WILL-FM

WILL-FM is a member of National Public Radio (NPR) and affiliated with Public Radio International (PRI) and American Public Media (APM). The format is classical music most of the day, but also includes simulcasts along with its AM sister of some of NPR's more popular shows. The primary signal is relayed by FM translator station W293AF at 106.5 MHz in Danville. WILL-FM's HD2 digital subchannel is a 24-hour music stream with the C-24 classical music service, along with WILL-FM's locally produced classical music shows. This programming is relayed by translator station W266AF 101.1 MHz in Urbana, but moved exclusively to a webstream on February 1, 2024. At that time, the station and subchannel adopted a format branded as "Illinois Soul", consisting of a hybrid mix of smooth jazz, neo soul, R&B, and classic hip-hop music, along with African-American hosted NPR programs such as Code Switch and ''It's Been a Minute'' and shows hosted by Will Downing and Robert Glasper. WILL-FM's HD3 subchannel simulcasts the programming of WILL (AM), to make up for the reduced coverage that station's nighttime signal. The Illinois Radio Reader Service, a streaming audio service for the reading impaired, is broadcast over a restricted Subsidiary Communications Authority (SCA) subchannel. ==History==

In May 1940, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) authorized the creation of an FM broadcast band, effective January 1, 1941, operating on 40 channels spanning 42–50 MHz, with the first five channels reserved for educational stations. On July 16, 1941, the university filed an application for a station transmitting with 250 watts on 42.9 MHz. or "Illinois University, Champaign". Following a series of test transmissions, WIUC began regular operations on November 22, 1942, initially with a schedule of 4 to 5:30 p.m. on Monday afternoons. In mid-1945, the station's schedule was reported to be 7 to 10 p.m. on Tuesdays. In 1945 the FCC announced that, due to interference concerns, it was reallocating the current "low band" FM frequencies to other services, and existing FM stations would be relocated to a new "high band" of 88-106 MHz (later expanded to 108 MHz). In July 1946 the FCC further directed that FM stations currently operating on 42-44 MHz would have to move to new frequencies by the end of the year, and WIUC was reassigned from 42.9 to 44.7 MHz, although the university reported that the station was suspending operations until it was ready to broadcast on its "high band" frequency. WIUC's original "high band" assignment was at 91.7 MHz, and it began operation on this frequency in 1947. The station call sign was changed to WILL-FM in April 1954. WILL-FM was among the stations that helped to create NPR, and was one of the ninety that carried the premiere broadcast of All Things Considered in 1971. In 1974, WILL-FM began airing a classical music format separate from its AM sister station. In 1978 the Illinois Radio Reader Service, an audio service for the reading impaired, was introduced, broadcast over a WILL-FM subcarrier as a Subsidiary Communications Authority (SCA) transmission that could only be received by persons equipped with a special receiver loaned to qualified individuals. As of 2018 it was estimated that around 300 persons were supplied with the special receivers. WILL-FM began an HD Radio multicast in July 2008. ==See also==