Jump to content

WJBR (AM)

Add links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For the Wilmington, Delaware, radio station that used this call sign from 1978 to 2003, seeWWTX.
WJBR
Broadcast areaTampa Bay
Frequency1010kHz
BrandingPodcast Radio US
Programming
FormatAll-podcasts
Ownership
Owner
WPBB,WLLD,WQYK-FM,WRBQ-FM,WYUU
History
First air date
November 7, 1960
(63 years ago)(1960-11-07)
Former call signs
  • WINQ (1960–1981)
  • WCBF (1981–1988)
  • WQYK (1988–2004)
  • WBZZ (2004–2006)
  • WQYK (2006–2012)
  • WHFS (2012–2023)[1]
Call signmeaning
warehousedfromWJBR-FMin Wilmington, Delaware
Technical information[2]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID28629
ClassB
Power
  • 50,000wattsday
  • 5,000 watts night
Transmitter coordinates
27°59′25″N82°15′6″W/ 27.99028°N 82.25167°W/27.99028; -82.25167
Translator(s)See § Translator
Repeater(s)104.7WRBQ-HD2(Tampa)
Links
Public license information
Websitepodcastradious.com

WJBR(1010kHz) is anAMradio stationlicensed toSeffner, Florida,United States, serving theTampa Baymarket with an all-podcastformat known as "Podcast Radio US". Owned by theBeasley Broadcast Group,the station'sstudiosare located on Executive Center Drive inSt. Petersburg.

By day, WJBR transmits with 50,000watts,the maximum for commercial AM stations. As1010 AMis aclear channel frequencyreserved forClass AstationsCFRBTorontoandCBRCalgary,WJBR must reduce power to 5,000 watts at night. Itstransmitteris off Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard (Florida State Road 574) in Seffner, using adirectional antennawith three-tower arrayto protect other stations from interference.[3]It is directional towards the east and west to protectWJXLJacksonvilleby day, which also operates on 1010 AM. WJBR'scall signwas granted by theFederal Communications Commissionon September 19, 2023.[1]It is also heard on oneFM translator,at 92.1MHzin Tampa.

History

[edit]

MOR and talk

[edit]

The stationsignedon the air on November 7, 1960, as WINQ.[4]It was founded by Rex Rand, the owner ofWINZinMiami.

In its early days, WINQ was anetwork affiliateof theMutual Broadcasting Systemand carried amiddle-of-the-road(MOR) music format. In 1967, WINQ became the first station in Tampa Bay to offer an all-talkformat, with network news and other programming fromCBS Radio(which would later own this station). WINQ switched to acountry musicformat in 1971, after the station was losing money on the talk programming.[5]

Christian programming

[edit]

By 1974, WINQ had changed to aChristian radiostation, featuring pre-recorded religious programing, withsouthern gospel musicfilling the breaks. In 1975, after an influx of call-in requests to Kevin MacKenzie's "LoveTree" Jesus Music Show, he and station manager Phil Scott agreed to continue in the direction ofChristian Rock.With the assistance of program director Bill Brown, WINQ became a full-timeChristian contemporarystation with live announcers, and launched what became the first commercially licensedChristian rockradio station in the country.

In late 1978, following Rand's death in a helicopter crash, the station was sold to different owners, who switched the format back to traditional religious programming, as WCBF ( "We're Christians By Faith" ), dropping theCCMformat and again featuring Christian talk and teaching programs produced by area churches.

CBS ownership and Howard Stern

[edit]

In 1987,Infinity Broadcasting,which ownedWQYK-FM,acquired WCBF. It was relaunched a year later as WQYK, returning it to a country format. During most hours, itsimulcastits FMsister stationWQYK-FM.[6]The simulcast did not last long.

The station has undergone many format changes since then, alternating between country, talk andsports radio.In July 2004, the station switched to ahot talkformat as WBZZ,1010 The Buzz,after acquiring the rights to thesyndicatedHoward Stern Show.[7][8]However, soon after Stern left for satellite radio in January 2006, the station switched to aclassic countryformat. Then, it changed back to all-sports as WQYK on August 10, 2007. Nanci "The Fabulous Sports Babe"Donnellan is one of WQYK's most notable alumni. The station served as Donnellan's flagship during her show's run on the now-defunctSports Fan Radio Network,from 1997 to 2001.

WQYK's sports format moved toWHFS-FM(98.7 FM, formerly WSJT) on August 2, 2012, under the brandingSportsRadio 98.7 The Fan.[9]The WHFS call sign hadpreviously been used on co-owned stationsinWashington, D. C.andBaltimoreand was"parked" or "warehoused"ona co-owned stationinWest Palm Beach.Concurrent with the move, WQYK changed its call sign to WHFS to match the FM station. The two stations simulcast until January 2, 2013, when the AM station became a full-time affiliate ofCBS Sports Radio.[10]Among the new hosts was Donnellan, who was heard in overnights.

Moneytalk Radio

[edit]
Logo before translator sign on

On October 2, 2014,CBS Radioannounced that it would trade all of the company's radio stations inCharlotteand Tampa (including WHFS), as well asWIPinPhiladelphia,to theBeasley Broadcast Groupin exchange for five stations inMiamiand Philadelphia.[11]The swap was completed on December 1, 2014.[12]

On December 31, 2014, at 10 a.m., WHFS dropped CBS Sports Radio and flipped to a simulcast ofWSBR'sMoneytalk Radioprogramming.[13]

WHFS aired financial and business shows under this format, some of which was paidbrokered programming.Nationally syndicatedshows includedThe Ramsey ShowwithDave Ramsey,The Mark Levin ShowandThe Ken Colman Show.WHFS carriedThe Schnitt ShowwithTodd Schnittuntil its end in July 2023. Weekends included programs on pets, gardening, religion, health, travel, food and wine. Most hours began with an update fromABC News Radio.

Podcast Radio US

[edit]

On September 19, 2023, WHFS changed its call sign to WJBR, which was warehoused from sister stationWJBR-FMinWilmington, Delaware,which Beasley was in the process of selling toVCY America.Three days later, on September 22, WJBR flipped to an all-podcastformat as "Podcast Radio US". WJBR was one of four Beasley stations to debut the format that day under an agreement between Beasley and the podcast originating company, the United Kingdom-based Podcast Radio Network.[14]

Translator

[edit]
Call sign Frequency City of license FID ERP(W) HAAT Class FCC info
W221DW 92.1 FM Tampa, Florida 138681 99 75m(246ft) D LMS

References

[edit]
  1. ^ab"Call Sign History".FCC Media Bureau CDBS Public Access Database.
  2. ^"Facility Technical Data for WJBR".Licensing and Management System.Federal Communications Commission.
  3. ^"Radio Station Finder: Search Results".radio-locator.com.
  4. ^"Broadcasting Yearbook 1963"(PDF).RetrievedMay 29,2015.
  5. ^"WINQ - A History".RadioYears.com.
  6. ^"WQYK AM & FM - A History".RadioYears.com.
  7. ^"WQYK drops sports talk format Series: 2B".Archivedfrom the original on March 4, 2016.RetrievedJuly 7,2017.
  8. ^"Stern finds home on Tampa Bay airwaves Series: 2B".Archivedfrom the original on March 4, 2016.RetrievedJuly 7,2017.
  9. ^"Local sports talk hits FM with 1010 simulcast".The Tampa Tribune.June 21, 2012. Archived fromthe originalon June 21, 2012.RetrievedJune 22,2012.
  10. ^Marcucci, Carl (June 21, 2012)."CBS Radio, Cumulus pact for" CBS Sports Radio "network".Radio Business Report.RetrievedJune 22,2012.
  11. ^CBS And Beasley Swap Philadelphia/Miami For Charlotte/Tampafrom Radio Insight (October 2, 2014)
  12. ^Venta, Lance (December 1, 2014)."CBS Beasley Deal Closes".RadioInsight.RetrievedDecember 1,2014.
  13. ^"Beasley Keeps Tampa Changes Coming".Radio Insight.RetrievedDecember 31,2014.
  14. ^"Beasley Launches Podcast Radio In Four Markets".radioinsight.com.RadioBB Networks. September 22, 2023.RetrievedSeptember 22,2023.
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=WJBR_(AM)&oldid=1253729753"