WIYY

WIYY (97.9 FM, "98 Rock") is an active rock radio station in Baltimore, Maryland, USA, owned by the Hearst Corporation. WIYY shares a facility with sister stations WBAL (1090 AM) and WBAL-TV (channel 11) on Television Hill in the Woodberry section of Baltimore, near the transmission tower it shares with WBAL-TV. WIYY and WBAL are the only two radio stations owned by the Hearst Corporation.

History

The 97.9 frequency in Baltimore began in January 1948 as WMAR-FM, owned by the A.S. Abell Company, publishers of the Baltimore Sun and founders of WMAR-TV, Baltimore's first television station. The first station to use those call letters (and not related to the second WMAR-FM at 106.5, now WWMX), WMAR-FM was a collaborative partner of Transit Rides Inc., developer of a music format designed for public transportation and owned by the Cincinnati-based Taft family. After two years on the air, Abell shut down the radio station in June 1950 and turned in its license to the Federal Communications Commission.