WOLL
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Broadcast area | West Palm Beach/Treasure Coast |
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Frequency | 105.5MHz |
Branding | Kool 105.5 |
Programming | |
Format | Adult contemporary |
Subchannels | HD2:Public radio(repeater ofWLRN-FM) |
Affiliations | Premiere Networks |
Ownership | |
Owner |
|
WAVW,WBZT,WCZR,WJNO,WKGR,WLDI,WQOL,WZTA,WZZR | |
History | |
First air date | 1971 (as WGMW at 94.3 in Riviera Beach) |
Former call signs |
|
Former frequencies | 94.3 MHz (1971–1997) |
Call signmeaning | WOLLdies (previous format) |
Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
Facility ID | 32969 |
Class | C2 |
ERP | 50,000 watts |
HAAT | 139 meters (456 ft) |
Links | |
Public license information | |
Webcast | Listen Live |
Website | 1055online.iheart |
WOLL(105.5MHz) is acommercialFMradio stationlicensedtoHobe Sound, Florida.The station is owned byiHeartMedia, Inc.,and airs anadult contemporaryradio format.WOLL serves Florida'sTreasure Coastand thePalm Beaches.Sunday through Friday evenings, it carries thesyndicatedDelilahshow featuring call-ins and dedications, provided by co-ownedPremiere Networks.
WOLL'sstudiosand offices are on Continental Drive inWest Palm Beach.[2]Thetransmitteris on Hill Avenue, also in West Palm Beach.[3]WOLL is aClass C2station with aneffective radiated power(ERP) of 50,000watts.
History
[edit]Early years as WGMW, WNJY, WMXQ
[edit]The stationsigned oninRiviera Beach, Floridain 1971. It broadcast at 94.3 MHz as WGMW. It was owned by WGMW, Incorporated, playingTop 40music.[4]It was powered at 3,000 watts on a 300-foot antenna, as aClass AFM station with coverage limited to the communities around Riviera Beach and West Palm Beach.
In 1978, the station was bought by the Pearl Broadcasting Company.[5]The new owner switched thecall lettersto WNJY to represent the word "Enjoy." It playedeasy listeningmusic for several years.
In 1982, the station was bought by Lappin Communications. It changed the call sign to WMXQ, calling the station "Mix", and installed anadult contemporary musicformat.[6]
Switch to Oldies WOLL
[edit]In 1988, the station flipped to anoldiesformat, changing the call letters to WOLL, representing the new moniker "Oldies 94.3". Original air personalities were Steve Cody, Skip Kelly, Donnie Pachine, Steve Street, Rock-n-Roll Joel, Patti Stevens, Barry West, Lorna O'Connell, and Lindy Rome.
In 1993, J.J. Duling was hired as Program Director, with the DJ staff made up of Duling, ex-CKLWpersonality Art Riley and Lorna O'Connell in mornings, along with Mike Casey, Dave Brewster and Rock-n-Roll Joel.
Move to 105.5
[edit]![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3f/WOLL_Kool105.5.jpg/220px-WOLL_Kool105.5.jpg)
In 1998, WOLL was acquired byClear Channel Communications,the forerunner to current owner iHeartMedia. To increase its coverage area, the oldies format was moved from the class A 3,000 watt 94.3 MHz facility licensed to Riviera Beach to the recently upgraded class C2 50,000 watt WTPX 105.5 MHz facility. WTPX changed call letters to WOLL with the station calling itself "Kool 105.5." The city of license wasHobe Sound,an unincorporated community inMartin County, Florida,about 25 miles north of West Palm Beach. WOLL could now be heard fromBoca RatontoPalm City.The DJ line-up consisted of Skip Kelly, Mike Perry, Joe Steel, Russ Riba, and Rock-n-Roll Joel. The 94.3 frequency was replaced by a new station, also owned by Clear Channel, WWLV (nowWRLX). WWLV aired aSmooth Jazzformat as "Love 94."[7]
In 2002, and for the next several years, WOLL would play allChristmas musicbetween the day afterThanksgivingand New Year's Day. The following year, the Mo & Sally Morning Show joined WOLL fromWJNO;the duo were previously onWRMFandWMBX.
In 2005, Tim Allan Walker joined The Mo & Sally Morning Show from WJNO. WOLL broadcast a week ofHurricane Wilmarecovery information spearheaded by The Mo & Sally Morning Show with Tim Allan. The station was recognized for its disaster recovery efforts.
In 2007, WOLL and the other West Palm Beach stations owned by Clear Channel Communications became news partners withNBCaffiliateWPTV-TV,discontinuing its arrangement withCBSaffiliateWPEC.Clear Channel also changed newspaper partnerships from thePalm Beach Postto theSun Sentinel.Mike Perry exited the station for an afternoon drive gig in New York atWNEW-FM;Tim Byrd joined the station in afternoons. In addition, Bobby Rich exited and headed back to Tampa, and Jennifer Agostino was named program director for WOLL (she was also the program director forWRLX) but later exited. Skip Kelly returned to take over midday duties.
After Agostino left the station, Jodi Stewart took thereinsas Program Director. ThesyndicatedJohn Teshprogram was added to the line-up from 7 pm to Midnight, six days a week, when his original West Palm Beach affiliate, WRLX, flipped toSpanishContemporaryfromSoft AC.(Tesh was later replaced by another evening show hosted byMario Lopezand syndicated byPremiere Networks,a subsidiary of parent company iHeartMedia.)
In 2008, WOLL returned to its partnership with thePalm Beach Post,discontinuing the arrangement with theSun Sentinel.On January 25, 2008, Clear Channel announced that WOLL would be one of a number of its radio stations to be sold, in order to remain underFederal Communications Commissionownership caps following the sale of Clear Channel to private investors. Until the sale, WOLL and the other stations were placed into theAloha Stations Trust.[8][9]In December 2008, Clear Channel took back WOLL afterArbitronreassigned its sister stations,WLDIinFort PierceandWMAX-FMinHolland, Michigan,to new markets.
In 2009, Tim Byrd exited, Skip Kelly moved to afternoons and Mike Perry returned to middays.
Return to adult contemporary
[edit]On January 1, 2010, WOLL changed its format to adult contemporary format, still under the "Kool 105.5" branding. In June 2016, T.A Walker left WOLL to return to his hometown ofAustin, Texas,but eventually landing at WPTV as Entertainment Reporter for TODAY on 5.
In February 2021, WOLL's HD2 subchannel became a repeater ofWLRN-FM,theNPRaffiliate in Miami.[10]
References
[edit]- ^"Facility Technical Data for WOLL".Licensing and Management System.Federal Communications Commission.
- ^KOOL1055 /contact
- ^Radio-Locator /WOLL
- ^Broadcasting Yearbook 1972 page B-46
- ^Broadcasting Yearbook 1990 page B-77
- ^Broadcasting Yearbook 1989 page B-71
- ^Broadcasting Yearbook 2001 page D-106
- ^http:// chicagotribune /business/chi-fri_3briefs_0125jan25,0,5116482.story[dead link]
- ^"Clear Channel Spinoff List: RadioInsight".radioinsight.Archived fromthe originalon 2008-01-31.
- ^Jacobson, Adam (February 9, 2021)."South Florida's NPR Home Readies Palm Beach Shift".Radio/Television Business Report.RetrievedSeptember 28,2022.
External links
[edit]- Kool 105.5 website
- Facility details for Facility ID 32969 (WOLL)in theFCCLicensing and Management System
- WOLLinNielsen Audio's FM station database