Indy Radio: iHM Drops Country For HipHop On 98.3 FM

iHeartMedia/Indianapolis has flipped Country WUBG 98.3 FM to Urban as Real 98.3, with the slogan “The new home of Hip Hop and R&B for Indianapolis.” New call letters are WRZL-FM.

The station will kick off with “10,000 joints in a row” commercial-free, featuring hits from Hip Hop and R&B artists like Drake, Nicki Minaj, Chris Brown, Usher, Jay-Z and Beyonce. In addition, Real 98.3 will be anchored by syndicated “The Breakfast Club” in mornings beginning November 3 and features DJ Envy, Angela Yee and Charlamagne Tha God.

“We are Nap’s new home for Hip Hop and R&B,” said iHeartMedia Indianapolis Senior VP/Programming Mike Killabrew. “There’s no better way to establish that than by kicking things off with 10,000 songs in a row.”

Real 98.3 joins a crowded field of hip-hop stations. WHHH 96.3 FM, WRWM 93.9 FM and W275BD Boom 102.9 FM ranked 10th, 14th and 20th, respectively, in September ratings compiled by Nielsen Audio.

“This is an exciting and powerful addition to the iHeartMedia Indianapolis portfolio,” added iHeartMedia’s Kentucky-Indiana Region and Senior VP/Urban Operations President Earl Jones. “Hip Hop is thriving and I can’t wait to get things rolling.”

WUBG 98.3 FM (3 Kw) Red=Local Coverage

Real 98.3’s full programming lineup will be announced soon. Fans can listen to Real 98.3 on the station’s website, www.real983fm.com, and on iHeartRadio, iHeartMedia’s all-in-one digital music and live streaming radio service.

In March 2003, ABC Radio purchased 98.3FM, Plainfield for $5.75 million, to become part of their "Radio Disney" brand. Last year, Radio Disney sold 98.3 FM, Plainfield for $1.95 million to iHeartMedia. iHeartMedia flipped the format to Country "Big 98.3" on July 17, 2015 at 4:00pm, to compete in-format with Cumulus' Country WFMS 95.5 FM and Emmis Communications' Country WLHK 97.1 FM in Shelbyville.