcast between 1993 and 2001. It was created by the relocation of the intellectual unit of

WBOW (1230 AM) WBOW was a radio station on 1230 AM in Terre Haute, Indiana, which broadcast between 1927 and 2001. In the early 1990s, the WBOW intellectual unit moved to a new 640 AM facility. 1230 then became WBFX, WZZQ and WBUZ, closing down when its lice ...

to a new license on 640 kHz. The station shut down when its licensee, Contemporary Media, Inc., had all of its licenses cancelled in response to a

Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdiction ...

investigation.

History

On June 9, 1993, WBOW and its adult standards format moved from 1230 AM to 640, a lower frequency with an improved coverage area. On 1230, the station was the first radio station in Terre Haute. A new station, WBFX, debuted on 1230 as WBOW moved to the new 640. Soon after, WBOW moved to a sports/talk format.

License cancellation

In 1994, Contemporary Media president Michael S. Rice was convicted of sexually abusing five teenagers in Missouri. The next year, the

opened a hearing to revoke the licenses of all of the stations owned by Contemporary Media and its sister companies, Contemporary Broadcasting and Lake Broadcasting, which also owned FM stations in

Columbia, Missouri Columbia is a city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It is the county seat of Boone County and home to the University of Missouri. Founded in 1821, it is the principal city of the five-county Columbia metropolitan area. It is Missouri's fourth ...

and

Eldon, Missouri Eldon is a city in Miller County, Missouri, United States, located southwest of Jefferson City. The population was 4,567 at the 2010 census. History Eldon was platted in 1881, and according to tradition, named after a railroad official. A pos ...

, as well as two additional unbuilt stations in the same state. In 1997, an FCC administrative law judge ruled that the licenses should be revoked. The FCC affirmed the decision in March 1998. Rice appealed, losing in federal appeals court. In March 2001, the Supreme Court refused to hear the case. All Contemporary Media stations ceased operations by FCC order on October 4, 2001. The WBOW call letters have since been used by several unrelated stations in the Terre Haute area, including the current WBOW (102.7 FM).

References

{{Terre Haute Radio Radio stations established in 1993 Radio stations disestablished in 2001 BOW 640 Defunct radio stations in the United States 1993 establishments in Indiana 2001 disestablishments in Indiana BOW 640