Nationwide Communications Inc., originally known as Peoples Broadcasting Corporation, was a media subsidiary of the Nationwide Insurance Company, which operated from 1946 until 1997. Based in Columbus, Ohio, Nationwide Communications owned and operated a variety of radio and television stations across the United States until it sold off all its radio stations to Cincinnati-based Jacor for a reported $620 million, and its television stations to Young Broadcasting. The service division was spun off and became Nationwide Communications Services L.L.C. in 1998.
In 1946, the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation first got into broadcasting through a radio service for farmers on WRFD, Columbus, Ohio, an AM radio station. The Ohio Farm Bureau was dedicated to serving farmers in Ohio, but as its other pursuits (chiefly the Farm Bureau Mutual Automobile Insurance Company) were increasingly made available to non-farmers, the Farm Bureau spun off these ventures into a separate corporation. WRFD continued to serve farmers, and indeed, still carries farm programming today under the ownership of Salem Media of Ohio. However, other Farm Bureau stations—most notably WRFD-FM, now known as WNCI—were transferred to this umbrella corporation, known today as the Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company & Affiliated Companies. The group of stations became known as Nationwide Communications, after its parent company.
Nationwide Communications owned a total of five television stations, though none in its home market of Columbus, or Ohio. The first television station it owned was KVTV-TV (now KCAU-TV) in Sioux City, Iowa, which was sold in 1965 to purchase WATE-TV, Channel 6, Knoxville, Tennessee. The company's second purchase was WXEX-TV (now WRIC-TV), Channel 8, Petersburg, Virginia in 1968, its third station was WBAY-TV, Channel 2, Green Bay, Wisconsin, purchased in 1974, and its fourth station purchase was KITN (now WFTC), Channel 29, in Minneapolis in 1985. Three of the four stations were ABC affiliates (WXEX-TV switched from NBC to ABC in 1965, WATE-TV switched from NBC to ABC in 1979, and WBAY-TV switched from CBS to ABC in 1992); the fourth (KITN/WFTC) was an independent and later a Fox affiliate while under Nationwide's stewardship. Nationwide Communications sold all three of its ABC-affiliated television stations in 1993 to Young Broadcasting, a subsidiary of Adam Young, Incorporated, a TV station advertising representation firm; WFTC was sold to Clear Channel Communications the next year. In November 2013, Young merged with Media General, and then itself was merged with Nexstar Media Group in January 2017. WATE and WRIC are now under that company's ownership, while WBAY was spun-off to Gray Television.
In 1967, Peoples received a construction permit for channel 47 in Columbus, Ohio. The station was designated WNCI-TV. After disputes over tower siting, the allocation was changed to channel 28. Nationwide opted not to construct WNCI-TV in light of a pending rulemaking at the FCC that proposed limiting one company to owning one television station, one radio station, or one newspaper in a market. Nationwide, which already owned AM and FM stations in Columbus, was unsuccessful in an attempt to sell the TV permit.
Before ceasing operations, Nationwide Communications was the 16th-largest radio group in the United States. Throughout its history, Nationwide owned and operated radio stations in Minnesota, Florida, Ohio, Nevada, Texas, Arizona, Maryland, North Carolina, Virginia, Washington and California.
List of former assets All stations are arranged alphabetically by state and by city of license. (**) – Indicates a station that was built and signed-on by Nationwide Communications or predecessor Peoples Broadcasting Corporation.
Radio stations AM Station FM Station City of license / Market Station Years owned Current status Phoenix, AZ KCHT/KHTC/KGLQ 96.9 1995–1998 KMXP, owned by iHeartMedia KZZP-FM/KVRY 104.7 1985–1998 KZZP, owned by iHeartMedia Tucson, AZ KNST 940 1985–1993 KGMS, owned by Robert and Luann Wilkins KRQQ 93.7 1985–1993 Owned by iHeartMedia Sacramento, CA KZAP/KNCI 98.5 1985–1994 KRXQ, owned by Audacy, Inc. San Diego, CA KCEO 1000 1996–1997 Owned by Immaculate Heart Radio KFSD-FM/KXGL 94.1 1996–1998 KMYI, owned by iHeartMedia KUPR/KMCG 95.7 1996–1998 KSSX, owned by iHeartMedia San Jose, CA KWSS 94.5 1985–1991 KBAY, owned by Alpha Media Orlando, FL WZKD 950 1982–1983 WORL, owned by Salem Media Group WBJW-FM 105.1 1982–1996 WOMX-FM, owned by Audacy, Inc. Winter Park, FL WBJW-AM 1140 1982–1986 WPRD, owned by J & V Communications, Inc. Des Moines, IA KSO/KGGO/KDMI 1460 1980s–1990s KXNO, owned by iHeartMedia Baltimore, MD WPOC 93.1 1974–1998 Owned by iHeartMedia Minneapolis–St. Paul, MN KMJZ/KSGS 950 1995–1998 KTNF, owned by JR Broadcasting KMJZ-FM 104.1 1995–1998 KZJK, owned by Audacy, Inc. Las Vegas–Henderson, NV KMJJ/KZAP/KXNO 1140 1985–1996 Defunct, ceased operations in 2023 as KXST KLUC-FM 98.5 1985–1995 Owned by Audacy, Inc. Greensboro–Winston-Salem–High Point, NC WKZL 107.5 1981–1991 Owned by Dick Broadcasting Cleveland, OH WGAR 1220 1953–1990 WHKW, owned by Salem Media Group WNCR/WKSW/WGAR-FM 99.5 1953–1998 Owned by iHeartMedia WMMS 100.7 1996–1998 Owned by iHeartMedia WMJI 105.7 1996–1998 Owned by iHeartMedia Columbus, OH WRFD 880 ** 1947–1974 Owned by Salem Media Group WCOL/WFII 1230 1994–1998 WYTS, owned by iHeartMedia WCOL-FM 92.3 1994–1998 Owned by iHeartMedia WRFD-FM/WNCI 97.9 ** 1961–1998 Owned by iHeartMedia Dallas–Fort Worth, TX KEGL 97.1 1996–1998 Owned by iHeartMedia KDMX 102.9 1991–1998 Owned by iHeartMedia Houston–Galveston, TX KLEF 94.5 1970s KTBZ-FM, owned by iHeartMedia KHMX 96.5 1989–1998 Owned by Audacy, Inc. Petersburg–Richmond, VA WLEE 1480 1968–1983 Defunct, ceased operations in 1988 Seattle–Tacoma, WA KISW 99.9 1987–1996 Owned by Audacy, Inc.
Television stations City of license / Market Station Channel Years owned Current status Sioux City, IA KVTV ** 9 1957–1965 ABC affiliate KCAU-TV, owned by Nexstar Media Group Minneapolis–St. Paul, MN KITN-TV 29 1985–1993 MyNetworkTV affiliate WFTC, owned by Fox Television Stations Knoxville, TN WATE-TV 6 1965–1994 ABC affiliate owned by Nexstar Media Group Richmond, VA WXEX-TV/WRIC-TV 8 1967–1994 ABC affiliate owned by Nexstar Media Group Green Bay, WI WBAY-TV 2 1974–1994 ABC affiliate owned by Gray Media
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