WNTP

WNTP 990 is a politically conservative talk radio station which serves the Philadelphia area. It is owned by Salem Communications, along with a number of similar channels in various markets. Some of those whose programs are run by WNTP include Michael Medved, Dennis Prager, Mike Gallagher, Mark Levin and Bill Bennett. Its studios and transmitter site are located in Lafayette Hill, Pennsylvania.

History

For many years, 990 was known as WIBG, and had great success in the ratings playing Top 40 music in the 1950s and early 1960s with popular hosts including Joe Niagara (The Rockin' Bird), Hy Lit, Bill Wright Sr., Frank X. Feller, and others. The original call letters stood for "I Believe in God" for the station's original religious format when founded in the 1920s by St. Paul's Episcopal Church, though as "Wibbage", the call became best known for, and most associated with, rock 'n' roll programming.

In September 1966, WFIL moved to a Top 40 format and before long passed Wibbage (hampered by a poor suburban nighttime signal) in the ratings. WIBG soldiered on as a Top 40 station through most of the first half of the 1970s, including radio greats John Landecker, and "Long" John Wade, although they tried progressive rock for a time early in the decade. At mid-decade the station tried a more adult contemporary approach, with sports talk at night for a time and even one year (1976) as the flagship station for Philadelphia Phillies baseball. In 1977 management decided that the WIBG image was no longer an asset; after a highly publicized final week featuring many of the personalities from the station's peak years, the call letters were changed to WZZD.