WTNI (
1640
Events
January–March
* January 6 – The Siege of Salses ends almost six months after it had started on June 9, 1639, with the French defenders surrendering to the Spanish attackers.
* January 17 – A naval battle over ...
AM) is a
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 ...
licensed to
Biloxi, Mississippi
Biloxi ( ; ) is a city in and one of two county seats of Harrison County, Mississippi, United States (the other being the adjacent city of Gulfport). The 2010 United States Census recorded the population as 44,054 and in 2019 the estimated popu ...
, which broadcasts an
adult hits format as "Bob 106.3" with 10,000
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 daytime and 1,000 watts at night. The station is one of only six broadcasting stations in the United States licensed for
1640 kHz.
History
WTNI began as the "expanded band" twin to WVMI on AM 570. WVMI was initially licensed to Radio Associates in Biloxi. It was granted a Construction Permit in February 1947, and signed on in March 1950. The station originally was limited to daytime-only operation with 1,000 watts. In 1976, the signal was upgraded to 5,000 watts daytime, and 1,000 watts at night. In 1990, WVMI was sold to
Telesouth Communications, which changed the format from country music to News/Talk.
["Alabama Broadcast Media Page: AM Technical Profile: WVMI"](_blank)
(almediapage.com)
Expanded Band assignment
On March 17, 1997 the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced that eighty-eight stations had been given permission to move to newly available "
Expanded Band" transmitting frequencies, ranging from 1610 to 1700 kHz, with WVMI authorized to move from 570 kHz to 1640 kHz.
["FCC Public Notice: Mass Media Bureau Announces Revised AM Expanded Band Allotment Plan and Filing Window for Eligible Stations"](_blank)
(FCC DA 97-537), March 17, 1997.
A construction permit for the expanded band station, also located in Biloxi, was assigned the call letters WTNI on December 13, 2002. The FCC's initial policy was that both the original station and its expanded band counterpart could operate simultaneously for up to five years, after which owners would have to turn in one of the two licenses, depending on whether they preferred the new assignment or elected to remain on the original frequency,
although this deadline was extended multiple times.
The new operation on 1640 kHz was licensed in 2003. The WTNI call sign stood for "Talk, News, Information", and the station continued WVMI's News/Talk format. Later that year WVMI ceased operations on 570 kHz., and its license was cancelled on June 26, 2003.
Later history
WTNI later began simulcasting
WANG
Wang may refer to:
Names
* Wang (surname) (王), a common Chinese surname
* Wāng (汪), a less common Chinese surname
* Titles in Chinese nobility
* A title in Korean nobility
* A title in Mongolian nobility
Places
* Wang River in Thai ...
1490 AM's "The Champ" sports format. This simulcast was discontinued on March 8, 2019, with WANG switching to a
Classic Country
Classic country is a music radio format that specializes in playing mainstream country and western music hits from past decades.
Repertoire
The radio format specializes in hits from the 1950s through the early 1980s, and focus primarily on innov ...
format, and WTNI continuing with sports. However, the following June WTNI returned to simulcasting WANG, now carrying that station's Classic Country programming as "103.5 The Possum".
On December 22, 2020, WTNI and WANG flipped to a
tourist information
A visitor center or centre (see American and British English spelling differences), visitor information center, tourist information center, is a physical location that provides tourist information to visitors.
Types of visitor center
A visi ...
format as ''106.3 Casino Radio''; the stations primarily carried segments and advertising highlighting local casinos, restaurants, and other attractions in the Biloxi area.
In late October 2021, 106.3 FM began "
stunting", playing novelty Christmas music followed by rotating sets of odd songs, including the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse theme song, along with songs from ''O Brother, Where Art Thou?'', including "Big Rock Candy Mountain", and "Man of Constant Sorrow". On October 8, they also ran a teaser between songs, announcing a "brand new station" coming at 5:00. At that time the station flipped to the "Bob" format, which plays "80s, 90s and Whatever". This format was formerly played on
WQBB, 105.9 FM, which was changed to "The Monkey" on March 1, 2019.
"Bob Returns To Biloxi/Gulfport"
by Lance Venta, October 10, 2021 (radioinsight.com)
References
External links
FCC History Cards for WVMI on 570 kHz
(covering 1947-1981)
{{coord, 30, 28, 27, N, 88, 51, 23, W, type:landmark_region:US_source:FCC, display=title
TNI
Radio stations established in 1950
Bob FM stations
Adult hits radio stations in the United States