WHBC (AM)

WHBC is an AM radio station in Canton, Ohio operating on 1480 kHz and featuring a mixed news/talk and sports talk format supplemented with sports play-by-play.

The station is one of about 40 stations in the country that have split site transmitters—one site for daytime broadcasting and a different site for nighttime broadcasting. WHBC's daytime transmitter is located northeast of Canton off Diamond Street near Middlebranch Road. WHBC's night-time transmitter is located southwest of Canton off Gooding Street near the intersection of Sherman Church Avenue and Fohl Street. Its studios and offices are located in the historic WHBC building at 550 Market Avenue South in downtown Canton, where they have been for over 60 years.

History

WHBC is the oldest radio station in Canton. The license for the station was granted on February 13, 1925 to Father Edward P. Graham and the St. John Catholic Church . WHBC began broadcasting on March 9, 1925 at 1180 kHz with 100 watts. It was the first Catholic radio station on the air in the U.S., as WLWL in New York was not licensed until August 1925 . By the middle of 1927 the station had moved to 1270 kHz. Broadcasting had moved to 1200 kHz by the middle of 1930.