![]() ![]() One day in 1955, WHB broadcast clues telling listeners where they might find a prize worth $1000. ![]() Storz cultivated listenership numbers by one of his treasure hunts. Ruth Meyer worked at WHB in the late 1950s, and went on to become the program director of 570 WMCA, leading that station to the position of #1 pop music station in New York between 19. Rick Sklar also heard WHB and adapted elements of its format to build the Top-40 format in New York City, at WABC, which became the most listened to radio station in North America during the 1970s. One observer was Gordon McLendon, who went back to Dallas and introduced his version of Top-40 radio at KLIF. With 10,000 watts in the daytime, WHB became one of the most powerful Top-40 stations in North America, attracting programming directors and station owners from across the country to observe Storz's operations. WHB became the first station in the country to play Top 40 music 24 hours a day, and it became an instant hit in Kansas City, becoming the most popular station by the end of the year. Upon the sale, WHB-TV was absorbed by KMBC-TV, which Cook purchased the month before.īuilding on his successful attempts at increasing listenership at KOWH in Omaha (now KCRO) and WTIX-AM in New Orleans, Storz discontinued WHB's network programming and introduced a Top 40 format. Omaha entrepreneur Todd Storz and his Mid-Continent Broadcasting Company purchased WHB from Cook on June 10, 1954. Todd Storz and "SEVENTY-ONEderful" (1954–1985) While owned by Cook, WHB expanded briefly into FM radio and television, operating on the frequency 102.1 MHz (now KCKC-FM) and sharing Channel 9 with KMBC-TV. The station published a quarterly magazine called Swing, keeping readers up to date with the Kansas City music scene, which had waned in the wake of the Pendergast Machine's downfall and World War II. The station jumped between 730 kHz and 850 kHz (860 kHz in 1938) before 1946, when the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) authorized the station to broadcast at 710 kHz. Originally owned by the Sweeney Automobile School, the Cook Paint and Varnish Company purchased the station in 1930. WHB formally received its license on May 10, 1922. In the early days of radio broadcasting, the dividing line between call signs beginning with a "W" and those beginning with a "K" was at the western border of Kansas (today, the dividing line is the Mississippi River), which is the reason WHB is one of only a few stations in Missouri whose call letters start with a "W". WHB is one of Kansas City's oldest radio stations, second only to KCSP which premiered on February 16 of that year, as WDAF. Schilling, WHB started experimental broadcasts on April 10, 1922. History Early broadcasting years (1922 – 1954) Įstablished by Sam Adair and John T. It is the primary entry point station for Kansas and western Missouri in the Emergency Alert System. City-grade coverage can be achieved as far north as southwestern Iowa. The station is also noted for its large coverage area, as WHB can be heard as far north as the southern fringe of South Dakota, as far east as the Quad Cities viewing area ( Muscatine, Iowa, etc), as far west as Garden City, Kansas, and as far south as Fayetteville, Arkansas. KCTE also carries some sporting events that WHB is unable to air due to other commitments. KCTE primarily carries ESPN Radio programming while WHB mainly airs local sports shows during the day. Union Broadcasting also owns AM 1510 KCTE, another all-sports station in the Kansas City metropolitan area. It also carries play-by-play games of Sporting Kansas City, the Kansas Jayhawks, UMKC Kangaroos athletics, and the Kansas City Mavericks of the ECHL. Its studios are located in the suburb of Overland Park, Kansas, also the headquarters of its owner, Union Broadcasting. However, because AM 810 is a clear-channel frequency reserved for Class A stations KGO in San Francisco and WGY in Schenectady, New York, at night WHB reduces power to 5,000 watts, using five directional towers located off Northeast Cookingham Drive in the Nashua neighborhood of Northland, Kansas City, adjacent to Interstate 435. ![]() For most of the 1950s through the 1970s, while it was broadcasting at 710 AM, WHB was one of the nation's most influential Top 40 outlets.īy day, WHB operates at 50,000 watts using a non-directional antenna. The station is owned by Union Broadcasting and it airs an all-sports radio format. WHB (810 AM) is a commercial radio station in Kansas City, Missouri, United States.
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