WBAP is a news and talk formatted-AM radio station in the Dallas Fort Worth Metroplex. WBAP broadcasts on 820 kHz with 50,000 watts from a transmitter site in southern Arlington and its omnidirectional nighttime signal can be heard throughout the Southern, Central, and Midwest states.

WBAP is one of many Disney/ABC Radio stations that has been transferred to Citadel Broadcasting and remains an affiliate of ABC. Despite different owners, WBAP and WFAA-TV maintain a strong partnership (as WFAA is the local ABC television affiliate). The entire Dallas/Fort Worth area Citadel Cluster (see sister stations) is responsible for activation of the North Texas Emergency Alert System when hazardous weather alerts, Disaster area declarations, and child abductions are issued.

This is one of the few U.S. stations west of the Mississippi River that carries a "W" as the first letter in its call sign.

The station has simulcast on WBAP-FM (96.7 FM) since March 15, 2010 reducing the number of formats heard in the D/FW area by one.

Station history

On May 15, 1923, the Federal Radio Commission expanded the broadcast band, and WBAP and WFAA moved to 630 kHz. Another expansion moved WBAP to 600 kHz effective April 15, 1927, and this frequency was shared with WOAI in San Antonio. On November 11, 1928, WBAP moved to 800 kHz, and on June 1, 1929, WFAA also moved to 800 kHz, sharing time (and NBC Red network affiliation) with WBAP. Station owner Amon G. Carter was unhappy with having to share time on 800 kHz with WFAA. In May 1938, Carter Publishing purchased KGKO Wichita Falls (570 kHz) and moved it to Fort Worth as an affiliate of the NBC Blue network (which became ABC), and more importantly as a second frequency to be used when 800 kHz was not available. On March 29, 1941, as a consequence of the Treaty of Havana, WBAP and WFAA moved one last time, to 820 kHz.

Carter eventually sold half of KGKO to A.H. Belo, owners of WFAA, and on April 27, 1947, KGKO was replaced by a second shared frequency between WBAP and WFAA.

The dual frequency sharing arrangement between WBAP and WFAA continued through the 1950s and 1960s, with the stations switching frequencies several times a day. When WBAP changed frequencies, it signaled the change with a cowbell, which became widely associated with the station.

Even though the stations swapped frequencies several times each day, the network affiliations remained constant: NBC network programming stayed on 820 kHz and ABC network programming stayed on 570 kHz. This frequently proved confusing for announcers and listeners alike.

On May 1, 1970, the unique dual split-frequency lives of WBAP and WFAA ended when WBAP paid $3.5 million to WFAA in exchange for sole occupancy of 820 kHz (and the NBC affiliation). WFAA took on 570 kHz (and the ABC affiliation) fulltime. Once the frequency-sharing with WFAA ended in 1970, both stations were free to program musical formats, and WBAP began programming country music. After a series of network affiliation changes in the late 1970s among WBAP, KRLD and WFAA, WBAP switched affiliations to ABC.

WBAP changed to a news/talk format in 1993. It was also the former broadcast home of the Texas Rangers.

Local television station KXAS channel 5, currently part of the NBC network, was also originally known as WBAP-TV.

Morning show host Hal Jay recently celebrated his 25 year anniversary with WBAP by organizing a charity fund-raising event for Cook Children's Hospital ("Hal Jay's Celebrity Roast"). Among those who attended were Baseball Hall-of-Famer Nolan Ryan and syndicated radio talk show host Sean Hannity.

According to the Arbitron Ratings, WBAP remains the top news/talk station in the DFW area to this day.

WBAP transmitted iBiquity HD Radio (digital) during the daytime and when not airing sports programming, until abruptly ending the "HD" digital transmission in early December 2008.

For many years, WBAP was the flagship station for Dallas Stars hockey games, but will be relinquishing these rights beginning in the 2009-2010 season, as on January 16, 2009, the Dallas Stars named KTCK Sportsradio 1310 The Ticket as its new flagship station for the next 5 years.

Sister station KPMZ (now WBAP-FM) has commenced simulcasting WBAP on March 15, 2010. Although broadcasting at a rimshot frequency, the staff at WBAP claims that KPMZ will provide "crystal-clear FM fidelity" for their listeners within 96.7's pre-determined coverage area.

Current programming

Overnights are locally originated as WBAP is the flagship station of the nationally syndicated Midnight Radio Network, a trucking show that traces its roots to Bill Mack's overnight show back in 1969. WBAP producer Eric Harley hosts the show along with political talker Gary McNamara and is heard live locally from 12:00 A.M. (midnight Central Time) to 5:00 A.M. on weeknights, and airs "Best Of" segments during weekend overnights with current weather and news information.

Weekends provide a combination of various local specialty programs along with a few nationally syndicated programs such as Bob Brinker, Dean Edell, and John Batchelor.

Prior to Citadel's takeover of the station in August 2007, Davis's show was a full three hours, 9:00 A.M. to 12:00 P.M. As a result, Limbaugh, Hannity and Levin were all forced to air on a one hour tape delay; in the case of Limbaugh, this is especially rare. However, with Citadel's assumption of the station, Davis's show was both cut in length and shifted back by a half-hour, to carry the top-rated talkers live.

Live and local news/weather/traffic updates air from the "WBAP 24/7 Newsroom" at the top and bottom of every hour, with live traffic breaks taking place during afternoon drive commercial breaks, roughly at :20 and :50 past the hour from 4:00 P.M. to 6:00 P.M.

In the fall of 2010, WBAP began an agreement with Texas Christian University to air live play-by-play of TCU Horned Frogs football and TCU Horned Frogs men's basketball. The station carried every game of the undefeated football team in that first season.

WBAP Morning News "Characters"

The characters are divided into two main groups, each performed by a different individual. Some of the "parody" characters are performed by WBAP overnight host and producer Eric Harley, while the remaining characters were performed by staff member John Hanson.

Parody Characters

WBAP Unique Characters

References

External links