WBEL was signed on in 1948 by pioneer broadcaster and engineer Russ Salter. The station originally focused primarily on the local Beloit, Wisconsin, area, with an adult standards format and talk radio programming. In August 1998, the station made the switch to a sports radio format affiliated with ESPN Radio, changed its call sign to WTJK, "The Jock" and began marketing itself to the Janesville and Rockford, Illinois, areas.[3] In 2001, Shelly Salter, CEO of Salter Broadcasting Company (SBC) and daughter of Russ Salter, sold the station to Good Karma Broadcasting. WTJK became the first ESPN Radio station for Good Karma Broadcasting.
WBEL's logo as "The Big AM 1380"
In January 2014, Good Karma announced that it would sell WTJK and sister station WWHG (105.9 FM) to Scott Thompson's Big Radio; as part of the deal, the new owners began operating the stations through a local marketing agreement on February 1. Big Radio announced that it would decrease WTJK's ESPN Radio programming and add more local news;[4] on April 14, 2014, the station converted to a talk radio format, featuring local programming (including drive time simulcasts with sister station WEKZ-FM) from 5 a.m. to 6 p.m.; ESPN Radio programming continued to be carried during nights and weekends.[5][6] The sale was completed on May 12, 2014 at a purchase price of $1.45 million.[7] On October 13, 2014, the call sign were changed back to WBEL.[8]
On May 1, 2017, WBEL changed their format from news/talk to oldies. On October 9, 2017, WBEL changed their format from oldies to 1990s hits, branded as "The Beat 92.3/98.9" (simulcast on translators W222AU 92.3 FM Beloit and W255CZ 98.9 FM Janesville).[9]
In 2011, WTJK debuted four football talk shows: Wisconsin Prep Preview, focusing on Southern Wisconsin high school football with emphasis on the WIAA Big Eight Conference; NIC-10 Tonight, focusing on Northern Illinois high school football with emphasis on the Northern Illinois Conference; Campus Kickoff, a weekly college football show with emphasis on Wisconsin Badgers football, Northern Illinois Huskies football, and Wisconsin-Whitewater Warhawks football; and The Sunday Sideline Report, a wide-ranging Sunday morning show with preps and college recaps, and NFL previews, with emphasis on the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers. These shows run seasonally during the fall and winter. All of these shows returned in 2012 with the exception of Campus Kickoff.
In 2012, WTJK premiered The Prep Corner, a one-hour talk show on Saturday mornings looking back at the high school football action from Northern Illinois and Southern Wisconsin. The show's launch coincided with The Prep Corner on the station's website, featuring stories, standings, previews and polls on the local high school football scene.
As a talk station, WBEL's programming included a morning drive program, The Morning Mess, hosted by Scott Thompson; Jock Talk, carried over from WTJK's sports format, in middays; and afternoon drive program The Afternoon Drive hosted by Sly. WBEL featured ESPN Radio programming during nights and weekends.[6]
