WBCN (770
kHz
The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose expression in terms of SI base units is s−1, meaning that on ...
), branded as "ESPN Southwest Florida", is a
commercial
Commercial may refer to:
* a dose of advertising conveyed through media (such as - for example - radio or television)
** Radio advertisement
** Television advertisement
* (adjective for:) commerce, a system of voluntary exchange of products and s ...
AM radio station
Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radio ...
broadcasting a
sports radio
Sports radio (or sports talk radio) is a radio format devoted entirely to discussion and broadcasting of sporting events. A widespread programming genre that has a narrow audience appeal, sports radio is characterized by an often- boisterous on-ai ...
format
Format may refer to:
Printing and visual media
* Text formatting, the typesetting of text elements
* Paper formats, or paper size standards
* Newspaper format, the size of the paper page
Computing
* File format, particular way that informatio ...
.
Licensed
A license (or licence) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit).
A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another party (licensee) as an element of an agreeme ...
to
North Fort Myers, Florida
North Fort Myers is an unincorporated area and census-designated place (CDP) in Lee County, Florida, United States. The population was 42,719 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Ge ...
, the station is owned by
Beasley Broadcast Group
Beasley Broadcast Group, Inc., based in Naples, Florida, is an owner/operator of radio stations in the United States. , the company owned 63 stations under the Beasley Media Group name.
History
The company was founded in 1961 by George G. Beasl ...
, Inc., through licensee Beasley Media Group, LLC.
Using a
directional antenna
A directional antenna or beam antenna is an antenna which radiates or receives greater power in specific directions allowing increased performance and reduced interference from unwanted sources. Directional antennas provide increased performance ...
, WBCN broadcasts with 10,000
watt
The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named after James Wa ...
s by day. But because
770 AM is a
clear channel frequency reserved for
Class A WABC in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, WBCN must reduce power at night to 630 watts to avoid interference. The
transmitter
In electronics and telecommunications, a radio transmitter or just transmitter is an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna (radio), antenna. The transmitter itself generates a radio frequency alternating current, which i ...
is off Huffmaster Road in North Fort Myers and the studios and offices are on South Tamiami Trail in
Estero, Florida
Estero is a village in Lee County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 36,939. During the 2010 census, Estero was an unincorporated community, or census-designated place, the population at that time was 22,612. Est ...
. In addition to its AM signal, WBCN uses two
FM translators
Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''transla ...
to air its programming: 104.3 W282BY and 98.1 W251AL, both in Fort Myers.
Programming
WBCN carries
Tampa Bay Rays
The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. Since its inception ...
baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...
,
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South divisio ...
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
,
Florida Gators
The Florida Gators are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Florida, located in Gainesville. The University of Florida, its athletic program, its alumni and its sports fans are often collectively referred to as t ...
football and basketball and
Westwood One
Westwood One is an American radio network
There are two types of radio network currently in use around the world: the one-to-many (simplex communication) broadcast network commonly used for public information and mass-media entertainment, and ...
coverage of the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
, along with
Florida Gulf Coast University
Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU) is a public university in Lee County, Florida. It is part of the State University System of Florida and is its second youngest member. The university was established on May 3, 1991, and is accredited by the ...
basketball. The station has carried
Florida Firecats
The Florida Firecats were a professional arena football team based in Estero, Florida. They played in the AF2, the Arena Football League's developmental league, from 2001 to 2009. They did not join the AFL following the leagues' reorganization i ...
football,
Miami Hurricanes
The Miami Hurricanes (known informally as The U, UM, or The 'Canes) are the intercollegiate sports teams that represent the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida. The Hurricanes compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic A ...
football,
Florida State Seminoles
The Florida State Seminoles are the athletic teams representing Florida State University located in Tallahassee, Florida. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level (Football Bowl Subdivis ...
football,
Miami Marlins
The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The club's home ballpark is LoanDepot Park.
The franc ...
baseball and
Fort Myers Miracle
The Fort Myers Mighty Mussels are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. They are located in Fort Myers, Florida, and play their home games at the Lee County Sports Complex a ...
baseball in the past. The station carried
Florida Everblades
The Florida Everblades are a professional minor league ice hockey team based in Estero, Florida, in the Cape Coral-Fort Myers metropolitan area. They play in the ECHL and are affiliated with the Florida Panthers of the National Hockey League (N ...
ECHL
The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a mid-level professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams scattered across the United States and Canada. It is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL).
The E ...
hockey from their inception to 2009.
WBCN used to broadcast
NBA
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...
,
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
, and
college football
College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States.
Unlike most ...
games from
ESPN Radio
ESPN Radio, which is alternately platform-agnostically branded as ESPN Audio, is an American sports radio network and extension of the ESPN television network. It was launched on January 1, 1992, under the original banner of "SportsRadio ESPN". ...
.
NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and hi ...
races from
Motor Racing Network
Motor Racing Network (MRN) is a U.S. radio network that syndicates broadcasts of auto racing events, particularly NASCAR. MRN was founded in 1970 by NASCAR founder Bill France, Sr. and broadcaster Ken Squier, and is a wholly owned subsidiary of N ...
and
Performance Racing Network
The Performance Racing Network (PRN) is a radio syndication network controlled by Speedway Motorsports (SMI) founded in 1981. PRN airs NASCAR Cup Series and Xfinity Series events held at Speedway Motorsports and Penske Corporation-owned and manag ...
moved to the then-WWCN from
WCKT
WCKT (107.1 FM broadcasting, FM) is a commercial radio station located in Lehigh Acres, Florida, broadcasting to the Fort Myers, Florida area. WCKT airs a country music format branded as "Cat Country". WCKT originally signed on in 1976,airing a ...
in 2006.
Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team pla ...
games not aired on
WRXK-FM
WRXK-FM (96.1 MHz) is a commercial radio station with studios in Estero, Florida and licensed to Bonita Springs, Florida, broadcasting to the Fort Myers-Naples-Marco Island area. WRXK-FM airs a rock format branded as "96 K-Rock" under Program Di ...
, mostly in the preseason, are heard on WBCN, which carried the team full-time before picking up
NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and hi ...
.
History
WJBX first
signed on
Signing may refer to:
* Using sign language
* Signature
A signature (; from la, signare, "to sign") is a handwritten (and often stylized) depiction of someone's name, nickname, or even a simple "X" or other mark that a person writes on do ...
the air on December 17, 1983, as
big band
A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s an ...
station WKZY. In 1987, the station was acquired by Beasley Broadcasting, switching the format to
oldies
Oldies is a term for musical genres such as pop music, rock and roll, doo-wop, surf music (broadly characterized as classic rock and pop rock) from the second half of the 20th century, specifically from around the mid-1950s to the 1980s, as we ...
as WZRZ. The station also spent time as a
soft adult contemporary
Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quiet sto ...
outlet and also played
active rock
Active rock is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations across the United States and Canada. Active rock stations play a balance of new hard rock songs with valued classic rock favorites, normally with an emphasis on the harder edge o ...
for a time.
For much of the 1990s and early 2000s, it used the
call letters
In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign (also known as a call name or call letters—and historically as a call signal—or abbreviated as a call) is a unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be formally assigne ...
WWCN, originally as a radio
affiliate of
CNN Headline News
HLN is an American basic cable network. Owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, the network primarily carries true crime programming.
The channel was originally launched on January 1, 1982 by Turner Broadcasting as CNN2 (later renamed Headline News ...
and later as a talk station. On June 20, 2013 WWCN began
simulcast
Simulcast (a portmanteau of simultaneous broadcast) is the broadcasting of programmes/programs or events across more than one resolution, bitrate or medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at exactly the same time (that is, simultane ...
ing the
rock music
Rock music is a broad genre of popular music that originated as " rock and roll" in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of different styles in the mid-1960s and later, particularly in the United States an ...
programming on WJBX 99.3 FM, swapping call letters. (AM 770 became WJBX and FM 99.3 became WWCN.)
On June 28, 2013, WJBX dropped its simulcast with WWCN 99.3 FM and switched to
Spanish-language
Spanish ( or , Castilian) is a Romance languages, Romance language of the Indo-European language family that evolved from colloquial Latin spoken on the Iberian peninsula. Today, it is a world language, global language with more than 500 millio ...
sports radio
Sports radio (or sports talk radio) is a radio format devoted entirely to discussion and broadcasting of sporting events. A widespread programming genre that has a narrow audience appeal, sports radio is characterized by an often- boisterous on-ai ...
, with programming from the
ESPN Deportes Radio
ESPN Deportes Radio was an American Spanish language sports radio network created and produced by Disney-owned ESPN. Programming included call-in talk shows and commentary from hosts about a full range of sporting events, including soccer, Amer ...
Network.
On June 16, 2016, WJBX changed its format back to talk. The station primarily carried
nationally syndicated talk shows, including
Dave Ramsey
David Lawrence Ramsey III (born September 3, 1960) is an American personal finance personality, radio show host, author, and businessman. An evangelical Christian, he hosts the nationally syndicated radio program ''The Ramsey Show''. Ramsey has ...
,
Brian Kilmeade
Brian Kilmeade (born May 7, 1964) is an American television and radio presenter and political commentator for Fox News. On weekdays he co-hosts the morning show, ''Fox & Friends'', and he hosts the Fox News Radio program ''The Brian Kilmeade Sho ...
,
Hugh Hewitt
Hugh Hewitt (born February 22, 1956) is an American radio talk show host with the Salem Radio Network and an attorney, academic, and author. A conservative, he writes about law, society, politics, and media bias in the United States. Hewitt is ...
,
Todd Schnitt
Todd Andrew Schnitt (born January 24, 1966) is an American conservative talk radio host. He currently hosts ''The Schnitt Show'', the afternoon drive time show whose flagship is Tampa radio station 1010 WHFS AM and is nationally syndicated by Co ...
and
This Morning, America's First News with Gordon Deal
''This Morning: America's First News'' (formerly ''The Wall Street Journal This Morning'') is a two-hour radio news/talk program hosted by Gordon Deal and Jennifer Kushinka, who replaced long-serving co-host Gina Cervetti on January 2, 2015. In a ...
. Weekend hosts included
Larry Elder
Laurence Allen Elder (born April 27, 1952) is an American right-wing political commentator and conservative talk radio host. Elder hosts ''The Larry Elder Show'', based in California. The show began as a local program on Los Angeles radio stat ...
,
Sebastian Gorka
Sebastian Lukács Gorka ( hu, Gorka Sebestyén Lukács) (born October 22, 1970) is a British-born Hungarian-American media personality (currently with Salem Radio and NewsMax TV), military and intelligence analyst, and former government off ...
,
Eric Metaxas
Eric Metaxas (born 1963) is an American author, speaker, and conservative radio host. He has written three biographies, ''Amazing Grace: William Wilberforce and the Heroic Campaign to End Slavery'' about William Wilberforce (2007), ''Bonhoeffer: P ...
, ''
The Jesus Christ Show
''The Jesus Christ Show'' is a syndicated radio program that airs every Sunday from 6 to 9 a.m. Pacific Time. It is carried on the Premiere Networks, a subsidiary of iHeartMedia, Inc. AM 640 KFI in Los Angeles serves as the flagship stati ...
with Neil Saavedra'', and repeats of weekday programs. WJBX carried
Townhall News at the start of each hour.
The call sign was changed from WJBX to WBCN on February 5, 2021, with the WJBX call sign being moved to the
1660 AM facility in Charlotte, North Carolina, which had been WBCN. The Charlotte station went silent on December 31, 2020, as the result of the sale of its transmitter site land.
On May 28, 2021, WBCN changed their format from news/talk to sports, branded as "ESPN Southwest Florida", with programming from
ESPN Radio
ESPN Radio, which is alternately platform-agnostically branded as ESPN Audio, is an American sports radio network and extension of the ESPN television network. It was launched on January 1, 1992, under the original banner of "SportsRadio ESPN". ...
; the format moved from WWCN.
Technology
WBCN enjoys the largest daytime coverage area of any AM radio station in Southwest Florida. As a music station (
Transtar Radio Networks
Transtar was the first radio network to provide 24-hour music programming to local affiliates. The slate of 24-hour networks is now owned by Westwood One and operated by Dial Global. The studios are located in Valencia, California.
History
Tra ...
' "Format 41" and
Citadel Broadcasting
Citadel Broadcasting Corporation was a Las Vegas, Nevada-based broadcast holding company. Citadel owned 243 radio stations across the United States and was the third-largest radio station owner in the country. Only iHeartMedia and Cumulus Media ...
's "
Z-Rock
Z Rock was a nationally syndicated radio network based in Dallas, Texas, United States that, from the mid-1980s through the mid-1990s, played heavy metal and hard rock music. The format was one of several 24-hour satellite-delivered music for ...
") the station transmitted in AM stereo, using the
C-QUAM
C-QUAM (Compatible QUadrature Amplitude Modulation) is the method of AM stereo broadcasting used in Canada, the United States and most other countries. It was invented in 1977 by Norman Parker, Francis Hilbert, and Yoshio Sakaie, and published i ...
system. It now incorporates
HD radio
HD Radio (HDR) is a trademark for an in-band on-channel (IBOC) digital radio broadcast technology. It generally simulcasts an existing analog radio station in digital format with less noise and with additional text information. HD Radio is used ...
technology.
Translators
It was announced on July 2, 2012 that Beasley Broadcasting would purchase the two translators from Reach Communications for $150,000, to serve as rebroadcasters for WWCN's
sports radio
Sports radio (or sports talk radio) is a radio format devoted entirely to discussion and broadcasting of sporting events. A widespread programming genre that has a narrow audience appeal, sports radio is characterized by an often- boisterous on-ai ...
format (via
WRXK-HD2):
Border Media Sells Austin Pair, Beasley Buys Ft. Myers-Naples Translators
''All Access Music Group'', July 2, 2012. On June 20, 2013, these translators changed their format to alternative rock
Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...
, relaying WRXK-HD2. Then in 2016, the translators began simulcasting WJBX's talk radio format.
Previous logo
References
External links
WBCN website
*
*
{{Miami Marlins Radio Network
BCN (AM)
Beasley Broadcast Group radio stations
1983 establishments in Florida
Radio stations established in 1983
Sports radio stations in the United States
ESPN Radio stations