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WBTP (95.7 FM) is 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 contem ...
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 ...
that serves the
Tampa Bay Tampa Bay is a large natural harbor and shallow estuary connected to the Gulf of Mexico on the west-central coast of Florida, comprising Hillsborough Bay, McKay Bay, Old Tampa Bay, Middle Tampa Bay, and Lower Tampa Bay. The largest freshwater in ...
area that plays hip-hop, R&B, and
soul music Soul music is a popular music genre that originated in the African American community throughout the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s. It has its roots in African-American gospel music and rhythm and blues. Soul music became po ...
that aims towards the
African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
community. It is owned and operated by
iHeartMedia iHeartMedia, Inc., formerly CC Media Holdings, Inc., is an American mass media corporation headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It is the holding company of iHeartCommunications, Inc. (formerly Clear Channel Communications, Inc.), a company fou ...
. Its target audience is
African Americans African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
between the ages of 18–34, but its main competitor is
WLLD WLLD (94.1 MHz, "WiLD 94.1") is a rhythmic CHR-formatted radio station licensed to Lakeland, Florida that serves the Tampa Bay area in Florida, and is owned by Beasley Broadcast Group. Although the target audience of WLLD is mainly people of ages ...
, which has a very similar target audience as well. It was the home of former Russ Parr Morning Show co-host, Olivia Fox, who was host of the station's morning drive show from 2004 to mid-2006. Licensed to
Clearwater Clearwater or Clear Water may refer to: Places Canada * Clear Water Academy, a private Catholic school located in Calgary, Alberta * Clearwater (provincial electoral district), a former provincial electoral district in Alberta * Clearwater, Briti ...
, the station's studios are located in South
Tampa Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the seat of Hillsborough County ...
and the transmitter site is in Gandy.


History

95.7 signed on in 1963 as WTAN-FM with an
easy listening Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to 1970s. It is related to middle-of-the-road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit songs, n ...
format, operating as an adjunct to its then-sister station,
WTAN WTAN (1340 AM) is a radio station broadcasting a mixed talk radio / adult standards format. Licensed to Clearwater, Florida, United States, the station is currently owned by Wagenvoord Advertising Group Inc. WTAN relies heavily on brokered p ...
AM 1340. In the mid-1970s, the station became WOKF with a disco/dance format as "OK96", and later with the "Supermix 96" and "96 Fever" brandings. In 1980, after the death of disco, the station flipped to
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 ...
as WCKX, "96KX" (pronounced "96 Kicks"). In 1982, it re-branded as "Magic 96" with the WMGG call letters. In 1985, it re-branded again as "W-Lite 95.7" with the WNLT call letters, which later changed to "Lite Rock 95.7". On November 2, 1990, the station changed to
Hot AC 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 s ...
as "Mix 96" with the WMTX call letters. On August 4, 1997, the station changed to
Modern AC 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 s ...
as "Star 95.7" with the WSSR call letters. On October 27, 2003, at 5 p.m., after stunting with a loop of directing listeners to sister stations
WFLZ WFLZ-FM (93.3 MHz) is a commercial radio station in Tampa, Florida. It airs a contemporary hit radio (CHR/Top 40) radio format and is owned and operated by iHeartMedia. The station's studios and offices are located on Gandy Boulevard in South ...
,
WMTX WMTX (100.7 FM) is a commercial radio station in Tampa, Florida, known as "Mix 100.7". It has an adult contemporary radio format, switching to Christmas music for much of November and December. It is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc., with its studio ...
and
WXTB WXTB (97.9 FM) is a commercial active rock radio station owned by iHeartMedia and licensed to Clearwater, Florida, serving the Tampa Bay Area. The WXTB studios are located in South Tampa, while the station transmitter resides in Holiday. In add ...
, WSSR flipped 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 contem ...
as ''95.7 the Beat'' with the current WBTP call letters. It remained jockless for nearly the first 4 months and received lukewarm reception from the African American community of the area. However, the station has now beaten its closest competitor,
WLLD WLLD (94.1 MHz, "WiLD 94.1") is a rhythmic CHR-formatted radio station licensed to Lakeland, Florida that serves the Tampa Bay area in Florida, and is owned by Beasley Broadcast Group. Although the target audience of WLLD is mainly people of ages ...
, in ratings since late 2004, though not consistently. For example,
WLLD WLLD (94.1 MHz, "WiLD 94.1") is a rhythmic CHR-formatted radio station licensed to Lakeland, Florida that serves the Tampa Bay area in Florida, and is owned by Beasley Broadcast Group. Although the target audience of WLLD is mainly people of ages ...
claimed a ratings victory for Summer 2006 by .3 rating points, according to
Arbitron Nielsen Audio (formerly Arbitron) is a consumer research company in the United States that collects listener data on radio broadcasting audiences. It was founded as the American Research Bureau by Jim Seiler in 1949 and became national by mergin ...
. Former competition came from
Urban AC Urban adult contemporary, often abbreviated as urban AC or UAC, (also known as adult R&B,) is the name for a format of radio music, similar to an urban contemporary format. Radio stations using this format usually would not have hip hop music on ...
-formatted WTMP, which flipped to a
Spanish tropical Tropical music ( es, música tropical) is a term in the Latin music, Latin music industry that refers to music genres deriving from or influenced by the Spanish-speaking areas of the Caribbean. It includes the islands of Music of Cuba, Cuba, Music ...
format in September 2011. In January 2019, WBTP began to add more classic tracks to its playlist, in preparation for the relaunch of WMTX-HD2's ''Throwback Tampa Bay'' under a new format. As of October 1, 2019, WBTP-HD2 flipped from
Quiet Storm Quiet storm is a radio format and genre of R&B, performed in a smooth, romantic, jazz-influenced style. It was named after the title song on Smokey Robinson's 1975 album ''A Quiet Storm''. The radio format was pioneered in 1976 by Melvin Lin ...
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 ...
as "Alt 95-7 HD2". The following day, WBTP added a third
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 ...
subchannel, broadcasting a simulcast of AM sister station
WDAE WDAE (620 AM) is a commercial radio station licensed to St. Petersburg, Florida and serving the Tampa Bay area. It is owned by iHeartMedia and airs a sports radio format. WDAE is one of the oldest radio stations in Florida still broadcasting t ...
. On June 25, 2020, WBTP-HD2's Alternative Rock format was relocated to
WXTB WXTB (97.9 FM) is a commercial active rock radio station owned by iHeartMedia and licensed to Clearwater, Florida, serving the Tampa Bay Area. The WXTB studios are located in South Tampa, while the station transmitter resides in Holiday. In add ...
-HD3 as "Alt 98"; concurrently, WBTP-HD2 began airing iHeart's new African-American focused "
Black Information Network Black Information Network (BIN) is a radio network and content brand owned by iHeartMedia. Launched on June 30, 2020, it is an all-news radio network of stations targeting the African American community, carrying mostly important national news hea ...
"
all-news radio All-news radio is a radio format devoted entirely to the discussion and broadcast of news. All-news radio is available in both local and syndicated forms, and is carried on both major US satellite radio networks. All-news stations can run the ...
service.


On-air personalities

* ''
The Breakfast Club ''The Breakfast Club'' is a 1985 American teen coming-of-age comedy-drama film written, produced, and directed by John Hughes. It stars Emilio Estevez, Paul Gleason, Anthony Michael Hall, Judd Nelson, Molly Ringwald, and Ally Sheedy. The film t ...
'' * '' DJ Flee in the Bodega'' * Mychal Maguire * Anjali 'Queen B' * ''The
Keith Sweat Keith Sweat (born July 22, 1961) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and an early figure in the new jack swing musical movement. He is known for his collection of hits including "I Want Her", " Make It Last Forever", "I'll Give A ...
Hotel'' * DJ Shizm * DeLeon Richards-Sheffield


Mixers

* DJ Sandman * DJ Shizm * DJ Jimi-O


Station management

* General manager: Chris Soechtig * Program director: Mychal Maguire


References


External links


Official Website
* * {{coord, 27.867, N, 82.624, W, type:landmark_region:US_source:FCC, display=title BTP Urban contemporary radio stations in the United States Radio stations established in 1963 1963 establishments in Florida IHeartMedia radio stations