WMOB (1360 AM) 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 ...

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 serve Mobile, Alabama, United States. The station, founded in 1961 as WLIQ, is owned by Buddy Tucker Association, Inc. WMOB is currently silent, but previously broadcast a

religious Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatur ...

format to the

Mobile metropolitan area The Mobile Metropolitan Area comprises Mobile and Washington counties in the southwest corner of Alabama in the United States. As of the 2020 census the metropolitan area had a population of 430,197. The Mobile metropolitan area is the third-lar ...

. WMOB's broadcast schedule consisted of a mix of local, brokered, and syndicated Christian ministry and inspirational programming.

History

The WLIQ era

This station first signed on the air on January 25, 1961, as WLIQ, a 5,000-

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 ...

AM station owned by E. W. Jemison and Frank Conwell, a partnership doing business as Jemcon Broadcasting Company. The new station aired 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. On April 1, 1964, Jemcon Broadcasting Company, Inc., sold WLIQ to Hartzog Broadcasting, Inc., and the broadcast studios were moved to the historic Sheraton Battle House Hotel. The new owners transitioned the station's playlist to a middle of the road music format. On July 26, 1971, WLIQ was acquired from Hartzog Broadcasting, Inc., by Southland of Alabama, Inc., and moved to new studios. During the 1970s, the station broadcast first a

top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or "cont ...

format, then later a

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

format.

As WPCY

After nearly 20 years as WLIQ, the station applied and was assigned the call letters WPCY 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 June 30, 1980. A new format accompanied the new callsign as WPCY flipped to

talk radio Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues and consisting entirely or almost entirely of original spoken word content rather than outside music. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often featu ...

. In February 1981, Southland of Alabama, Inc., agreed to sell this station to WPCY Broadcasting Company, Inc. The deal was approved by the FCC on February 26, 1981. The new owners put the station up for sale almost immediately and in June 1981 made a deal to sell WPCY to Beacon Broadcasting, Inc. The deal was approved by the FCC on October 14, 1981. As long-lived as the previous call letters had been, the new ones would prove short-lived and a changed was made to WIXO on November 30, 1981.

WMOB returns

In March 1984, Beacon Broadcasting, Inc., reached an agreement to sell this station to Buddy Tucker Enterprises, Inc. The deal was approved by the FCC on May 4, 1984, and the transaction was consummated on June 27, 1984. The new owners had the FCC change the station's callsign to the historic WMOB, one of the oldest callsigns in Alabama radio. (The original WMOB began broadcasting in 1939 but was shut down in 1949.) In February 1991, Buddy Tucker Enterprises, Inc., applied to the FCC to transfer the broadcast license for WMOB to Buddy Tucker Association, Inc. The transfer was approved by the FCC on February 20, 1991, and the transaction was consummated on April 9, 1991. The station ceased broadcasting on November 22, 2020, citing the owner's advanced age (over 90 years old) as the primary reason.

References

External links

FCC History Cards for WMOB
{{Mobile Radio

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Radio stations established in 1961 1961 establishments in Alabama