WBTU (93.3
FM) is an 18,500-watt
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 radio ...
licensed to
Kendallville, Indiana
Kendallville is a city in Wayne Township, Noble County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 9,862 at the 2010 census.
History
Kendallville was laid out in 1849. The city was named for Amos Kendall, 8th United States Postmaster Gen ...
, serving
Fort Wayne, Indiana
Fort Wayne is a city in and the county seat of Allen County, Indiana, United States. Located in northeastern Indiana, the city is west of the Ohio border and south of the Michigan border. The city's population was 263,886 as of the 2020 Censu ...
. WBTU is owned by Adams Radio Group, LLC, through licensee Adams Radio of Fort Wayne, LLC.
WBTU originally operated as WAWK-FM, a sister station to
WAWK
WAWK (1140 AM) is a radio station broadcasting a classic hits format. Licensed to Kendallville, Indiana, United States. The station is currently owned by Northeast Indiana Broadcasting. WAWK programming is simulcast on FM translators W232DK (9 ...
AM in Kendallville, from 1964 to 1984. In June 1984, WAWK-FM was sold, renamed to WBTU-FM, and relocated to Fort Wayne.
WBTU is the oldest country station in the Fort Wayne market. Counting the station's WAWK lineage makes the station even older.
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, WBTU used the moniker, ''Hot Country''. In the mid-1990s, the moniker was changed to ''B93''. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, the station was known as ''Hoosier Country''. In 2005, the station simply went by its call letters and frequency (93.3 FM). On May 25, 2007, WBTU changed its branding, becoming ''U.S. 93.3''. A few weeks later, U.S. 93.3 went "commercial-free" but only continued to operate without playing commercials until December 31, 2007.
In 2000, Artistic Media Partners, Inc. bought WBTU and
WSHY-FM from 62nd Street, Inc. WBTU and WSHY were moved to a studio inside the Bowen Center on Goshen Road in Fort Wayne.
In January 2007, Artistic Media Partners agreed to sell WBTU and WSHY to Russ Oasis for $3.8 million. Oasis Radio Group owns
HOT 107.9 (WJFX-FM), and 106.3 JOE FM in Fort Wayne, also.
On March 6, 2007, a
local management agreement
In North American broadcasting, a local marketing agreement (LMA), or local management agreement, is a contract in which one company agrees to operate a radio or television station owned by another party. In essence, it is a sort of lease or ti ...
was enacted between Artistic Media and Russell Oasis for WBTU and WSHY (which was changed to WVBB, now
WRDF
WRDF (106.3 FM) is a radio station licensed to Columbia City, Indiana located near Fort Wayne, Indiana. The station offers a Catholic Talk format branded as "Redeemer Radio". The station is owned by Fort Wayne Catholic Radio Group, Inc.
History ...
).
In March 2014, Adams Radio Group, LLC entered an agreement to purchase WBTU along with CHR/Rhythmic 107.9
WJFX
WJFX (107.9 FM) is a Top 40 radio station located in Fort Wayne, Indiana. It is owned and operated by Adams Radio Group, LLC. WJFX broadcasts three channels in the HD digital format.
History
The station was an urban contemporary formatted r ...
from Oasis Radio Group and crosstown Urban CHR 96.3
WNHT, Oldies 1250
WGL and Classic Rock 103.9
WXKE
WXKE (96.3 FM) is a radio station licensed to Churubusco, Indiana and serving the nearby Fort Wayne, Indiana area. The station airs a classic rock format.
History
96.3 FM began operations as WKQM in April 1994, featuring an easy listening/ adul ...
. The purchase, at a price of $6.4 million, was consummated on June 2, 2014.
Programming
Currently, it broadcasts
country music
Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...
.
Current Lineup:
12a-6a: Automated
6a-10a Bobby Bones Show
10a-3p: Taylor
3p-7p: Randy Alomar
7p-12a: Automated
Weekends- Taylor
Community
In the past, WBTU had regularly helped
St. Jude's Research Hospital,
MDA
MDA, mda, or ''variation'', may refer to:
Places
* Moldova, a country in Europe with the ISO 3166-1 country code MDA Politics
* Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (2018), ruling coalition government in the Indian State of Meghalaya led by National Pe ...
, and other organizations. WBTU also served as the radio station sponsor for country night at the Meijer Event Tent during Fort Wayne's
Three Rivers Festival
The Three Rivers Festival is an annual multi-day event held in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The festival spans nine days in mid-July, starting on the first Friday after Independence Day. It is a celebration of the heritage of Fort Wayne, established d ...
in 2006.
Notable alumni
* Dirk Rowley
* Jeanette Rinard
* Mitch Mahan
* Chevy Smith
* Dakota McCoy (Gran Roberts)
* Steve "Tiny Little" Michaels
* Kris "Coyote" Underwood
* Dave Collins (Joel Navarro)
* Stephanie Decker
* Dave Riley (David Bradley)
* Scott Dugan
* Dale Christopher
* Jay Fergusion
* (Bill)Collins on the Radio
* Kenny Edwards
* Don Moore
* Gary Mack
* Mack and Moore in the morning
* Doug Montgomery
* T. Daniels
* Mark Allen
External links
WBTU's official website*
WBTU's Official MySpace Page
{{coord, 41.214, N, 85.201, W, type:landmark_region:US_source:FCC, display=title
BTU
The British thermal unit (BTU or Btu) is a unit of heat; it is defined as the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of one pound of water by one degree Fahrenheit. It is also part of the United States customary units. The modern SI u ...
Country radio stations in the United States