First air date April 2, 1925 Class B Frequency 1310 kHz Format Talk radio Branding News/Talk 1310 WIBA | Power 5,000 watts Facility ID 17384 City of license Madison Owner iHeartMedia Inc | |
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Broadcast area Madison metropolitan area Slogan "Madison's News/Talk Station" Sister stations WTSO, WIBA-FM, WXXM, WZEE, WMAD Call sign meaning WIsconsin and "BAdger Broadcasting" (former owner) | ||
WIBA (1310 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station licensed to Madison, Wisconsin. Owned by iHeartMedia, Inc., the station airs a News/Talk format, under the slogan "Madison's News/Talk Station." National news is supplied at the beginning of each hour by Fox News Radio.
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WIBA operates at 5,000 watts around the clock. By day, the station is non-directional but at night it uses a directional signal to protect other stations on 1310 kHz. The studios, offices and transmitter are located off South Fish Hatchery Road in Fitchburg, Wisconsin.
Programming
WIBA broadcasts both local and nationally syndicated talk shows. Most of the syndicated programming comes from Premiere Networks, a subsidiary of iHeartMedia. Weekdays begin at 5 a.m. with Madison in The Morning with Robin Colbert and Shawn Prebil, a news and interview breakfast show. That's followed by Derrell Connor at 9 a.m. At 11 a.m. it's Rush Limbaugh. Sean Hannity airs at both 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. Vicki McKenna is heard from 3 to 6 p.m. Sports shows are heard in the early evening and Dave Ramsey is carried at 9 p.m. Overnight it's Coast to Coast AM with George Noory and at 4 a.m. First Light is heard.
Weekends feature shows on money, health, home improvement and computers, including syndicated shows from Kim Komando and Bill Cunningham, as well as repeats of weekday shows. Some paid brokered programming also airs.
Sports
WIBA serves as the flagship station for the Wisconsin Badgers radio network, and also airs Green Bay Packers football and Milwaukee Brewers baseball broadcasts.
History
WIBA is the oldest commercial radio station in Wisconsin, licensed on April 2, 1925 to the Capital Times. It is the second-oldest station in the state overall, with the University of Wisconsin's WHA getting its license three years earlier but never as a commercial broadcaster. On October 8, 1935, the Federal Communications Commission authorized WIBA to increase its power to 5000 watts (daytime) and 1000 watts (nights).
Willard Waterman, who later gained fame playing the title role on The Great Gildersleeve, was a member of a quartet at WIBA in his early years in radio. In 1963, he recalled, "[W]e sang musical interludes between programs." Johnny Olson, a famous TV game show announcer, had his first radio job at WIBA.[1]