WBBF

WBBF

Buffalo, New York
Broadcast area	Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area
Frequency	1120kHz
Branding	Hot 98.9
Programming
Format	Top 40 (CHR)
Ownership
Owner	Cumulus Media (Radio License Holding CBC, LLC)
Sister stations	WEDG,WGRF,WHLD,WHTT-FM
History
First air date	1947(1947)(as WWOL)
Former call signs	WWOL (1947–1986) WHTT (1986–1987) WTKS (1987–1988) WHTT (1988–1999) WMNY (1999–2005)
Call signmeaning	BuffaloBuFfalo
Technical information
Licensing authority	FCC
Facility ID	53967
Class	D
Power	1,000wattsdays only
Translator(s)	98.9 W255DH (Buffalo)
Links
Public license information	Public file LMS
Webcast	Listen live
Website	hot989buffalo

WBBF(1120kHz,"Hot 98.9" ) is acommercialAMradio stationinBuffalo, New York.It airs atop 40 (CHR)radio formatand is owned byCumulus Media.The studios and offices are on James E. Casey Drive in Buffalo.

WBBF broadcasts with a power of 1,000wattsas adaytimer.Itstransmitteris on Dorrance Avenue at Onondaga Avenue inWest Seneca, New York.BecauseAM 1120is reserved forClass A,clear channel stationKMOXinSt. Louis,WBBF must leave the air at night to avoid interference. WBBF programming is heard around the clock onFM translatorW255DHon 98.9MHz.

History

WWOL, WHTT, WMNY

The stationsigned onin 1947 asWWOL.In 1954, its FM counterpart WWOL-FM (nowWHTT-FM) signed on,simulcastingWWOL. In the 1970s, WWOL-AM-FM aired acountry musicformat, later switching tooldiesasWHTTand WHTT-FM.

In the 1990s, WHTT (AM) broke away from its simulcast with WHTT-FM, as the AM station was sold toMercury Communicationsand changed its format to abrokered programmingbusiness format. It began using thecall signWMNY,which represented the wordMoNeY.

Switch to WBBF

The WBBF call letters were used on several radio stations in nearbyRochesterfor over fifty years, including stations now known asWROC,WBZAand most recently,WFKL,which dropped the call sign in early 2005. Then-WMNY picked up the WBBF calls shortly thereafter.

The station had been a part of the Totally Gospel Radio Network from September 1996 until December 2006. The network moved to a stronger 24-hour signal inWestern New Yorkon sister station 1270WHLDas well as other stations across the U.S., including FM stationWFWOin 2010.

Spanish-language Christian

In 2007, a Spanish-languageChristian music and talkstation was launched by Totally Gospel Radio Network. All of the Spanish-language programming on WBBF which was initially produced by the Totally Gospel Radio Network was sold to Assemblia Iglesia, a local Hispanic ministry headed by Pastor Sam Rivera.

When Cumulus Media switched WHLD fromadult standardstoCBS Sports Radioearly in 2013, the company planned to move the former WHLD format to WBBF, but people in the Spanish speaking community wrote to Cumulus about the station's value to Western New York Latinos. The ministry's programming remained.

The original Totally Gospel Radio Network format returned to the airwaves on WBBF in January 2016 duringdrive times,along with a blend ofUrban Gospeland Hispanic Christian programming throughout the week. Totally Gospel Network returned as the primary format on WBBF as of September 2017.

WBBF wentsilenton July 16, 2019, and resumed broadcasting December 20. For the following 14 months, the station resumed simulcasting WHTT-FM as temporary programming, identifying itself as WBBF only instation identification.

Classic hip hop

Previous logo

On February 27, 2021, WBBF dropped its simulcast with WHTT and flipped toclassic hip hop,branded as "98.9 The Vibe", with programming sourced from the co-ownedWestwood OneRadio Network. The 98.9 FM translator indirectly reunites the WBBF call letters with one of the frequencies it used during its time on Rochester radio.

WBBF was one of three Buffalo AM stations, along withWUFOandWWWS,offering programming for the Buffalo market's African-American community. WBBF, WUFO and WWWS have FM translators and use the FM dial position to identify themselves. They compete with full-power FM stationWBLK,which has anurban contemporaryformat.

Top 40/CHR

On July 14, 2023, at 6 p.m., after playing "Feels Good"byTony! Toni! Toné!,WBBF switched to Top 40/CHR, branded as "Hot 98.9", with the first song being "Flowers"byMiley Cyrus.The format flip was the closingdominoin a series of format changes that had taken place in Buffalo over the previous month, most directly nearbyWKSEon 98.5 (the market's previous heritage top-40/CHR station) shifting to an adult lean following the sale of its own hot-AC sister stationWTSSto a religious broadcaster in June.

External links

• Facility details for Facility ID 53967 (WBBF)in theFCCLicensing and Management System
• WBBFinNielsen Audio's AM station database
• Facility details for Facility ID 200864 (W255DH)in theFCCLicensing and Management System
• W255DHat FCCdata.org
• FCC History Cards for WBBF