WBAL (AM)

WBAL
Baltimore, Maryland; United States;
Broadcast area	Baltimore metropolitan area
Frequency	1090 kHz
Branding	WBAL Newsradio 1090 and FM 101.5
Programming
Format	News/talk
Affiliations	ABC News Radio; Premiere Networks; Fox News Talk; Westwood One; Baltimore Orioles Radio Network; Baltimore Ravens Radio Network;
Ownership
Owner	Hearst Communications
Sister stations	WBAL-TV, WIYY
History
First air date	November 2, 1925
Former frequencies	1220 kHz (1925–1927); 1050 kHz (1927–1928); 1060 kHz (1928–1941);
Call sign meaning	Baltimore
Technical information
Licensing authority	FCC
Facility ID	65679
Class	A
Power	50,000 watts
Transmitter coordinates	39°22′33.38″N 76°46′19.91″W / 39.3759389°N 76.7721972°W
Translator(s)	See § Translators
Repeater(s)	97.9 WIYY-HD2 (Baltimore)
Links
Public license information	Public file; LMS;
Webcast	Listen live
Website	www.wbal.com

WBAL (1090 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station licensed to Baltimore, Maryland. It is owned by the broadcasting division of Hearst Communications and broadcasts a news/talk radio format.^[3] The station shares its studios and offices with sister stations WBAL-TV (channel 11) and WIYY (97.9 FM) on Television Hill in Baltimore's Woodberry neighborhood. WBAL and WIYY are the only two radio stations owned by Hearst, which is primarily a publishing and television company.

WBAL is a 50,000-watt, Class A, clear-channel station. Its transmitter is on Winands Road in Randallstown, Maryland.^[4] Listeners in and around Baltimore can also hear the station on 136-watt FM translator station W268BA on 101.5 MHz.^[5] WBAL is non-directional by day but uses a directional antenna at night to protect the other Class A stations on 1090 AM, KAAY in Little Rock and XEPRS in Rosarito, Mexico. With a good radio, WBAL's nighttime signal can be heard in much of Eastern North America, reaching as far as Nova Scotia and Bermuda. Its daytime signal easily covers most of Maryland as well as the Washington metropolitan area, and parts of Delaware, Virginia and Pennsylvania. WBAL is Maryland's designated primary entry point for the Emergency Alert System.