WBCT
This articleneeds additional citations forverification.(May 2012) |
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Broadcast area | Grand Rapids-Kalamazoo |
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Frequency | 93.7MHz(HD Radio) |
Branding | B-93 |
Programming | |
Format | Country |
Ownership | |
Owner |
|
WBFX,WMAX-FM,WOOD,WSNX-FM,WSRW-FM,WTKG | |
History | |
First air date | October1951 |
Former call signs | WJEF-FM (1951–1963) WJFM (1963–1992) |
Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
Facility ID | 73606 |
Class | B |
ERP | 320,000watts |
HAAT | 238 meters (781 ft) |
Links | |
Public license information | |
Webcast | Listen Live |
Website | b93.iheart |
WBCT(93.7FM,"B-93" ) is a commercialradio stationlicensedtoGrand Rapids, Michigan,and owned byiHeartMedia.The studios and offices are located at 77 Monroe Center in Downtown Grand Rapids. The station has had acountry musicradio formatsince July 24, 1992.
WBCT'stransmitteris at theWWMTTV Tower inYankee Springs TownshipnearGun Lake.WBCT has the distinction of broadcasting with the highest power of anyNorth Americanradio station, at 320,000wattseffective radiated power(ERP). The antenna is approximately 800 feet (240 m) up the 1,100-foot (340 m) structure. The station's signal can be heard as far east asHowell, Michigan,as far south asRome City, Indiana,and as far north asReed City, Michigan,far west asMilwaukee, Wisconsin,providing a coverage area of 25,000 square miles (65,000 km2) over 20 counties in Michigan. WBCT is a Class B "SuperpowerGrandfathered"station, meaning its power was granted before theFederal Communications Commissionset maximum standards for FM radio stations. The maximum ERP that would be granted today, under FCC rules, using the sameantenna heightof 238 meters, would be 20,000 watts.[2]Grand Rapids has two other superpower grandfathered stations, 105.7WSRW-FMat 265,000 watts and 104.1WVGRat 96,000 watts.
WBCT is licensed forHD Radiooperation, and carries The Nashville Channel on itsHD2subchannel.[3]
History
[edit]WJEF-FM/The Modern Sound
[edit]The station began operations in October 1951[4]asWJEF-FM,simulcastingsister stationWJEF (1230 AM, nowWTKG). In 1960, WJEF-FM broke away from the simulcast and began playingclassical music.That year, the station increased its power to 500,000 watts. This was under the ownership ofJohn Fetzer,who also previously owned WKZO-TV (nowWWMT), WWTV-FM (nowWJZQ) inCadillac,and theDetroit Tigersbaseballteam. WJEF also owned and operated aMuzakfranchise it broadcast on a sub-carrier.
In the mid-1960s, the station, then known asWJFM,switched to aMOR/news/talk/sports format, and in 1967 became more music-intensive, adopting the moniker "The Modern Sound," which Fetzer reportedly soon did away with because he felt the station played too much "rock and roll."From that point and through much of the 1970s, apart from anautomatedcountry format in 1971–1972, WJFM was primarily aBeautiful musicstation. Despite its strong signal, the station usually hovered near the bottom of the ratings during this time.
Mellow 93/Joy FM/Classic Rock
[edit]WJFM changed to an automatedTop 40format in 1977, and thenadult contemporary musicthe following year as "Mellow 93", picking up the format that had been abandoned byWMLWin its switch to WFFX earlier that year. "Mellow 93" proved a moderate ratings success, with the station usually around fifth or sixth place.
The AC format lasted until the station called in a consultant, who attempted a format change toTop 40/CHRin 1984. The change on the airwaves not only included the music selection, with most of the staff either quitting or being let go. With the Grand Rapids area flooded with CHR stations at the time, asWGRD,WSNXandWKLQwere all playingTop 40music, WJFM's CHR format lasted only two years before the station went back to Soft AC as "The New Joy FM." The "Joy" format also proved a failure, and in 1988, WJFM became aclassic hitsstation. Ratings for the classic hits format were initially very good but soon dropped off, and in 1990, the station evolved toclassic rock.
B-93
[edit]Fetzer died in 1991, and his family sold the station a year later. In June 1992,Billboardmagazinereported that a number of key WJFM staffers, including general manager Joel Schaaf, program director and midday host Sean Stevens, and morning man Jeff France, had left the station, and rumors began swirling to the effect that the classic rock station would go country to take on incumbent country powerhouseWCUZ.Sure enough, on July 24, 1992, the classic rock format was dropped forcountry,and WJFM became WBCT as "B93". B-93 has ranked number one or number two 12+ ever since. Lee Cory was the original program director, and Neal Dionne and Reese Rickards were the original B-93 morning show hosts. They worked mornings for 22 years before having their jobs eliminated in a round of budget cuts initiated by current owner,iHeartMedia.
References
[edit]- ^"Facility Technical Data for WBCT".Licensing and Management System.Federal Communications Commission.
- ^"FMpower - Find ERP for an FM Station Class".17 December 2015.
- ^http://hdradio /station_guides/widget.php?id=66HD Radio Guide for Grand Rapids
- ^Broadcasting Yearbook 1977
External links
[edit]- FCC History Cards for WBCT
- Facility details for Facility ID 73606 (WBCT)in theFCCLicensing and Management System
- WBCTinNielsen Audio's FM station database
- List of "grandfathered superpower" FM radio stations in the U.S.
- B 93.7 on MySpace