WRTB

Radio station in Winnebago, Illinois

Winnebago, Illinois

Broadcast areaRockford, IllinoisFrequency95.3 MHzBranding95.3 The BullProgrammingFormatCountryOwnershipOwner

Mid-West Family Broadcasting^[1]
(Long Nine, Inc.)

Sister stations

WXRX, WNTA, WGFBHistory

Former call signs

WRVI (1967–1974)
WYFE (1974–1985)
WKMQ (1985–2000)
WYHY (2000–2006)^[2]Technical informationFacility ID59620ClassAERP1,250 wattsHAAT156 meters (512 ft)LinksWebcastListen LiveWebsiteTheBullRockford.com

WRTB (95.3 FM, "The Bull") is a country music radio station licensed to serve Winnebago, Illinois, and serving the Rockford, Illinois, market. Before flipping to country, WRTB used the Bob FM format from August 1, 2006, to February 21, 2014.

History

The stations call letters were WRVI beginning in 1967, then WYFE-FM from 1974 to 1985. Its sister station was WYFE-AM (now silent). Together they were known locally as "The Great Ones...AM 1150 and FM 95" airing 'gold' formats.

From 1985 to 2000 the station was a popular oldies format with the call letters WKMQ. In 2000, the format was changed to classic hits as Y95 and call letters WYHY. The first lineup of WYHY featured Riley O Neil and Sky Drysdale, within the first ratings period the station went to #1. From 2002 to 2003 the station evolved into a classic rock format, and syndicated Bob & Tom moved from sister WXRX. In the mid-2000s following the sale to Maverick Media, the station changed formats again to Bob FM and call letters to WRTB.

On February 21, 2014, at 3:00 pm, WRTB changed their format to country, branded as "95.3 The Bull". The last song on 95.3 Bob FM was Talk To Ya Later by The Tubes, while the first song on 95.3 The Bull was How Do You Like Me Now?! by Toby Keith.^[3]

Awards and Nominations

In 2024, WRTB was nominated for "Radio Station of the Year (Small Market)" at 59th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards. ^[4]

References

^ "Maverick Media Sells EAU Claire & Rockford Clusters".
^ Call Sign Changes FCC.gov. Accessed May 14, 2010
^ Bull Charges Into Rockford
^ Nicholson, Jessica (2024-03-14). "2024 ACM Radio Awards Nominees Announced". Billboard. Retrieved 2024-04-24.

External links

WRTB in the FCC FM station database
WRTB in Nielsen Audio's FM station database

Radio stations in the Rockford metropolitan area (Illinois)

By AM frequency

1330
1440
1520

By FM frequency

LPFM	93.3 99.3
Translators	91.9 94.5 96.1 97.1 100.5 103.5 105.3 105.7

NOAA Weather Radio
frequency

162.475

Digital radio
by frequency & subchannel

By call sign

KZZ57
W220BL
W233AD
W241DF
W246DW
W263BJ
W278DE
W287BY
W289AB
WFEN
WFPS
WGFB
WHJG-LP
WILV
WKGL-FM
WLUV
WNIE
WNIJ
WNIU
WNTA
WQFL
WROK
WRTB
WSEY
WTPB-LP
WXRX
WXXQ
WYRB
WZKL
WZOK

Defunct stations

WJRL, WYFE, WKKN, WNTA (1150 AM)

Nearby regions: Aurora/Elgin/Wheaton; DeKalb; Dubuque; Kenosha/Waukegan; Janesville-Beloit/Jefferson County; LaSalle–Peru; Madison; Milwaukee–Racine; Quad Cities

See also: List of radio stations in Illinois

v t e Country radio stations in the state of Illinois
By AM frequency	750 910 920 980 1060 1230 1240 1330 1350 1360 1440 1510 1520 1530 1540 1550 1570
By FM frequency	92.1 92.1 92.9 93.7 94.1 94.3 94.3 94.9 95.1 95.3 95.7 95.7 95.9 96.3 96.5 96.9 97.3 97.3 97.5 97.7 98.3 98.3 98.5 99.1 99.3 99.5 99.5 99.9 100.1 100.3 100.3 100.5 100.9 101.3 101.7 101.7 101.9 102.1 102.1 102.3 102.3 102.3 102.5 102.7 103.7 103.7 104.1 104.5 104.9 105.5 105.9 105.9 106.1 106.5 107.3 107.7
By callsign	KSGM – Chester WAAG – Galesburg WAKO - Lawrenceville WALS – Oglesby WAUR - Somonauk WBBA-FM – Pittsfield WBWN – Le Roy WCAZ – Macomb WCCI – Savanna WCCQ – Crest Hill WCOY – Quincy WCRC – Effingham WDDD-FM – Johnston City WDUK – Havana WDZQ – Decatur WEBQ – Harrisburg WFMB-FM – Springfield WFPS – Freeport WFRL – Freeport WFYR – Elmwood WGEL – Greenville WGKC – Mahomet WGLC-FM – Mendota WHCO – Sparta WHET – West Frankfort WHPO – Hoopeston WIBH – Anna WIBK - Watseka WIBL – Fairbury WIBV – Mount Vernon WIXY – Champaign WJBC-FM – Pontiac WJDK-FM – Seneca WJRE – Galva WJVO – South Jacksonville WKJT – Teutopolis WLCN – Atlanta WLFZ – Springfield WLIQ – Quincy WLLR-FM – Davenport, Iowa WLUV – Loves Park WLWF – Marseilles WMCI – Mattoon WMCL – McLeansboro WMIX-FM – Mount Vernon WMKR – Pana WMOK – Metropolis WNLF - Macomb WOKZ – Fairfield WOOZ-FM – Harrisburg WRAM – Monmouth WRCV – Dixon WRIK – Brookport WRMJ – Aledo WRMS-FM – Beardstown WRUL – Carmi WRTB – Winnebago WRVY-FM – Henry WSEI – Olney WSIQ - Salem WSMI – Litchfield WSMI-FM – Litchfield WSVZ – Tower Hill WUSN – Chicago WXCL – Pekin WXNU – Saint Anne WXXQ – Freeport WYOT – Rochelle WYUR – Gilman WYXY – Savoy WZUS – Macon WZZT - Morrison
Defunct	WQQW - Highland (1510 AM)
See also adult contemporary classic hits college country news/talk NPR oldies religious rock sports top 40 urban other radio stations in Illinois