View source for WIAL

{{Infobox radio station
| name             = WIAL
| logo             = File:Logo_for_WIAL-FM_(I-94)_created_in_2020,_WIAL-FM2020Logo.png
| city             = [[Elk Mound, Wisconsin]]
| area             = [[Eau Claire, Wisconsin|Eau Claire]]-[[Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin|Chippewa Falls]]
| branding         = ''I-94''
| frequency        = 94.1 [[Megahertz|MHz]]
| airdate          = 1948
| format           = [[Hot adult contemporary]]
| erp              = 84,000 [[watt]]s
| haat             = {{convert|114|m|ft|0|abbr=on}}
| class            = C1
| facility_id      = 7063
| callsign_meaning =  Short for [[Interstate 94 in Wisconsin|Interstate 94]] (skirts around Eau Claire)
| former_callsigns = WEAU-FM (1948-59)
| owner            = [[Mid-West Family Broadcasting]]
| licensee         = Clear Water Brands, Inc.
| sister_stations  = [[WAXX]], [[WAYY]], [[WEAQ]], [[WECL]], [[WISM-FM|WISM]]
| webcast          = [https://player.listenlive.co/73911 Listen Live]
| website          = [http://www.i94online.com/ i94online.com]
| licensing_authority= [[Federal Communications Commission|FCC]]
}}
'''WIAL''' (94.1 [[FM broadcasting|FM]]) is a [[radio station]] in the [[Eau Claire, Wisconsin|Eau Claire]] area of [[Wisconsin]], with its studio/offices located in [[Altoona, Wisconsin]].  Its transmitter is located in [[Eau Claire, Wisconsin]].
==History==
The station began in 1948 as an easy listening station with the call letters WEAU-FM.  In 1959, the callsign was switched to WIAL, similar to "The Wonderful WAIL" (WAYL, now [[KXXR]]) in Minneapolis.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/getimportletter_exh.cgi?import_letter_id=81284&.pdf |title=FCC history cards |accessdate=26 February 2021}}</ref>  On November 1, 1982, WIAL switched formats to become [[Adult Contemporary]], in the wake of the transition of pop/rock formats from AM to FM stations and debuted the name "I-94" after [[Interstate 94]] which runs along the south and west side of Eau Claire. Right when 1986 rolled along, the station upgraded its format to [[Top 40]] to compete against [[WBIZ-FM]]. It currently airs a Hot Adult Contemporary format, with Tom Stryker mornings, Sue Kelly middays, and Jesse afternoons.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.i94online.com/meet-the-team/ |title=I-94 airstaff |accessdate=26 February 2021}}</ref>
WIAL was sold to Midwest Family Communications in 1991 along with sister WEAQ-AM.  In 1993 Midwest Family purchased WECL-FM.  Then the stations were sold to Central Communications (consisting of WAXX-FM & WAYY-AM) in 1996 and moved to the Central studios in Altoona, WI.  The five stations, along with the "then" new sister station WDRK-FM, were sold to Maverick Media, LLC, in 2003. In 2013, Mid-West Family Broadcasting Inc re-purchased WIAL (along with WEAQ-AM).
WIAL switched to a [[Adult contemporary music#Hot adult contemporary|Hot Adult Contemporary]] format in March 2003, and unveiled its current logo soon after. In 2005, the station shifted to a mainstream [[Adult Contemporary]] format.  On August 17, 2012, the station returned to a [[Adult contemporary music#Hot adult contemporary|Hot AC]] format.
WIAL and its Eau Claire sister stations, along with Maverick Media's [[Rockford, Illinois]] stations, were sold to Mid-West Family Broadcasting for $15.5 million. The purchase of the Eau Claire stations was consummated on October 1, 2013, while the Rockford station purchases were consummated on June 1, 2014.
Effective March 29, 2021, WIAL changed its city of license from [[Eau Claire, Wisconsin|Eau Claire]] to [[Elk Mound, Wisconsin|Elk Mound]].
==Previous logos==
{|style="margin: 0 auto;"
| [[Image:Original_"I-94"_logo_for_WIAL-FM_(used_1982_to_circa_1987).png|thumb|200px|WIAL logo 1982 to circa-1987]]
| [[Image:1990s-era_"I-94"_logo_for_WIAL-FM_(used_circa_1987_to_mid-1990s).png|thumb|200px|WIAL logo circa 1987-mid-1990s]]
| [[Image:Mid-1990s-2003-era_"I-94"_logo_for_WIAL-FM.png|thumb|200px|WIAL logo mid-1990s to 2003]]
| [[Image:WIAL I-94 logo.png|thumb|200px|WIAL logo 2003 to 2020]]
|}
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
*{{FM station data|7063|WIAL}}
{{Eau Claire Radio}}
{{Hot Adult Contemporary Radio Stations in Wisconsin}}
{{Authority control}}
{{Coord|44.830|N|91.447|W|type:landmark_region:US_source:FCC|display=title}}
[[Category:Radio stations in Wisconsin|IAL]]
[[Category:Hot adult contemporary radio stations in the United States]]
[[Category:Radio stations established in 1982]]
[[Category:1982 establishments in Wisconsin]]