WBOW

WBOW-FM

Terre Haute, Indiana
Broadcast area	Terre Haute, Indiana
Frequency	102.7 MHz
Branding	102.7 WBOW
Programming
Format	Classic hits
Ownership
Owner	Duey E. Wright (Midwest Communications, Inc.)
Sister stations	WWVR, WIBQ, WMGI, WBOW, WTHI-FM
History
First air date	1961 (as WPFR)
Former call signs	WPFR (1961-1983) WPFR-FM (1983-1991) WLEZ (1992-2003) WBOW-FM (2003-2012)
Technical information
Facility ID	6334
Class	B
ERP	28,000 watts
HAAT	201 meters
Transmitter coordinates	39°20′13.00″N 87°28′0.00″W
Links
Website	1027wbow.com

WBOW-FM (102.7 FM) is a radio station broadcasting a classic hits format. Licensed to Terre Haute, Indiana, it serves the Terre Haute metropolitan area. It first began broadcasting in 1961 under the call sign WPFR. The station is currently owned by Duey E. Wright through licensee Midwest Communications, Inc.

History

102.7 FM history

The station signed on in 1961 as WPFR. When its companion station AM 1300 now WIBQ adopted the WPFR-AM call sign on March 17, 1983, the call sign was changed to WPFR-FM with a Top 40/CHR format, under their nickname "WPFR, The All New Power 103". The company that owned WPFR and WPFR-AM went into bankruptcy and both stations went off the air in 1991. Bomar Broadcasting purchased the license for 102.7 FM in 1992 and changed the call sign to WLEZ on April 1, 1992. In September 1993, the station went back on the air with a beautiful music format after a new transmitter was constructed. By 1997, the format had shifted to a soft adult contemporary format which eventually was supplied by Jones Radio Network.

On May 12, 2003, the station was sold to Crossroads Communications. The call sign was changed to WBOW-FM on September 1, 2003, as "Light Rock B102-7," utilizing the legendary call sign that had been used on 1230 AM and 640 AM in the Terre Haute metropolitan area from 1927 until 2001 when 640 AM went dark. The legendary call sign was also picked up by sister station AM 1300 in 2002.

On July 1, 2012, WBOW-FM was sold by Crossroads Communications to Midwest Communications and changed its call letters to WDWQ and changed its format to Country, branded as "Q102.7." The sale of WDWQ and sister station WBOW was consummated on October 26, 2012, at a purchase price of $1.3 million.

WDWQ's facilities are located at 824 S. 3rd Street in Terre Haute, Indiana.

WDWQ switched to a classic hits format on December 26, 2017, and brought back the WBOW call letters.

WBOW history

WBOW was the first radio station in Terre Haute, Indiana. It began in 1927 as WRPI, a service of then Rose Polytechnic Institute. In 1932, it split from the school, went commercial, and took the call letters WBOW, which stand for Banks of the Wabash. It had at least one other frequency before receiving its assignment of 1230 kHz. For years, WBOW was a full-service news and top-40 voice, and often the leading station, in the Terre Haute area. It was long affiliated with NBC radio. In the early days of its existence, entertainer Burl Ives was a staff announcer at this radio station. In its waning years, its music had changed to adult standards and became affiliated with the ABC Information network. In 1992, WBOW moved to 640 kHz to gain a better signal and wider coverage, but shortly thereafter the station's programming became delivered entirely via satellite.

WBOW changed hands several times through the years, and ultimately went dark when Mike Rice, president of owner Contemporary Media, Inc., was convicted of four counts of forcible sodomy, six counts of deviate sexual assault in the first degree, and two counts of deviate sexual assault in the second degree and subsequently lost licenses to all his stations for lack of candor to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) during an investigation.

Former logos

External links

• WDWQ Website
• Facility details for Facility ID WDWQ ({{{2}}}) in the FCC Licensing and Management System
• {{{2}}} in Nielsen Audio's FM station database