1941: The Federal Communications Commission -for an unknown reason- changes dial locations (Frequencies) of All Indianapolis radio stations, moving WIBC from 930-AM to 1070-AM on the dial. 1070-AM was a clear channel until 2004, allowing the station to up its power to 5,000 watts and add nighttime programming.
1944: The Indianapolis News buys WIBC for $390.000.
1948: WIBC General Manager Richard Fairbanks buys the station for $ 392.00.
1949: WIBC becomes the first 50,000-watt radio station in the Mid-West.
1952: WIBC and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway start a partnership Radio Network and broadcast the 500-Mile Race nationally, live form the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Other popular programming at the time includes deejay Dick Sumner hosting a nightly music program from Merrill's Hi-Decker drive-in and Jim Shelton emceeing a man-on-the-street quiz show called "Pick-A-Pocket."
1957: Fred Heckman joins the station as news director, retaining the position for 35 years. The station begins to maintain a focus on news, covering such breaking-news events as the explosion at the Indiana State Fairgrounds Coliseum in 1963 and the Tony Kiritsis case in 1977.
1970s: Station moves from its old facilities at 2835 N. Illinois Street to the new Fairbanks Building at 9292 N. Meridian Street.
1983: Fairbanks Broadcasting sells WIBC and sister station WNAP-FM to John Blair and Co. of New York for $1.2 Million.
May 1984: WIBC signs a 3-year contract to the rights to broadcast All Colts games. 1070-WIBC-AM Starts Broadcasting in AM Stereo, and adopts the slogan "Radio Indiana, W-I-B-C Indianapolis"
1985: WIBC ranks first among all AM radio stations in the United States, in the Arbitron ratings.
1987: Sconnix Broadcasting Co. purchases WIBC for $2.8 Million and begins making changes to its news format, first downsizing the news staff and shifting to a "headline news" style.
1988: Popular morning man Gary Todd resigns and is replaced by Jeff Pigeon.
1991: Longtime newsman Joe Pickett retires, followed by news director Heckman in 1993.
1993: WIBC has adopted a "talk-radio" format and ranks third in the United States in the Arbitron ratings.
April 1994: Emmis Communications purchases WIBC and WNAP-FM from the Horizon Broadcast Corp., a local division of Sconnix for $28.9 Million.
May 2007: Big John Gillis, the station's longtime traffic reporter, retires after more than 40 years in the Indianapolis radio market.
Sept. 28, 2007: Jeff Pigeon announces on the air that he will be stepping down after his Monday broadcast, due to strife in within the business.
Oct. 8, 2007: Emmis announces that beginning January 7 programming on WIBC-AM (1070) will move to 93.1. FM (At the time was the frequency location of WNOU-FM) and become WIBC-FM, broadcasting a news/talk format. 1070-WIBC-AM started broadcasting an all-sports format as an affiliate of ESPN.
About 93.1-FM In the Indianapolis market.
July 4, 1968 at 8:00 AM: WNAP-FM (93.1), owned by Indianapolis-based Fairbanks Broadcasting, goes on the air, playing a wide variety of rock music and becoming popular with college-age students.
July 28, 1974: WNAP sponsors the first annual "Raft Race on the White River", north of Broad Ripple. It adopts the nickname "The Buzzard," and at the top of each hour, identifies itself as "The Wrath of the Buzzard -- WNAP, Indianapolis."
1985: WNAP becomes WEAG-FM -- "The Eagle" -- and switches to an adult contemporary format.
1987: Sconnix Broadcasting buys both WEAG and WIBC-FM for 5.5 Million.
1988: WEAG becomes WKLR and adopts an golden oldies format.
April 1994: Sconnix sells both WKLR and WIBC to then Emmis Broadcasting for $28.9 million. In the fall, WKLR switches back to WNAP and a '70s-rock format. It also begins broadcasting the syndicated Howard Stern Show live, unedited, and uncensored.
March 2000: WNAP morphs into WNOU -- RadioNow -- and begins to play pop contemporary hits such as 'N Sync, Backstreet Boys and Christina Aguilera.
Oct. 8, 2007: At noon, WNOU kicked off "93 Days of Christmas" music as Emmis announces that 93.1 will become WIBC-FM, an all news/talk station, and WNOU changes to a high-definition radio channel and moves to 100.9-FM and on the Web via streaming.
May, 2010: 93.1 WIBC falls to 150 in the Arbitron ratings, and is in last place of all local radio stations in Indianapolis.
Jan. 1, 2013: FCC approves power increase request to 13.500 Kw Effective Radiated Power
August 18, 2014: 93.1 WIBC announces, That its loosing revenue since moving to the FM dial. Reason being, FM has a shorter listening range of approximately only a 35 mile radius.
When WIBC was on AM it could be heard during day time hours (7:00 AM to 7:00 PM) within the whole state of Indiana and 20 to 30 miles in to each of the surrounding states, from the Indiana state line. In the early morning hours (3:00 AM to 5:00 AM) 1070-WIBC-AM could be heard as far as Texas, Virginia, Nebraska, and Lower parts of Ontario, Canada. There have been unconfirmed reports 1070 WIBC AM was heard in Hawaii, and Bermuda. There are a confirmed report 1070-WIBC-AM was heard in Germany, and France in January 1982, and again in January 1994.
April 8, 2015: Emmis Interactive -owner of WIBC- announces plans to simulcast WIBC on the AM dial at 1070 AM, but no start date has been announced.
April 13, 2015: Charlie Morgan announced, WIBC is dropping The Rush Limbaugh program. Charlie Morgan, an executive for Emmis Interactive, indicated that the decision to drop Limbaugh was about the "long-term direction of the station," Morgan also stated: "The Rush Limbaugh program is causing the station to loose it's listeners", but he also acknowledged that there was a "business element to the decision to drop Rush Limbaugh.
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