WNIL is an AM

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 ...

located in

Niles, Michigan Niles is a city in Berrien and Cass counties in the U.S. state of Michigan, near the Indiana border city of South Bend. In 2010, the population was 11,600 according to the 2010 census. It is the larger, by population, of the two principal cities ...

and broadcasting to the Niles- Buchanan region airing a

soft adult contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quiet sto ...

format. It broadcasts on AM frequency 1290 kHz and 107.5

MHz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose expression in terms of SI base units is s−1, meaning that one he ...

; it is under ownership of Marion R. Williams.

History

WNIL began its broadcasting activities in 1956 under an unknown format but in 1964, it was notable when

Tommy James & the Shondells Tommy James and the Shondells are an American pop rock/ psychedelic rock band, formed in Niles, Michigan, in 1964. They had two No. 1 singles in the U.S. – " Hanky Panky" (July 1966, their only RIAA Certified Gold record) and " Crimson and C ...

recorded their hit " Hanky Panky" (it was a summer hit in 1966 and the studio was located at Sycamore and 5th Street). In the 1990s, it dropped its music format in favor of

sports Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, th ...

programming. In 1999, the sports format was dropped in favor of

oldies Oldies is a term for musical genres such as pop music, rock and roll, doo-wop, surf music (broadly characterized as classic rock and pop rock) from the second half of the 20th century, specifically from around the mid-1950s to the 1980s, as we ...

, supplied from

Jones Radio Networks Jones Radio Networks & Jones Media Group were branches of Jones International before being sold to Triton Media Group. JRN and JMN provide local radio stations with satellite-delivered formats. They also offer other services to local radio such ...

Good Time Oldies Good Time Oldies is a 24-hour music format offered to local radio stations across the country that was originally produced by Jones Radio Networks. After the sales of Jones Radio Networks to Dial Global in 2008, the format was absorbed into D.G.`s ...

satellite feed. In June 1999, the

FCC 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 jurisdictio ...

approved a license transfer from its original owner Niles Broadcasting to Pathfinder Communications (now Federated Media) along with sister station WAOR (then at 95.3 FM, now

WTRC-FM WTRC-FM (95.3 MHz; "News Talk 95.3 MNC") is a commercial radio station, licensed to Niles, Michigan and featuring a news/talk format. The station's owner is Federated Media. Its programming and on-air presentation are closely patterned after Fed ...

). Less than a year later, WNIL changed affiliations to ABC Radio's " Memories/Unforgettable Favorites" (a

soft rock Soft rock is a form of rock music that originated in the late 1960s in Southern California and the United Kingdom which smoothed over the edges of singer-songwriter and pop rock, relying on simple, melodic songs with big, lush productions. S ...

/AC and oldies hybrid) and ran that feed even throughout the merger with "Stardust" and the name change to Timeless Classics/Timeless Favorites. When 2007 began, local newscasts and talk programs were discontinued, making it an all-music station. However, in March 2007, the Timeless radio format was dropped in favor of syndicated talk programming. In October 2010, the format was changed to Christian radio, branded as "The Mighty 1290 - Spirited Talk Radio", focusing on "Faith, and Family Values". In the summer of 2012, WNIL, along with sister station

WAOR WAOR (102.7 FM, "Froggy 102.7") is a hot adult contemporary formatted radio station serving listeners in northern Indiana and southwestern lower Michigan, in the United States. It is owned by Federated Media, and operated with 2,000 watts. The ...

(now at 95.7 FM), switched once again to a sports format. Most programming came from Fox Sports Radio, except for the

Jim Rome James Phillip Rome (born October 14, 1964) is an American sports radio host. His talk show, ''The Jim Rome Show'', is syndicated by CBS Sports Radio. Broadcasting from a studio near Los Angeles, California, Rome hosts ''The Jim Rome Show'' on ...

show from CBS Sports Radio. In April 2014 WNIL and WAOR switched affiliations to ESPN Radio. A month later, on May 19, Federated Media announced the sale of WNIL to Marion R. Williams, who already owns

WSMK WSMK (99.1 Hertz, MHz, "Smokin' 99.1") is a commercial radio, commercial FM radio, FM radio station city of license, licensed to Buchanan, Michigan, and serving the South Bend – Mishawaka metropolitan area, South Bend metropolitan area. It is o ...

(99.1 FM) in Buchanan; this followed the sale of WAOR to St. Joseph Catholic Radio a week earlier. The deal was consummated on August 29, 2014, at a purchase price of $225,000. On August 29, 2014 WNIL changed their format to news/talk, simulcasting

95.3 Niles, Michigan. On October 1, 2014 WNIL split from its simulcast with WTRC-FM and changed their format to a soft AC/oldies mix.

References

External links

Michiguide.com - WNIL HistoryWNIL 1290 Facebook
* *

NIL Nil may refer to: * nil (the number 0, zero) Acronyms * NIL (programming language), an implementation of the Lisp programming language * Student athlete compensation, Name, Image and Likeness, a set of rules in the American National Collegiate At ...

Soft adult contemporary radio stations in the United States Radio stations established in 1956 1956 establishments in Michigan {{Michigan-radio-station-stub