The NBC chimes are a sequence of three tones played on National Broadcasting Company (NBC) broadcasts. Originally developed in 1927 as seven notes, they were standardized to the current three-note version by the early 1930s, and possibly as early as 1929. The chimes were originally employed as an audible programming cue, used to alert network control engineers and the announcers at NBC's radio network affiliates. They soon became associated with NBC programming in general, and are an early example of an " interval signal " used to help establish a broadcaster's identity with its audience.
57-482: WBAP could refer to: WBAP (AM) , a radio station (820 AM) licensed to Fort Worth, Texas, United States WBAP-FM , a radio station (93.3 FM) licensed to Haltom City, Texas, United States KSCS , a radio station licensed to Fort Worth, Texas, United States; formerly WBAP-FM from 1949 to 1973 KTCK-FM , a radio station (96.7 FM) licensed to Flower Mound, Texas, United States; formerly WBAP-FM from 2010 to 2013 KXAS-TV ,
114-508: A "sound mark". The original radio broadcasting "sound mark" registration expired on November 3, 1992, after NBC Radio had become a content subsidiary of Westwood One . However, a second registration, made in 1971 and covering the "broadcasting of television programs", remains in force. Although the Rangertone chime machines had to be manually triggered, in 1950 RCA reported that the chimes now normally "sound automatically at 30 seconds before
171-456: A U.S. service mark. Actually, numerous earlier service marks had been approved, but previously they had been logos or descriptive names for the service being provided. What made the NBC chimes grant unique was that this was the first time that a service — in this case NBC's radio broadcasts — was granted protection for the use of a service mark that was a "purely audible" trademark, or what became known as
228-454: A charity fund-raising event for Cook Children's Hospital ("Hal Jay's Celebrity Roast"). Among those who attended were Baseball Hall-of-Famer Nolan Ryan and syndicated radio talk show host Sean Hannity . On June 12, 2007, WBAP was one of many Disney /ABC Radio stations sold to Citadel Broadcasting . That same year, WBAP transmitted iBiquity HD Radio (digital) during the daytime and when not airing sports programming, until abruptly ending
285-595: A consequence of the North American Regional Broadcasting Agreement (NARBA), WBAP and WFAA moved one last time, to 820 kHz. Carter eventually sold half of KGKO to A. H. Belo , owners of WFAA and the Dallas Morning News . On April 27, 1947, KGKO was replaced by a second shared frequency between WBAP and WFAA. On September 29, 1948, WBAP pioneered television service in Texas with
342-411: A contract agreement could not be reached. In the fall of 2010, WBAP began an agreement with Texas Christian University to air live play-by-play of TCU Horned Frogs football and TCU Horned Frogs men's basketball . The station carried every game of the undefeated football team in that first season. NBC chimes In 1950 the NBC chimes became the first "purely audio" service mark granted by
399-401: A few claimants appeared who stated they were the original inspiration for the practice. However, like the earliest days of the NBC chimes history, there is very little information available to evaluate these claims. The original chimes were played by hand by the announcers, which led to occasional errors and undesirable variations. In 1932 a standardized "chimeless chime", which promised to play
456-477: A program of dance so delightful that it drives all thoughts of care away." A 1942 NBC account of the origin of the chimes gave additional credit for their refinement to NBC chief engineer O. B. Hanson and Ernest LaPrade, an NBC orchestra leader. This account also states that there was an ongoing evolution during the developmental period, as the chime sequence originally consisted of seven notes, which, according to Ernest LaPrade, proved difficult to play correctly, so
513-504: A series of network affiliation changes in the late 1970s among WBAP, KRLD and WFAA, WBAP switched affiliations to ABC . WBAP changed to an news/talk format on October 25, 1993, calling itself "News/Talk 820". It was also the radio flagship radio station of the Texas Rangers baseball team, airing the play-by-play, pre-game and post-game broadcasts. Morning show host Hal Jay celebrated his 25-year anniversary with WBAP by organizing
570-424: A signature sound representing the network, but their primary initial purpose was to help ensure smooth network operations. In 1932, NBC stated that: "The purpose of the chimes... is to synchronize local station identification announcements and to serve as a cue to engineers at relay points all over the country to switch various branches of the networks on or off as the programs change every 15 minutes." This reflected
627-606: A television station licensed to Fort Worth, Texas, United States; formerly named WBAP-TV from 1948 to 1974 [REDACTED] Topics referred to by the same term This disambiguation page lists articles about radio and/or television stations with the same/similar call signs or branding. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=WBAP&oldid=1200577456 " Category : Broadcast call sign disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description
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#1732868874501684-613: A wavelength of 360 meters (about 833 kHz). It changed to 400 meters (750 kHz) in August 1922. The station shared time with Dallas stations WFAA and WRR . It was the first station in the United States to have an audible logo signal similar to the NBC chimes , the WBAP cowbell . According to President Herbert Hoover , the station's call letters stood for "We Bring A Program", although in reality,
741-683: Is also simulcast on WBAP-FM (93.3) in Haltom City . WBAP is a Class A clear-channel station , using a non-directional antenna . Its nighttime signal can often be heard throughout the Southern, Central, and Midwestern states and Northern Mexico, while its daytime signal provides at least secondary coverage from Oklahoma City to Austin . WBAP is one of the oldest radio stations in Texas, dating back to 1922 , when stations in Texas were still given call signs beginning with "W" instead of "K". WBAP and sister station KSCS are responsible for activation of
798-487: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages WBAP (AM) WBAP ( 820 kHz ) is an AM news/talk radio station licensed to Fort Worth, Texas , and serving the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex . WBAP is owned by Cumulus Media and broadcasts with 50,000 watts from a transmitter site in the northwest corner of Mansfield . Its programming
855-465: Is sound oriented, it was a natural development for stations to independently adopt a variety of audio signatures, which in some cases took the form of chimes. Examples existed from the earliest days of organized broadcasting, including at least three by the summer of 1923: What differentiated the NBC chimes from these earlier identifying sounds, at least in the beginning, is their use for network communications and coordination. Later they would also become
912-696: The NBC Red Network and the NBC Blue Network , however the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) was unhappy with this and worked to eliminate the common ownership. In late 1942 Phillips Carlin became vice president of programming at the soon-to-be independent Blue network, which later became the American Broadcasting Company (ABC). One of his first decisions was whether to adopt "a new set of chimes (as distinguished from
969-475: The North Texas Emergency Alert System when hazardous weather alerts , Disaster area declarations, and child abductions are issued. During a severe weather event on October 10, 2021, WBAP lost power along with much of its listening area. Brad Barton and several spotters had to broadcast its EAS and coverage via their 4G phones. WBAP began broadcasting May 2, 1922. It transmitted at
1026-518: The Radio Corporation of America (RCA). At the time the NBC chimes were being developed, GE was still RCA's largest shareholder and also held 30% of NBC's stock. As part of an antitrust case settlement, in late 1932 GE agreed to relinquish its RCA and NBC holdings. Fifty-four years later, RCA was repurchased and made defunct by GE, which rechristened the RCA Building to the "GE Building", and later
1083-569: The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office . They continue to be used as an audio signature by the NBC TV network and its affiliates, and also on the NBC Sports Radio network and at the opening of the hourly NBC News Radio broadcasts. Musical notation for the "G 3 E 4 C 4 " NBC chimes sequence The NBC chimes sound mark is currently assigned to NBCUniversal Media, LLC. Its official description, as recorded by its registration at
1140-444: The "Comcast Building" after GE divested itself of NBC. The small handheld chimes commonly used when the NBC chime sequence was being developed had only four tones: G, F, C and E. Given these limited choices, it was most likely only a coincidence that the adopted sequence matched GE's initials, and while useful as a mnemonic for remembering the notes' correct sequence, there is little evidence actually supporting any link. Because radio
1197-463: The "HD" digital transmission in early December 2008. Because the license to broadcast digital "HD Radio" is perpetual, the station could resume digital broadcasts at any time. For many years, WBAP was the flagship station for Dallas Stars hockey team, but relinquished the rights beginning in the 2009–2010 season, as on January 16, 2009, the Dallas Stars named KTCK as its new flagship station for
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#17328688745011254-462: The "broadcasting of radio programs". Notification of the pending application, which stated that the chimes had been in use since November 1927, was published by the Patent Office on January 17, 1950. There were no objections raised, so on April 4, 1950 the three notes of the NBC chimes became an officially registered service mark. It is sometimes incorrectly stated that this was the first grant of
1311-504: The 1940s and 1950, NBC produced an in-house magazine named NBC Chimes . [2] Danang Radio and Television in Vietnam has used this chimes and "The Tower" news music package since late 2017. A number of news theme packages have included the NBC chimes, for example ones made for exclusive use by NBC stations, or as a variant used by NBC stations in themes syndicated to stations regardless of network affiliation. Songwriters have also incorporated
1368-599: The FCC began to scrutinize ownership of broadcast stations and print media in the same market with the tightening of its rules, which disallowed new radio and/or television combinations with newspapers while grandfathering existing instances. Carter Publications' ownership of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and WBAP-AM-FM-TV was one of three which existed in the Dallas/Fort Worth market. However, Carter voluntarily ended
1425-486: The NBC affiliation). WFAA took on 570 kHz (and the ABC affiliation), but with only 5,000 watts full-time. Once the frequency-sharing with WFAA ended in 1970, both stations were free to program musical formats, and WBAP began programming a full service country music format. It also gained the added benefit of 820's clear-channel signal; previously WFAA controlled it during these prime nighttime hours. Also around this time,
1482-405: The NBC chimes are used when Huey, Dewey, and Louie fall on top of Donald. A number of Three Stooges shorts, such as The Ghost Talks , used the chimes when someone hit all three of them in the head. In the 1943 MGM animated short film Who Killed Who? , the NBC chimes are heard when a mysterious killer in a heavy black cloak and hood shoots him dead with a large pistol. For a few years in
1539-454: The NBC chimes now in use)", and the choice was to instead end their use on the Blue network. However, the remaining NBC network operations considered the chimes to be an important part of their corporate identity. In 1942, NBC estimated that the average listener heard the tones 16 times a day, while annually there were nearly 20 billion impressions worldwide. Once the NBC chimes became established,
1596-423: The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, is: The mark comprises a sequence of chime-like musical notes which are in the key of C and sound the notes G, E, C, the "G" being the one just below middle C, the "E" the one just above middle C, and the "C" being middle C, thereby to identify applicant's broadcasting service. While general information about the origin of the NBC chimes is well documented, precise details about
1653-666: The call letters were assigned sequentially, without any special meaning. On May 15, 1923, the Federal Radio Commission expanded the broadcast band, and WBAP and WFAA moved to 476 meters (about 630 kHz). Another expansion moved WBAP to 600 kHz effective June 15, 1927, and this frequency was shared with WOAI in San Antonio . On November 11, 1928 , WBAP moved to 800 kHz, and on June 1, 1929, WFAA also moved to 800 kHz, sharing time (and NBC Red Network affiliation) with WBAP. Station owner Amon G. Carter
1710-523: The change with a cowbell, which became widely associated with the station. Even though the stations swapped frequencies several times each day, the network affiliations remained constant: NBC network programming stayed on 820 kHz and ABC network programming stayed on 570 kHz. This frequently proved confusing for announcers and listeners alike. On May 1, 1970, the unique dual split-frequency lives of WBAP and WFAA ended when WBAP paid $ 3.5 million to WFAA in exchange for sole occupancy of 820 kHz (and
1767-471: The chimes being used in NBC programming as an audio signature. In 1938, NBC's Advertising and Promotions Director, E. P. H. James, made an agreement with NuTone Chimes of Cincinnati to provide chime sets for sale to the general public. The chimes were used in the dining cars for a few railroad and steamship company lines, starting with the Baltimore and Ohio and New York Central railroads . A line of toy chimes
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1824-519: The cross-ownership issue in January 1973, when it announced the sale of all its Fort Worth media interests. WBAP and its FM sister (now known as KSCS ), and the Star-Telegram were packaged to Capital Cities Communications for $ 64.5 million. LIN Broadcasting paid $ 35 million to acquire WBAP-TV, whose call letters were changed to KXAS-TV . The sales became final in the summer of 1974. After
1881-460: The discontinuation of the WBAP simulcast on 96.7 FM. It switched call letters to KTCK-FM as a simulcast of the sports radio programming on co-owned KTCK. Dan Bennet, the vice president/market manager of Cumulus, said he had "seen no ratings increase since adding the FM". Bennett added, "WBAP at 820 AM still covers 114 counties in the day and has been heard in up to 38 states at night and early morning before
1938-482: The earliest developments are not as clear, and in some cases researchers have come to differing conclusions. It is particularly difficult to establish exactly when the initial, longer, versions were pared down to the final three-tone sequence. A commonly suggested explanation for the chimes' "G-E-C" sequence is that it comes from the initials of the General Electric Company (GE). In 1987, Robert C. Wright ,
1995-489: The first NBC network broadcast on November 15, 1926. A 1950 internal NBC memo, "NBC Chimes: First Use of the famous NBC Chimes", states that "The use of chimes for identifying NBC was first conceived by Phillips Carlin ," and this memo has a timeline entry for December 22, 1926 that states: "Chimes purchased from Lesch Co for $ 48.50". Phillips Carlin was a well-known NBC announcer, who had experience employing chimes in radio broadcasts dating back to at least 1924. At that time he
2052-528: The hour and 30 seconds before the half hour". A December 1953 report in The Billboard noted: The NBC Radio chimes, trademark of the web for many years, will soon be trimmed from their traditional five seconds to three seconds. Thus they will conform with the timing of the chimes as aired by the NBC-TV web. The video network slashed the time quite a while back to give the affiliates 10 seconds instead of eight when
2109-485: The longer intervals were still in use until 1931, according to surviving network recordings. The use of signalling tones to indicate the end of a program would be unique to the NBC networks. The CBS Radio network , founded in 1927, never adopted anything similar, instead keying its network switching to the standard phrase "This is the Columbia Broadcasting System". Initially NBC had two national networks,
2166-568: The mid-1980s, these dedicated devices had been replaced by a magnetic tape cartridge recording of a chimes machine that was played back as needed. The "fourth chime" was a variation of the standard three-segment version, which repeated the closing "C" chime, to become "G-E-C-C". It was initially adopted as a paging method for the New York City area, summoning employees listening at home to report for work at NBC headquarters in order to assist with an important developing story. However, as knowledge of
2223-511: The network ordered multiple additional units, which were distributed to major sites throughout the United States, including Los Angeles, New York City, Chicago and San Francisco (which had two machines, a main one and a backup). About a dozen of the Ranger units are estimated to have been constructed, a few of which survive in collections. Around 1941 the Rangertone devices started to be replaced with an all-electronic system developed by NBC engineers. By
2280-407: The network to save money on infrastructure costs. Until 1933 it was common practice to run a second line that used telegraphic signalling to provide networking communication. After that date the normal policy was to eliminate this second line and send the networking cues over the program lines. Information about the early development of the NBC chimes is very sparse, although work began shortly after
2337-418: The next 5 years. With Cumulus Media's 2011 acquisition of Citadel, WBAP and KTCK became sister stations . Sister station KPMZ (later WBAP-FM, now KTCK-FM ) started simulcasting WBAP on 96.7 FM, March 15, 2010. Although broadcasting on a rimshot signal , management said that WBAP-FM provides "crystal-clear FM fidelity" for their listeners within 96.7's coverage area. On October 7, 2013, Cumulus announced
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2394-484: The notes consistently — one reviewer commented that "there will be no more sour notes from those NBC chimes — was developed by Richard H. Ranger , a former RCA engineer who had invented an electronic organ. Ranger's creation was a music box-style electro-mechanical device, which played the three-note sequence at the push of a button. The initial installation was made at New York City headquarters, and went into operation on September 18, 1932. Following successful tests,
2451-425: The opening of the state's first video outlet, NBC -TV network affiliate WBAP-TV on channel 5. A year later, WBAP added an FM station on 100.5, WBAP-FM. It moved to 96.3 MHz in 1955 and today is co-owned KSCS . The dual frequency sharing arrangement between WBAP and WFAA continued through the 1950s and 1960s, with the stations switching frequencies several times a day. When WBAP changed frequencies, it signaled
2508-465: The organization of the network schedule, which was divided into 15 minute program blocks. In addition, effective May 11, 1927, the Federal Radio Commission 's General Order No. 8 specified that each station was "directed to announce its call letters and location... not less than once during each 15 minutes of transmission". The use of the NBC chimes as network switching cues eventually allowed
2565-503: The other recorded examples, although composed of 4 tones, have pitches that appear to be significantly different. The use of the "fourth chime" ended shortly after the close of World War II. Prior to 1946, U.S. law limited registered trademarks to tangible goods. The law was changed that year to allow "service marks" for offered services, and, in an application made with the U.S. Patent Office on November 20, 1947, NBC filed for service mark protection for use of its chimes in conjunction with
2622-533: The outdoors. Brokered programming is also aired. Most hours on weekdays start with local news at the top of the hour while on nights and weekends, Fox News Radio is heard. WBAP is the flagship station of Westwood One's nationally syndicated Red Eye Radio (formerly Midnight Trucking Radio Network ), that traces its roots to Bill Mack 's overnight show from 1969. Hosts Eric Harley and Gary McNamara are heard live locally weeknights, with "Best Of" programs heard weekend overnights. Prior to Citadel's takeover of
2679-494: The outlets began selling shared identifications to sponsors. The use of the chimes as a network communications signal ended around 1971, the result of automation, which in the case of radio led to shorter tones and "chirps" that were commonly filtered out by the stations so they were unheard by listeners, and in the case of television included use of the vertical blanking interval to transmit cues that were not seen by viewers. However, subsequently there have been numerous examples of
2736-597: The president and C.E.O. of NBC, testified before the U.S. Congress that "Not everyone knows that GE was one of the original founders of RCA, NBC's former parent, and that the notes of the famous NBC chimes are G-E-C, standing for the General Electric Company." References to this purported link date back to at least 1945. However, this was over a decade after the NBC chimes were adopted, and NBC's own early historical reviews make no mention of this supposed origin. In 1919, General Electric founded NBC's parent company,
2793-402: The sequence was shortened to five, then four, and finally three notes. The notes were manually played on four-bar chime sets manufactured by the J.C. Deagan Company of Chicago. Additional reports state that the initial sequence was G-C-F-E-G-C-E, which became G-C-G-E and then just G-E-C. November 29, 1929 is sometimes reported to be the date that the three-tone sequence was adopted; however,
2850-452: The signal's meaning spread, it also became a way to notify affiliate stations and knowledgeable listeners of pending urgent programming. The "fourth chime" was first used in 1937 in response to the Hindenburg disaster , and saw a majority of its use during World War II . An NBC account of its employment at the start of the " D-day " invasion on June 6, 1944, stated: "At 2:30 a.m. the network
2907-601: The station began simulcasting on KLIF-FM 93.3 , replacing the 1990s/2000s hits-formatted "Hot 93.3". WBAP airs both local and nationally syndicated shows. Weekdays begins with the WBAP Morning News with Hal Jay & Ernie Brown followed by Casey Bartholomew late mornings and Chris Krok evenings. The syndicated shows come from the co-owned Westwood One Network : Dan Bongino , Mark Levin and on weekends Chris Plante , Rich Valdes and Ben Ferguson . Weekends include shows on money, cars, home improvement, real estate and
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#17328688745012964-465: The station in August 2007, talk show host Mark Davis 's show was a full three hours, (9 A.M. to Noon). As a result, Rush Limbaugh , Sean Hannity and Mark Levin were all forced to air on a one-hour tape delay. However, with Citadel's ownership of the station, Davis's show was both cut in length and shifted back by a half-hour, to carry the top-rated talkers live. Davis departed the station in March 2012 when
3021-507: The sun comes up. WBAP at 820 is one of the biggest radio signals in America." The WBAP simulcast moved to the second HD Radio channel of KPLX . In 2015, WBAP ended decades of ABC News Radio affiliation and changed its national news feed to Westwood One News . On August 31, 2020, after the shutdown of Westwood One News, WBAP switched its national news affiliation to Fox News Radio . WBAP's programming returned to FM on January 3, 2024, when
3078-400: Was also produced. That same year the network's fans could buy their own set of chimes from NBC for $ 2.95 each, with the suggested uses of "Call your family to dinner . . .signal your maid". 1938 also saw the installation of outdoor clocks, in New York City and Chicago, that rang the NBC chimes on-the-hour. In the 1940 Disney animated short film Fire Chief starring Donald Duck ,
3135-410: Was put on 'flash' basis; the NBC four-chime-alert calling all newsmen and commentators to their microphones, key operating personnel to their stations, sounded from the newsroom control room." There are very few recorded examples of fourth chime transmissions. Although NBC publicity, and some of the contemporary recordings, agree that the "fourth chime" sequence merely repeated a "C" at the end, some of
3192-788: Was the announcer for the Silvertown Chimes program, which was broadcast over the "WEAF chain" network originating in New York City. (WEAF was owned by the American Telephone & Telegraph Company (AT&T). In 1927, after the RCA bought out AT&T's radio operations, the WEAF chain was reorganized as the NBC Red Network .) A contemporary review of this show noted that each program opened with "the soft ringing of chimes", followed by Carlin's announcement that "The Silvertown Chimes have rung out their greeting. Each week they have announced an hour of music,
3249-612: Was unhappy with having to share time on 800 kHz with WFAA. Carter Publishing purchased KGKO in Wichita Falls (570 kHz) and moved it to Fort Worth as an affiliate of the NBC Blue network (which became ABC ), and more importantly as a second frequency to be used when 800 kHz was not available. The sale was approved by the Federal Communications Commission September 24, 1935. On March 29, 1941, as
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