View source for WHMS-FM

{{redirect|WHMS|the movie|When Harry Met Sally...}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox radio station
| name             = WHMS-FM
| logo             =
| city             = [[Champaign, Illinois]]
| area             = [[Champaign-Urbana]]
| branding         = ''Lite Rock 97.5''
| frequency        = 97.5 [[MHz]]
| repeater         =
| airdate          = {{start date and age|1949}} (as WDWS-FM)
| format           = [[Adult contemporary]]
| erp              = 50,000 [[watt]]s
| haat             = {{convert|109|meters}}
| class            = B
| facility_id      = 14962
| coordinates      = {{coord|40|5|4.00|N| 88|14|53.00|W|region:US-IL_type:landmark}}
| callsign_meaning = '''H'''elen '''M'''. '''S'''tevick (longtime publisher of ''[[The News-Gazette (Champaign-Urbana)|The News-Gazette]]'')<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.oldradio.com/archives/nelson/origins.call-list.html |title=Call Letter Origins |work=Radio History on the Web }}</ref>
| former_callsigns = WDWS-FM (1949–1988)
| affiliations     = [[Premiere Networks]]<BR>[[Fighting Illini Sports Network]]
| owner            = Community Media Group, Inc.
| licensee         = Champaign Multimedia Group, LLC
| sister_stations  = [[WDWS]], [[WKIO]]
| webcast          = [https://radio.securenetsystems.net/cwa/index.cfm?stationCallSign=WHMS Listen Live]
| website          = [http://www.whms.com/ whms.com] 
| licensing_authority= [[Federal Communications Commission|FCC]]
}}

'''WHMS-FM''' (97.5 [[Hertz|MHz]]) is a [[commercial radio|commercial]] [[radio station]] in [[Champaign, Illinois]].  It broadcasts an [[adult contemporary]] [[radio format]], switching to [[Christmas music]] for part of November and December.  WHMS-FM calls itself "Lite Rock 97.5" and is owned by [[The News-Gazette (Champaign-Urbana)|The News-Gazette]], the primary newspaper in the [[Champaign-Urbana Metropolitan Area]].

WHMS-FM has an [[effective radiated power]] (ERP) of 50,000 [[watt]]s, the maximum for most FM stations in Illinois.  The [[transmitter]] is on South Nell Street ([[U.S. Route 45 in Illinois|U.S. Route 45]]) at West Windsor Road in Champaign.

==Programming==
Along with co-owned 1400 [[WDWS]], WHMS-FM is the longtime broadcaster of the [[University of Illinois]] sports, [[simulcast]]ing all [[Illinois Fighting Illini football|Fighting Illini football]] and [[Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball|men's basketball]] games.  On weekday evenings, WHMS-FM carries the [[radio syndication|nationally syndicated]] ''[[Delilah Rene|Delilah]]'' call-in and request show from [[Premiere Networks]].

==History==
In 1949, the station [[sign-on|signed on]] as '''WDWS-FM''', a [[sister station]] to [[WDWS]] [[1400 AM]].  In its first decades, it mostly [[simulcast]] WDWS.  In the late 1960s, it switched to a [[beautiful music]] format, playing quarter hour sweeps of mostly soft, instrumental [[cover version]]s of popular songs, as well as [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] and [[Cinema of the United States|Hollywood]] show tunes.

In the 1980s, as the [[easy listening]] audience was beginning to age, the station added more vocals to the [[playlist]], eventually making the transition to [[soft adult contemporary]] music.  It was renamed '''WHMS-FM''' in 1988 in honor of Helen M. Stevick, longtime publisher of the News-Gazette.
[[File:WHMS LiteRock97.5 logo.png|thumb|Previous logo]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.whms.com/ WHMS-FM 97.5]
{{FM station data|14962|WHMS-FM}}

{{Champaign Radio}}
{{Adult Contemporary Radio Stations in Illinois}}

[[Category:Radio stations in Illinois|HMS-FM]]
[[Category:Champaign, Illinois]]
[[Category:Mainstream adult contemporary radio stations in the United States]]
[[Category:Radio stations established in 1949]]
[[Category:1949 establishments in Illinois]]