WNUE-FM (98.1

MHz 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 one he ...

, "The JOY FM") is a listener-supported,

non-commercial A non-commercial (also spelled noncommercial) activity is an activity that does not, in some sense, involve commerce, at least relative to similar activities that do have a commercial objective or emphasis. For example, advertising-free community ...

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

Christian AC Christian adult contemporary, also known as Christian AC or CAC, is a radio format. In the United States, Christian adult contemporary radio stations cater to a mostly adult audience and are similar to mainstream adult contemporary stations in that ...

radio format A radio format or programming format (not to be confused with broadcast programming) describes the overall content broadcast on a radio station. The radio format emerged mainly in the United States in the 1950s, at a time when Radio broadcasting, ...

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 ...

Deltona, Florida Deltona is a city in central Florida and the most populous city in Volusia County. It is located on the northern shore of Lake Monroe along the St. Johns River in central Florida. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 93,692. The city ...

, it serves the Greater Orlando metropolitan area,

Daytona Beach Daytona Beach, or simply Daytona, is a coastal resort-city in east-central Florida. Located on the eastern edge of Volusia County near the Atlantic coastline, its population was 72,647 at the 2020 census. Daytona Beach is approximately nort ...

and the

Space Coast The Space Coast is a region in the U.S. state of Florida around the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. It is one of several "themed" coasts around Florida. All orbital launches from American soil carrying NASA astr ...

. The station is owned by the

Radio Training Network Radio Training Network, Inc. is an American non-profit broadcasting organization that operates several networks of Christian radio- formatted stations, mostly in the Southeast. The network's footprint includes stations in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, ...

. WNUE-FM has an

effective radiated power Effective radiated power (ERP), synonymous with equivalent radiated power, is an IEEE standardized definition of directional radio frequency (RF) power, such as that emitted by a radio transmitter. It is the total power in watts that would hav ...

(ERP) of 50,000

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. 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 on Pell Road in

Farmton, Florida Farmton is an unincorporated community in Volusia County, Florida, United States off Osteen-Maytown Road, eight miles west of Interstate 95. Farmton is located near the St. Johns River The St. Johns River ( es, Río San Juan) is the longest r ...

History

WRMF-FM

The station

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 ...

in September 1968 as WRMF-FM. It originally was licensed to Titusville and it broadcast on 98.3 with only 3,000 watts, a fraction of its current output. Its original owner was WRMF, Inc., which also owned WRMF 1060 AM (now

WIXC WIXC (1060 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station licensed to Titusville, Florida, and serving the Space Coast. It has a Spanish-language Sports Radio format, with programming primarily from the TUDN Radio Network. It is owned by Genesis Commu ...

). The two stations

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 ...

Soft 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 sto ...

format. In 1972, WRMF-AM-FM switched to a Middle of the Road (MOR) format. Then in 1979, WRMF-AM-FM changed to a

Beautiful Music Beautiful music (sometimes abbreviated as BM, B/EZ or BM/EZ for "beautiful music/easy listening") is a mostly instrumental music format that was prominent in North American radio from the late 1950s through the 1980s. Easy listening, elevator musi ...

format. However, the beautiful music sound was short-lived. Later that year, WRMF-FM flipped to

Album-oriented rock Album-oriented rock (AOR, originally called album-oriented radio) is an FM radio format created in the United States in the 1970s that focuses on the full repertoire of rock albums and is currently associated with classic rock. Album-oriente ...

(AOR) under the new

call sign 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 ...

WAJX, while the AM station continued programming 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 ...

sound. In 1986, WAJX flipped to

Adult Top 40 The Adult Pop Airplay (formerly known as Adult Pop Songs and Adult Top 40) chart is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and ranks "the most popular adult top 40 as based on radio airplay detections measured by Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems ...

under the new call sign WSCF.

Country Music

In 1989, WSCF changed the call sign again to WGNE-FM and flipped to

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, ...

as the "Great 98". A year later the station was sold to Sage Broadcasting and was moved to 98.1 in the process, along with a boost in power. In 1991, WGNE-FM was sold again to SBC Technologies, Inc., which sold WGNE once again to Southern Starr, LP for $3.5 million. In 1993, WGNE was again sold to Robert F.X. Silverman. Around this time WGNE rebranded as "98 Frog". (Many country stations around the U.S. were using the "Frog" branding at that time.) In 1996, WGNE was sold to SFX Broadcasting, which sold it back to Southern Starr a year later. In 1998, Capstar bought WGNE. Capstar was absorbed into

Clear Channel Communications 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 ...

that same year. In 2000, WGNE was sold to Mega Communications. On June 28, 2000, Mega moved the country format to 99.9 in the

Jacksonville Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...

radio market A media market, broadcast market, media region, designated market area (DMA), television market area, or simply market is a region where the population can receive the same (or similar) television station, television and radio broadcasting, ra ...

, now

WGNE-FM WGNE-FM (99.9 MHz) is a commercial FM radio station licensed to Middleburg, Florida, and serving the Jacksonville metropolitan area. It is owned by Renda Broadcasting and airs a country music radio format as "99.9 Gator Country", and primarily ...

Middleburg, Florida Middleburg is an unincorporated area and census-designated place (CDP) within Clay County, Florida, Clay County in the U.S. state of Florida, located southwest of downtown Jacksonville, Florida, Jacksonville and northwest of Green Cove Springs, ...

Spanish Contemporary

After the country format moved to 99.9, WGNE changed its call letters to WNUE-FM, and flipped 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 ...

Contemporary Hits/CHR as "Mega 98.1". WNUE was sold to

Entravision Communications Entravision Communications Corporation is an American media company based in Santa Monica, California. Entravision primarily caters to the Spanish-speaking Hispanic community and owns television and radio stations and outdoor media, in several of ...

, for $23.75 million in 2007. On December 1, 2010, WNUE flipped to Spanish adult hits as ''Jose FM 98.1.'' On May 17, 2012, WNUE changed the format again, this time to

Salsa music Salsa music is a style of Latin American music. Because most of the basic musical components predate the labeling of salsa, there have been many controversies regarding its origin. Most songs considered as salsa are primarily based on son montun ...

, branded as "Salsa 98.1".

Radio Training Network

On April 16, 2021, Entravision announced that the station would be sold, with the new owner to assume operations under a

local marketing agreement In North American broadcasting, a local marketing agreement (LMA), or local management agreement, is a contract in which one company agrees to operate a radio or television station owned by another party. In essence, it is a sort of lease or tim ...

(LMA) on April 19.

announced that it would acquire the station for $4 million, to run its

Christian adult contemporary Christian adult contemporary, also known as Christian AC or CAC, is a radio format. In the United States, Christian adult contemporary radio stations cater to a mostly adult audience and are similar to mainstream adult contemporary stations in that ...

network ''The JOY FM''. The sale closed on July 13, 2021. Ahead of the flip, 88.3

WPOZ WPOZ (88.3 MHz) is a non-commercial, listener-supported FM radio station licensed to Orlando, and serving Central Florida. It is owned by the Central Florida Educational Foundation, Inc., and it broadcasts a Contemporary Christian radio forma ...

, which also has a Christian Contemporary format, announced plans to rebrand under the ''Joy'' name, which may have forced the Radio Training Network to change its plans due to trade mark conflicts. But WPOZ abandoned that idea after ''The JOY FM'' launched.

References

External links

WNUE official website
*

{{Orlando Radio NUE-FM NUE-FM 1968 establishments in Florida Radio stations established in 1968 Contemporary Christian radio stations in the United States