WDUR
 | |
| Broadcast area | Raleigh-Durham |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 1490kHz |
| Branding | "AM 1490" |
| Programming | |
| Format | Indian/South Asian |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| History | |
First air date | February 29,1948 |
Former call signs | WSSB |
Call signmeaning | Durham |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 36943 |
| Class | C |
| Power | 1,000Watts(unlimited) |
Transmitter coordinates | 35°58′04″N78°53′17″W/ 35.96778°N 78.88806°W |
| Translator(s) | 101.9W270DT (Durham) |
| Repeater(s) | 99.9WCMC-HD4(Holly Springs) |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen live(viaTuneIn) |
| Website | wdurfm |
WDUR(1490AM) is anIndian/South Asianradio stationinDurham, North Carolina,owned by Ravi Cherukuri, through licensee Arohi Media LLC. The station plays primarilyBollywood Hitswhile embracing the rest of the South Asian culture through news,Tamil/TeluguMusic and much more.
History
[edit]WSSB signed on the air on February 29, 1948,[2]occupying the 1490 kHz frequency that cross-town stationWDNCabandoned that same day to move down the dial to 620 kHz. In late 1951, WSSB merged operations with another Durham station,Mutual Broadcasting Systemaffiliate WHHT 1590 AM (which subsequently left the airwaves).
Charles Cook was a DJ when the station was the number oneTop 40station in Durham in the late 1960s. He played white and black artists, and he was one of the few white DJs to acknowledge black schools and their accomplishments.[3]
Ed Clinton was ownership in the 1950s, Lex Diamond introduced a 40 format and the studio left Durham to the transmitter. Steve Robbins ( "Rockin' Robin" ) and Gaylord "Jay" Wood were DJ's. (Ed Clinton adopted "Jay" as his official nickname.)
During the 1980s and 1990s WDUR played music targeting the black community. The station simulcastWFXCand WFXK until 1994, when it began playingR&B oldies.[4]Agospelformat began in October 1997 on WDUR and WZZU[5]which became what is nowWNNLThe Light 103.9.
By the mid-1990s, the station was owned byClear Channel Communicationsand, by the year 2000, simulcasted then-oldiesWTRG.For part of the 2000s the station aired the same programming asWTSB,asports talkstation. It was during that time when Clear Channel sold WDUR to Triangle Sports Broadcasters.
On August 27, 2007, an application[6]was filed with the FCC to transfer the license to Prieto Broadcasting, which agreed to pay $900,000 contingent on FCC approval, which was granted on October 15, 2007. Prieto Broadcasting is located inDoraville, Georgia,and specializes inSpanish languageradio targeting the Hispanic community.[7]WDUR later became Radio Luz 1490 AM, and aired theRegional Mexicanprogramming ofWETC.
The FCC process cited in the authorization requires that the parties notify the FCC within 90 days after approval that the transfer of the license and station to the new owner has been consummated. However, that notice was not received by the FCC and the license remained with Triangle Sports Broadcasters.[8]
Triangle Sports Broadcasters sold WDUR, and filed an application (314) on April 7, 2014 with FCC for license transfer to Arohi Media LLC., a Texas-based company owned by Ravi Cherukuri. FCC released a public notice on April 9, 2014 as part of this process.[9]On July 8, 2014, WDUR returned to the airwaves after a two-year hiatus under Arohi Media's ownership withIndianradio programming forSouth Asiancommunity – a first for the market. By January 2017, however, WDUR was simulcastingWRSV92.1 FM, a hip-hop formatted station in Rocky Mount, NC.
WDUR began broadcasting on FMtranslatorW252DK 98.3MHzFM on August 18, 2016. However, the translator was alleged to cause interference toWLUS,acountrystation licensed toClarksville, Virginiawhose transmitter is located nearBullocknear the North Carolina/Virginia border whose signal reaches the outer fringes of the Raleigh-Durham area. WLUS's parent company Lakes Media LLC encouraged its listeners in Durham, Wake, and Granville counties to submit a "listener declaration form" to the station in an attempt to convince the FCC to force WDUR's translator off the air, although Arohi Media denies this.[10][11]
After nearly a year of debate between Arohi Media, and Lakes Media LLC, theFederal Communications Commissionsent Arohi a letter requiring that translator W252DK cease operation immediately.[12][13]The translator's license has been suspended and is no longer found in the FCC database.[14]
The FCC has accepted a Petition for Reconsideration filed by Arohi Media on June 1, 2017.[15]
On August 22, 2017 WDUR’s translator on 98.3 FM went off the air, only to return in the summer of 2018 at low power. In November 2018, the station moved to 101.9 FM as W270DT.
As of late December 2017, WDUR has reverted to its South Asian format, breaking off the simulcast with WRSV. In addition to being heard at 1490 AM and the 101.9 FM translator, WDUR is also heard onWCMC-FM99.9 FM HD4.
References
[edit]- ^"Facility Technical Data for WDUR".Licensing and Management System.Federal Communications Commission.
- ^"WSSB Durham Launched; Guy Griffen Is Manager"(PDF).Broadcasting. March 8, 1948.Retrieved9 November2014.
- ^Laura Collins, "'Country Boy' Radio Personality Dies at 82,"The Herald-Sun,August 13, 2008.
- ^Stark, Phyllis (July 30, 1994). "Vox Jox".Billboard.Vol. 106, no. 31. p. 122.
- ^David Menconi, "ZZU Gospel Format Right Outta the Can",News & Observer,October 27, 1997.
- ^Application for consent to assignment of broadcast station license
- ^Prieto Broadcasting official website
- ^"Contract Filed for KDB-USC-SMC Deal".
- ^"Inside Radio, The Most Trusted News in Radio".www.insideradio.com.Archived fromthe originalon 2014-04-28.
- ^"Baltimore & Raleigh-Durham FMS Fight New Translators".
- ^http://wdurfm.com/2016/09/05/wdur-1490-am-and-wdur-98-3-fm/[dead link]
- ^"In re: W252DK, Durham, NC Interference Complaint"(PDF).Federal Communications Commission.May 9, 2017.RetrievedMay 12,2017.
- ^Ashworth, Susan (May 10, 2017)."Translator Ordered Off the Air after Interference Complaints".Radio World.RetrievedMay 12,2017.
- ^"W252DK Facility Record".United StatesFederal Communications Commission,audio division.
- ^Ashworth, Susan (June 6, 2017)."FCC Taking Second Look at Translator Ordered Off the Air".Radio World.RetrievedJune 8,2017.
External links
[edit]- Facility details for Facility ID 36943 (WDUR)in theFCCLicensing and Management System
- WDURinNielsen Audio's AM station database
- FCC History Cards for WDUR