One of Family Radio's oldest broadcasts was a telephone-talk program called Open Forum in which Harold Camping, the network's co-founder, president and general manager, responded to callers' questions and comments, as they relate to the Bible, and used the platform to promote his various end-time predictions.

[1] Outside programming broadcast over the Family Radio network was limited as Camping considered the organized church apostate, and therefore devoid of God's Spirit and under Satan's control.

Originally founded by Richard H. Palmquist, with the assistance of Harold Camping[2] and Lloyd Lindquist as fellow members of the initial Board of Directors, Family Radio began obtaining FM broadcasting licenses on commercial frequencies in 1959,[2] and by 2006, was ranked 19th among top broadcast companies in number of radio stations owned.

[5][6][7] The network's promotion of these predictions caused some nations in Asia to prevent Family Radio from commencing operations in their countries.

The offer came with a catch – they were not to take possession of the stations until October 22, the day after Camping's revised set-date for the end of the world.

[26] WFSI would be purchased in November 2011 by CBS Radio, which converted the station to a Spanish language dance music format under the WLZL call sign.

Merlin Media, LLC struck a deal in December 2011 to acquire WKDN,[27] which was relaunched with a talk format under the WWIQ call sign.

In January 2012, Family Radio applied to the FCC to change the license of station WFME in Newark, New Jersey, near New York City, from non-commercial to commercial.

[29][30][31] Those rumors were confirmed on October 16, 2012, when it was announced that Family Stations would sell WFME to Atlanta-based Cumulus Media for an undisclosed price.

[32] A November message from Camping posted on the Family Radio website admitted, "Either we sell WFME or go off the air completely."

After 40 years on the air, WYFR, Family Radio's shortwave station located in Okeechobee, Florida, ceased operations on July 1, 2013.

During 2016, Family Radio moved its corporate offices and main studios from Oakland, where it had been based since the network's inception, to the adjacent East Bay city of Alameda.

The decision was made as part of an effort to both move away from Camping's theology, and to reintroduce programs from outside ministries into the network's schedule.

[37] The listenership of Family Radio understandably declined after the failed 1994 rapture prediction,[38] but before long the organization was again growing at a fast rate.

[44] Central to Camping's teaching was the belief that each sentence in the Bible is not to be understood only literally, but rather conveys multiple levels of cryptic meanings.

The California Attorney General's office has been asked by the Freedom from Religion Foundation to investigate Camping and Family Stations, Inc. for "Fraud and Deceit".