WRYU

WRYU (1470 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station licensed to West Bend, Wisconsin, and covering Milwaukee's northern suburbs. The station is owned by David Magnum, through licensee Magnum Communications, Inc., and features a classic rock format. The radio studios and offices are on South Main Street in West Bend. WRYU carries the syndicated program John Tesh - Intelligence for Your Life.

WRYU

West Bend, Wisconsin
Broadcast area	Washington and Ozaukee Counties
Frequency	1470 kHz
Branding	WRYU 101.3
Programming
Format	Classic rock
Affiliations	Compass Media Networks
Ownership
Owner	David Magnum (Magnum Communications, Inc.)
Sister stations	WMBZ
History
First air date	November 1950 (1950-11)
Former call signs	WPJM (1950) WBKV (1950–2016) WIBD (2016–2024)
Call sign meaning	"We Rock You"
Technical information
Licensing authority	FCC
Facility ID	71541
Class	B
Power	2,500 watts
Transmitter coordinates	43°22′14.00″N 88°9′58.00″W
Translator(s)	93.9 W230DJ (Cedarburg) 101.3 W267CL (West Bend)
Links
Public license information	Public file LMS
Webcast	Listen live
Website	rockwryu.com

WRYU is a Class B AM station powered at 2,500 watts. To protect other stations on 1470 AM from interference, it uses a directional antenna with a four-tower array. The signal covers Washington and Ozaukee Counties. The transmitter is on Hron Road in West Bend. Programming is also heard on FM translators W230DJ at 93.9 MHz and W267CL at 101.3 MHz.

History

MOR and classic country

The station signed on the air in November 1950 (1950-11). Its original call sign was WPJM, changing shortly afterward to WBKV. It was a 1,000-watt daytimer, required to go off the air at night. WBKV aired a full service format featuring local news, talk and middle of the road (MOR) popular music. The schedule included local high school sports and Wisconsin college sports. In 1958, a sister station was added, 92.9 WBKV-FM (later WBWI and currently WMBZ).

Around 2001, WBKV flipped to a satellite-delivered classic country format to complement sister WBWI-FM, which has a contemporary country music sound. The local morning show was retained but other shows were cancelled. Most of the dayparts during the classic country period were covered by Jones Radio Network's classic country feed. There were voicetracked breaks from local staff in afternoon drive during the week for a few years. Classic country lasted for 12 years.

Talk radio

The station flipped to a talk radio format around March, 2013. WBKV was branded as "LOCAL News/Talk". In addition to covering local high school sports – football, basketball, and baseball – WBKV was also an affiliate of the Wisconsin Badgers Radio Network.

On June 25, 2014, Bliss Communications announced that it would sell WBKV and WBWI-FM, along with sister stations WRJN and WEZY in Racine. The new owner was David Magnum's Magnum Communications, Inc. Bliss had owned WBKV and WBWI since 1970. The sale, at a price of $2.25 million, was consummated on October 31, 2014.

Classic hits - oldies

On February 7, 2015, WBKV changed its format to classic hits and oldies, branded as "Kool Variety 1470". The station's playlist consisted of the hits of the 1960s, '70s and '80s. WBKV also carried updates from Westwood One News until the network ceased operations in 2020.

On October 28, 2016, WBKV changed its call sign to WIBD. It also added an FM translator at 101.3 FM. The station rebranded as "101.3 and 1470 WIBD".

Classic rock

The station changed its call sign to WRYU on January 10, 2024. On February 11, 2024, WRYU changed its format from classic hits to classic rock, using the tagline "We Rock You".

Previous logos

External links

• Facility details for Facility ID 71541 (WRYU) in the FCC Licensing and Management System
• WRYU in Nielsen Audio's AM station database
• Facility details for Facility ID 147649 (W230DJ) in the FCC Licensing and Management System
• W230DJ at FCCdata.org
• Facility details for Facility ID 150574 (W267CL) in the FCC Licensing and Management System
• W267CL at FCCdata.org