Media in Peoria, Illinois

This is a listing of the broadcasters and published media targeted at Peoria, Illinois. TV information includes cities where Peoria TV has been dominant, including Bloomington/Normal full-power TV, and LaSalle/Peru TV before cable TV.

## Radio

[edit]

Start dates are for the frequency/station license, not for callsign or programming that may have moved from license to license.

### FM

[edit]

Freq | Call | City | Owner | Start | ERP (W) | Nickname | Format | RDS | HD

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88.5 | WBNH | Peoria | Central Illinois Radio Fellowship | 1989 | 48,000 | WBNH | Christian | Yes | No
89.9 | WCBU | Peoria | Bradley University | January 1970[1] | 26,000 | Peoria Public Radio | Public/news/talk | Yes | 2
90.7 | WAZU | Peoria | Sirius Syncope | June 2010 | 500 | 90.7 WAZU | Hip Hop | Yes | No
91.5 | WCIC | Pekin | Northwestern Media[2] | November 2, 1983[1] | 47,000 | 91.5 WCIC | Christian AC | Yes[a&t] | No
92.3 | WZPW | Peoria | Cumulus | 1992 | 19,000 | Z 92-3 | CHR/Rhythmic | Yes[a&t] | No
93.3 | WPBG | Peoria | Midwest Communications | April 1947[3][4] | 41,000 | 93.3 The Drive | Classic Hits | Yes[a&t] | 4
94.3 | WPMJ | Chillicothe | Covenant Network | May 16, 1977[1] | 6,000 | 94.3 WPMJ | Christian talk | No | No
94.7 | W234AO | El Paso | Spirit Education Foundation | November 2006 | 25 | [t]88.1 WSOG | Christian talk | No | No
94.9 | WAAG | Galesburg | John T. Pritchard (Galesburg Broadcasting) | December 15, 1966[1] | 50,000 | FM 95 | Country | Yes[a&t] | No
95.5 | WGLO | Pekin | Cumulus | November 18, 1971[1] | 7,000 | 95-5 'GLO | Classic rock | Yes[a&t] | No
95.9 | W240DM | Peoria | Midwest Communications | May 15, 2017 | 250 | [t]93.3 WPBG-HD3 (Freedom 95.9) | Conservative Talk | Yes | No
96.5 | WHPI | Farmington | Mike Rea (Advanced Media Partners) | 1997 | 4,000 | 98-5 Kiss FM | CHR/Pop | No | No
97.3 | WFYR | Elmwood | Cumulus | 1993 | 24,000 | 97.3 River Country | Country | Yes[a&t] | No
97.7 | (Part 15) | Peoria | Bradley University | ? | ? | WRBU The Edge | College radio | No | No
97.7 | W249CZ | Peoria | WPEO | (CP) | 250 | [t]1020 WPEO | (CP) | Yes | No
98.5 | WPIA | Eureka | Mike Rea (Advanced Media Partners) | 1989 | 6,000 | 98-5 Kiss FM | CHR/Pop | Yes | No
99.1 | W256CH | Pekin | Seventh-day Adventists (Illinois) | (CP) | 19 | [t]103.3 WLSE | (CP) | No | No
99.9 | WWCT | Bartonville | Mike Rea (Advanced Media Partners) | 1997 | 2,000 | Peoria's CT 99-9 | AAA | Yes | No
100.3 | W262BY | Peoria | Midwest Communications | 2011 | 140 | [t]93.3 WPBG-HD4 (1470 WMBD) | News/Talk | No | No
100.5 | WRVY-FM | Henry | Virden Broadcasting Corporation | July 1990 | 3,000 | 100.5 WRVY | Country | No | No
100.7 | W264AZ | Dahinda | Seventh-day Adventists (Illinois) | 2007 | 38 | [t]102.9 WWKJ-LP | Christian | No | No
101.1 | WZPN | Glasford | Mike Rea (Advanced Media Partners) | 1999 | 3,000 | 101.1 ESPN Peoria | Sports | No | No
101.5 | WBNQ | Bloomington | Cumulus | ? | 50,000 | 101-5 WBNQ | CHR/Pop | Yes[a&t] | No
102.3 | WKZF | Morton | Midwest Communications | November 28, 1976[1] | 4,000 | KZ 102.3 | Rhythmic Classic Hits | Yes[a&t] | No
102.7 | W274BM | Peoria | Midwest Communications | 2012 | 10 | [t]93.3 WPBG-HD2 (102.7 SuperHits) | Oldies | Yes[a&t] | No
102.9 | WWKJ-LP | Peoria | Seventh-day Adventists (Peoria Christian Radio) | 2004 | 100 | (off air) | (off air) | No | No
103.1 | WXEC-LP | Eureka | Eureka College | March 25, 2024 | 71 | EC 103.1 | Alternative rock | No | No
103.3 | WLSE | Canton | Seventh-day Adventists (Canton SDA Church) | December 20, 2013[5] | 5,700 | ? | Christian | No | No
103.5 | W278AE | Peoria | Bradley University | 1997 | 50 | [t]89.9 WCBU-HD2 | Classical Music | Yes | No
103.9 | W280EJ | Pekin | WPEO | (CP) | 10 | [t]1020 WPEO | Christian | Yes | No
104.3 | W282AO | Canton | Seventh-day Adventists (Illinois) | 2007 | 38 | [t]95.7 WVCL-LP | Christian | No | No
104.3 | W282BS | Dunlap | Seventh-day Adventists (Illinois) | 2012 | 13 | [t]102.9 WWKJ-LP | Christian | No | No
104.9 | WXCL | Pekin | Midwest Communications | 1973[1] | 6,000 | 104.9 The Wolf | Country | Yes[a&t] | No
105.7 | WIXO | Peoria | Cumulus | May 14, 1972[1] | 33,000 | 105.7 The X Rocks | Active Rock | Yes[a&t] | No
106.3 | WPNV-LP | Peoria | Black Business Alliance (Peoria Chapter) | December 1, 2014[6] | 40 | WPNV | Urban AC | No | No
106.9 | WSWT | Peoria | Midwest Communications | 1964[1] | 50,000 | Mix 106.9 | Adult Contemporary | Yes[a&t] | No
107.5 | W298BH | Peoria | Larry Nelson (American Education Foundation) | (CP) | 225 | [t]1350 WOAM | (CP) | Yes | No
107.9 | WPZA | Canton | Wayne W. Whalen (WPW) | October 7, 1968[1] | 25,000 | 107.9 | Christian[7] | Yes | No

* ^[a&t] displays artist and title on Radio Data System
* ^[t] FM translator: repeats another station's program

### AM

[edit]

Freq | Call | City | Owner | Start | Day Power
(W) | Night
Power | Nickname | Format | Stereo | HD

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1020 | WPEO | Peoria | WPEO | 1946[3][8] | 1,000 | 0 | WPEO | Christian talk | No | No
1140 | WVEL | Pekin | Cumulus | April 21, 1946[1][8] | 5,000 | 0 | WVEL | Christian | No | No
1290 | WIRL | Peoria | Midwest Communications | 1947[3] | 5,000 | 5,000 | Freedom 95.9 | Conservative Talk | No | No
1350 | WOAM | Peoria | Larry Nelson (American Education Foundation) | February 8, 1960[1][9] | 1,000 | 1,000 | ? | Adult standards[7] | No | No
1470 | WMBD (AM) | Peoria | Midwest Communications | February 14, 1927[8] | 5,000 | 5,000 | 1470 WMBD | News/Talk | No | No
1560 | WBYS | Canton | Wayne W. Whalen (WPW) | October 5, 1947[1] | 250 | 18 | WBYS | News/Talk | No | No

* Nighttime power of 0 denotes daytime-only stations, traditionally to protect clear-channel stations at night: WPEO protecting KDKA (AM) Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and WVEL protecting WRVA (AM) Richmond, Virginia and XEMR-AM Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico.

## Television

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Virt.
Ch. | Call | City | Owner | Operator | Start | Digital
Ch. | DTV | Nickname | Programming

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19.1 | WHOI | Peoria | Sinclair | Sinclair | October 1953[10] | 24 | 720p | TBD Peoria | TBD
19.2 | ? | 720p | Comet TV | Comet
19.3 | ? | 480i | Charge 19.3 | Charge Network
25.1 | WEEK-TV | Peoria | Gray | Gray | February 1, 1953[8] | 25 | 1080i | WEEK 25 | NBC
25.2 | August 1, 2016 | 720p | Heart Of Illinois ABC | ABC
25.3 | August 1, 2016 | 720p | Peoria-Bloomington CW | CW+
25.4 | ? | 480i | Ion 25.4 | Ion Television
31.1 | WMBD-TV | Peoria | Nexstar | Nexstar | January 1, 1958[8] | 26 | 1080i |  | CBS
31.2 | September 26, 2011 | 480i | Bounce 31.2 | Bounce TV
31.3 | ? | 480i | Laff 31.3 | Laff
31.4 | ? | 480i | Escape 31.4 | Court TV Mystery
43.1 | WYZZ-TV | Bloomington | Cunningham | Nexstar | October 18, 1982[1] | 28 | 720p |  | Fox
43.2 | ? | 480i |  | This TV
43.3 | ? | 480i | getTV 43 | getTV
47.1 | WTVP | Peoria | IVPTC | IVPTC | June 23, 1971[1] | 35 | 1080i |  | PBS
47.2 | ? | 1080i | Kids | PBS Kids
47.3 | ? | 480i | World Channel 47 | PBS World
47.4 | ? | 480i | Create TV | Create
47.5 | ? | 480i | WTVP Remote | WTVP Remote
59.1 | WTVK | Pekin | Four Seasons | Four Seasons | ? | [tvt]18 | 720p | infomercials | Infomercials
59.2 | ? | 480i | Grio 59.2 | Grio

* ^[tvt] TV translator: repeats another station's program

## Defunct

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### Radio

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* 1580 WWXL (AM) Peoria (1947-?) -- sister to 94.1 WWXL-FM; in 1948, was on the air on 1580, with a construction permit for 1590;[3] gone by 1959[8]
* 88.5 WECU Peoria (1990s) -- on air around 1989;[1] time-shared frequency with WBNH Pekin; eventually went off air, allowing WBNH to go full-time
* 93.3 WEEK-FM Peoria (c. 1948) -- sister to 1350 WEEK (AM); not yet on air at start of 1948;[3] already gone by 1959;[8] frequency later used by WMBD-FM (93.3 WPBG); callsign later used by 98.5 Eureka
* 94.1 WWXL-FM Peoria (c. 1948) -- sister to 1580 WWXL (AM); not yet on air at start of 1948;[3] already gone by 1959;[8] now unusable: adjacent 94.3 later allocated to Chillicothe (now WPMJ)
* 95.7 WIRL-FM Peoria (c. 1948) -- not yet on air at start of 1948;[3] already gone by 1959;[8] now unusable: 95.3 Pekin allocation moved to adjacent 95.5 in 1980s with WGLO
* 96.5 WMMJ-FM Peoria (c. 1948) -- construction permit as of 1948;[3] already gone by 1959;[8] 96.5 allocated to nearby Farmington in 1990s (now WHPI)
* 100.9 WBOD Canton (c. 1989) -- not yet on air in 1989;[1] likely never launched: adjacent 101.1 allocated to nearby Glasford in 1990s (now WZPN)

### Low-power FM

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* 103.1 WEUR-LP Eureka (c. 2001) -- Likely never on air: Construction permit requested in August 2000 and issued 2001-06-27 to Eureka College; permit expired 2002-12-27 without license.[11]
* 106.3 Eureka (c. 2014) -- Likely never on air: Construction permit requested in November 2013 and issued in January 2014 to Faith Baptist Temple in Eureka;[12] permit cancelled July 27, 2015 without license or callsign.[12][13]

### Peoria area low-power TV

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* 16 W16AZ Lacon (c. 1994) -- construction permit for Kelly Communications; expired in 1996 without being licensed[14]
* 67 W67CW Peoria (1995-2005?) -- M.C. Productions, 1101 S. "Mathew" St. and 1923 W. Lincoln Ave.,[15] 61605\. Construction permit granted 1993-09-28; licensed 1995-06-29; application to move to channel 65 dismissed 1997-10-09; renewal on channel 67 on 1997-12-01; license expired 2005-12-01; deleted 2007-10-15.[16]

### Bloomington TV

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* 15 WBLN Bloomington (1955?-1959?) -- sold by Cecil W. Roberts to Worth S. Rough's WBLN TV Inc. on 13 July 1955;[1] off the air but still holding permit in 1959;[8] empty channel allocation moved to Champaign in 1967 for WICD; callsign reused by channel 43 from 1982 start until it became WYZZ-TV

### Peoria TV in LaSalle-Peru

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Until cable TV was common in the late 1970s, LaSalle/Peru received primarily Peoria television using television translators.

By March 1965, LaSalle, Spring Valley, and Peru already had CATV systems owned by The Television Transmission Company.[17]

* 35 WEEQ LaSalle (1957-1970s?) -- LaSalle's only full-power allocation, channel 35, started as WEEQ, a co-owned satellite of WEEK-TV Peoria (which was on 43 Peoria then on 25 Peoria);[8][18] it was on the air as early as November 1957.[18] Channel allocation used by WWTO since 1 December 1986.[1]
* 71 W71AE (1964-1979?) -- This carried co-owned 31 WMBD-TV Peoria. License granted 15 November 1962;[19] A picture of the 485-foot (148 m) Rohn tower and its 16-bay antenna is shown in a Rohn advertisement in the 1 July 1963 issue of Broadcasting.[20] Started around 1964.[18] Renewed November 1971.[21] WMBD-TV still shown as having "1 trans." in 1975 Yearbook.[page needed] Guessed as deleted in 1979 in W9WI translator listing.[22]
* 78 W78AC (1963-1964?) -- This carried 19 WTVH Peoria (now WHOI) in the early 1960s. Listed in September 1962 TV Guide.[18] License granted 18 February 1963.[23] It was no longer in TV Guide by the end of 1964.[18]

## Print

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* The Community Word -- monthly community newspaper that covers neighborhoods and local politics[24]
* Numero -- monthly entertainment guide
* Peoria Journal Star -- daily newspaper
* Peoria Magazines group -- includes Peoria Progress Plays, Art & Society, InterBusiness Issues, and the Peoria Woman

## Notes

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1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook. Washington, D.C.: Broadcasting Publications. 1989. Archived from the original on 2010-09-27. Retrieved 2010-08-31. Illinois radio on pages B-87-B-99: B-88 Bloomington & Canton; B-90 Chillicothe; B-92 Galesburg; B-95 Morton & Normal; B-96 Pekin & Peoria. Illinois TV on pages C-21-C-23.
2. ^ "Form 314 Application for Consent to Assignment of Broadcast Station Construction Permit or License (File No. BALED-20190805AAT)". Public Inspection Files. Washington, D.C.: Federal Communications Commission. 2019-08-23. Retrieved 2020-05-05.
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Broadcasting Yearbook Number. Washington, D.C.: Broadcasting Publications. 1948. Archived from the original on 2010-09-27. Retrieved 2010-08-30. Illinois AM on pages 94 & 98; Illinois FM on page 294. Page 326 shows 4 additional FM construction permits already in progress for Peoria.
4. ^ What is now 93.3 was on 92.5 until the 1960s.
5. ^ "Application Search Details File Number: BLED-20131107ABL". Washington, D.C.: Federal Communications Commission. 2013-12-20. Retrieved 2015-02-07.
6. ^ "Application Search Details File Number: BLL-20141124ASV". Washington, D.C.: Federal Communications Commission. 2014-12-04. Retrieved 2015-02-07.
7. ^ a b Tarter, Steve (2011-01-02). "On the Air: Roaming along with WOAM once again". Peoria Journal Star. Peoria, Illinois. Retrieved 2011-01-10.
8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Broadcasting Yearbook Number. Washington, D.C.: Broadcasting Publications. 1959. Archived from the original on 2009-11-27. Retrieved 2010-08-30. Illinois radio on pages B-142-B-146. Page B-23 shows Bloomington TV; page B-25 shows LaSalle and Peoria TV as well as unused Galesburg and Pekin allotments.
9. ^ On 1350 kHz, 1948 Broadcasting Yearbook shows year 1947 for WEEK (AM); but 1989 Yearbook shows year 1960 for WXCL (AM). Reference does not mention whether 1947 station was deleted and replaced rather than transferred.
10. ^ Channel 19 signed on in October 1953: 1959 Yearbook gives October 12. 1989 Yearbook gives October 20.
11. ^ "Application Search Details; File Number: BNPL-20000831ADZ". CDBS Public Access. Washington, D.C.: Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved 2020-05-05.
12. ^ a b "Application Search Details; File Number: BNPL-20131114BIQ". CDBS Public Access. Washington, D.C.: Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved 2020-05-05.
13. ^ "Station Search Details (Facility Id 196478)". CDBS Public Access. Washington, D.C.: Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved 2020-05-05.
14. ^ FCC Application Search Results for facility ID 52283. Retrieved 2011-01-10.
15. ^ "DW67CW TV - Channel 67, Peoria, IL". Webotics. Retrieved 2011-01-10.[permanent dead link]
16. ^ FCC Application Search Results for facility ID 39510. Retrieved 2011-01-10.
17. ^ "Community Antenna Franchise Activities" (PDF). Broadcasting. 1965-03-01. p. 97. Retrieved 2020-01-04.
18. ^ a b c d e Quick, Doug (2010-09-18). "Other Television History". Archived from the original on 2010-12-16. Retrieved 2011-01-10.
19. ^ "For the Record, Actions of Nov. 15" (PDF). Broadcasting. 1962-11-26. pp. 88–89. Retrieved 2020-01-04.
20. ^ "For towers of all kinds call ROHN" (PDF), Broadcasting, p. 65, 1963-07-01, retrieved 2020-01-04
21. ^ "For the Record, Renewal of licenses, all stations" (PDF). Broadcasting. 1971-08-16. pp. 40–42. Retrieved 2020-01-04. "Broadcast Bureau granted renewal of licenses for the following UHF sand VHF translators ... W49AA Springfield and W71AE LaSalle, both Illinois"
22. ^ Smith, D. "Defunct translators above channel 69". Retrieved 2011-01-10. ""Now" is my best guess as to what happened to the translator in question. Many of these are probably wrong. W71AE ... Del 1979"
23. ^ "For the Record, Actions of Feb. 18" (PDF). Broadcasting. 1963-02-25. Retrieved 2020-01-04. "W78AC, Metromedia Inc., Peru, LaSalle, Ottawa, and Streater [sic], all Illinois, and change type trans."
24. ^ The Community Word

## External links

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* Newspapers Published in Peoria County from the Illinois Newspaper Project of the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign – includes over 150 past and present newspaper titles
* Tazewell County and Woodford County from same source