WBFA (98.3 FM, "98.3 The Beat") is a

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 radi ...

broadcasting an

urban contemporary Urban contemporary music, also known as urban music, hip hop, urban pop, or just simply urban, is a music radio format. The term was coined by New York radio DJ Frankie Crocker in the early to mid-1970s as a synonym for Black music. Urban conte ...

format. Licensed to

Fort Mitchell, Alabama Fort Mitchell is an unincorporated community in Russell County, Alabama, United States. The settlement developed around a garrisoned fort intended to provide defense for the area during the Creek War (1813–14). Fort Mitchell is about 10 miles s ...

, the station is owned by J. Christopher Martin, through licensee RCG Media, LLC, and features programming from

Westwood One Westwood One is an American radio network owned by Cumulus Media. The company syndicates talk, music, and sports programming. The company takes its name from an earlier network also named Westwood One, a company founded in 1978. The compan ...

and

Premiere Radio Networks Premiere Networks (formerly Premiere Radio Networks, shortened as PRN) is an American media company, a wholly owned subsidiary of iHeartMedia, for which it currently serves as its main original radio content distribution and production arm. I ...

. Its studios are in Columbus, the second largest city in Georgia. The station is east of downtown, and its transmitter is outside Fort Mitchell, Alabama.

Programming

WBFA changed from Contemporary Hit Radio to

Urban Contemporary Urban contemporary music, also known as urban music, hip hop, urban pop, or just simply urban, is a music radio format. The term was coined by New York radio DJ Frankie Crocker in the early to mid-1970s as a synonym for Black music. Urban conte ...

music on September 9, 2004, and has been in its current format since that change. Current personalities and programming includes the Morning Hustle morning show, A.P. "The Mid-Day Diva", Jay King' on afternoon drive, plus ''DJ Cashflow''. Angela AP Peterson has been program director and music director since 2017.

History

In September 2004,

WAGH WAGH (101.3 FM) is a radio station broadcasting an Urban Adult Contemporary music format. WAGH is licensed to serve the community of Smiths, Alabama, United States. The station is currently owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. (with the license held by ...

, then known as WBFA, flipped from a contemporary hit radio format branded as "B101" to a

mainstream urban Mainstream may refer to: Film * ''Mainstream'' (film), a 2020 American film Literature * ''Mainstream'' (fanzine), a science fiction fanzine * Mainstream Publishing, a Scottish publisher * ''Mainstream'', a 1943 book by Hamilton Basso ...

format branded as "The Beat". In September 2007, this format, branding, and the WBFA

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 ...

were swapped with sister station WAGH. The station was assigned the WBFA call letters by the

Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdicti ...

on September 4, 2007. In July 1998,

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, quie ...

music formatted WAGH ("Magic 98") was purchased by M&M Partners Inc. for a reported $2 million to become the fifth station in that ownership group's Columbus cluster. WBFA, along with sister station WSHE, officially joined the Aloha Station Trust on August 4, 2008. On November 24, 2017, after being in the Aloha Trust for 8 years, WBFA was bought by RCG Media for $1.1 million. The sale was consummated on January 24, 2018.

References

External links

WBFA 98.3 The Beat official website
* {{Columbus GA Radio BFA Urban contemporary radio stations in the United States Radio stations established in 2004 2004 establishments in Alabama