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WEEU

WEEU (830 AM) is a commercial radio station in Reading, Pennsylvania. It has a sports radio format and is owned by Treese Media Group, LLC, led by John and Kristine Treese.

WEEU is powered at 20,000 watts by day. Because AM 830 is a clear channel frequency reserved for Class A station WCCOinMinneapolis, WEEU must reduce power to 6,000 watts at night to avoid interference. It uses a six-tower array to create different directional signal patterns for daytime and nighttime. During the day, WEEU's signal is aimed toward the northwest and the southeast from its transmitterinShartlesville, near Interstate 78.^[2] During the evenings, WEEU's signal is directed toward the southeast, away from Minneapolis.

Programming[edit]

WEEU has two local talk shows during the day, including Mornings with Mike and Feedback. Weekends include Jack's Backyard, syndictated programs, and music.

State news is provided by RadioPA, and global and national news comes from ABC News Radio. During weekdays, WEEU carries syndicated conservative talk shows, including Dan Bongino, Rich Valdés America At Night, Red Eye Radio, and America in the Morning. WEEU also features a podcast about the history of Berks County called "Our Roots in Reading" hosted by Greg Kobylt, a WEEU personality.

WEEU airs local high school football and basketball games from area schools, and it is part of the Philadelphia Eagles Radio Network broadcasting Philadelphia Eagles games live, and the Philadelphia Phillies Radio Network, broadcasting Philadelphia Phillies games live.

History[edit]

On January 4, 1932, WEEU signed on the air on 830 kHz as a daytime-only station with 1,000 watts of power.^[3] It was owned by Berks Broadcasting with studios at 533 Penn Street.^[4]

In 1941, WEEU's frequency was changed to 850 kHz as a result of North American Regional Broadcasting Agreement (NARBA). In 1949, WEEU was granted fulltime authorization by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) by adding a directional nighttime signal. In 1999, WEEU moved back to 830 kHz with a more powerful 5,000 watts daytime and 6,000 watts nighttime signal from a new five-tower transmitter site just north of Interstate 78inShartlesville, Pennsylvania. In the early 2000s, WEEU added a sixth tower and upgraded its daytime signal to 20,000 watts, keeping its 6,000 watt nighttime power.

WEEU had been co-owned with the Reading Eagle daily newspaper. As a result of the bankruptcy of the Reading Eagle Company and the May 2019 sale of most its assets to MediaNews Group, WEEU was put up for sale. There were tentative plans to shut the station down at the completion of the sale of the newspaper, which was to take place before July 31, 2019. Any potential buyer would be allowed to use the station's transmission facilities for up to five years, if not sold by MediaNews Group beforehand.^[5]

In June 2019, Twilight Broadcasting agreed to purchase WEEU, allowing the station to remain on the air with most of its existing programming, though iHeartMedia station WRAW claimed programming from iHeart's Premiere Networks as the bankruptcy took effect. A local marketing agreement (LMA) began on July 1, 2019, upon the completion of MediaNews Group's acquisition of The Reading Eagle.^[6] The purchase was consummated on September 12, 2019, at a price of $88,500. Programming was simulcast on co-owned WBYNinLehighton, Pennsylvania until 2021.

The station was sold again to Treese Media Group LLC, led by John Treese (a previous deejay for WNPV, WQKX and WVLY-FM) and his wife Kristine, for $138,600 in November 2023. The sale closed on February 2, 2024; on that date, the station temporarily dropped the news/talk format for oldies while the station equipment was upgraded ahead of a February 5 relaunch.^[7]

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• Official website

• WEEU in the FCC AM station database
• WEEUinNielsen Audio's AM station database
• Facility details for Facility ID 70508 (WEEU) in the REC Networks database

• FCC History Cards for WEEU