WPEO
| City of license | Peoria, Illinois |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Peoria, Illinois |
| Frequency | 1020 kHz |
| First air date | 1946 (as WMMJ)[1][2] August 1950 (as WPEO)[1] |
| Format | Christian radio |
| Power | 1000 watts daytime-only |
| Class | D |
| Facility ID | 52641 |
| Transmitter coordinates | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. (NAD83) |
| Callsign meaning | Peoria[1] |
| Former callsigns | WMMJ (1946–1949)[1][2] |
| Owner | Pinebrook Foundation, Inc. |
| Website | www.wpeo.com |
WPEO (1020 kHz) is a daytime-only AM radio station licensed for Peoria, Illinois. One of the oldest stations in Peoria, it was once a top 40 radio station before switching to Christian radio. Its studio and transmitter are just south of Illinois Central College in East Peoria, Illinois.
The station was first on the air from 1946 to 1949 as WMMJ, playing big band music and sports, but it had financial difficulties and went off the air.[1][2] WPEO signed on in August 1950, with its studios in the Jefferson Hotel downtown, and started its top 40 format in 1954, competing with 1290 WIRL. During this time, Harry Harrison was at WPEO as the "Morning Mayor of Peoria"[2] and station manager. In 1959, he left for New York's WMCA,[citation needed] and WPEO switched to country music in 1960.[1]
In 1970, WPEO was bought by the Pinebrook Foundation, Inc., a Pennsylvania-based non-profit corporation, and switched to a Christian radio format.[1][2] As of 2009[update], its programming is based on paid time for various national Christian programming sources. It is still restricted to daylight hours to protect clear-channel station KDKA in Pittsburgh.[2]
References
External links
- Query the FCC's AM station database for WPEO
- Radio-Locator Information on WPEO
- Query Nielsen Audio's AM station database for WPEO
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This article about a radio station in Illinois is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
- Articles with unsourced statements from January 2010
- Articles containing potentially dated statements from 2009
- Illinois radio station stubs
- Radio stations established in 1946
- Christian radio stations in the United States
- East Peoria, Illinois
- Radio stations in Peoria, Illinois
- 1946 establishments in Illinois
- Daytime only radio stations
