WBOB (600
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 ...
) is a
commercial AM radio station in
Jacksonville, Florida. The station airs a
talk
Talk may refer to:
Communication
* Communication, the encoding and decoding of exchanged messages between people
* Conversation, interactive communication between two or more people
* Lecture, an oral presentation intended to inform or instruct
...
radio format and is owned by Chesapeake-Portsmouth Broadcasting Corporation. Weekdays begin with a local news and information show, followed by mostly
syndicated programming, including shows from
Mark Levin,
Mike Gallagher,
Dennis Prager,
Jay Sekulow and
Red Eye Radio. Most hours begin with
Townhall News. Some hours are paid
brokered programming. The station calls itself "Talkradio AM 600 & FM 101.1 WBOB".
By day, WBOB is powered at 50,000
watts, the maximum power permitted for commercial AM stations by the
Federal Communications Commission (FCC). But at night, to protect other stations on
AM 600, it reduces power to 9,700 watts. 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 ...
, located off Lenox Avenue in Jacksonville, is used at all times. Listeners in Jacksonville and adjacent communities can also hear WBOB on
FM translator station W266CX at 101.1 in
Fruit Cove, Florida.
History
Early years
On December 9, 1933, 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 ...
as WMBR, at 1270
kilocycles. It was owned by the Florida Broadcasting Company and transmitted using 100 watts. In the 1940s, WMBR moved first to 1400 kHz and transmitting with 250 watts, then move to 1460 kHz and increased its power to 5,000 watts. WMBR was a
CBS Radio
CBS Radio was a radio broadcasting company and radio network operator owned by CBS Corporation and founded in 1928, with consolidated radio station groups owned by CBS and Westinghouse Broadcasting/Group W since the 1920s, and Infinity Broadc ...
Network affiliate, and carried its schedule of dramas, comedies, news, sports,
soap operas,
game shows and
big band broadcasts during the
Golden Age of Radio
The Golden Age of Radio, also known as the old-time radio (OTR) era, was an era of radio in the United States where it was the dominant electronic home entertainment, entertainment medium. It began with the birth of commercial radio broadcastin ...
.
In 1948, it added an FM station, WMBR-FM (now
WEJZ
WEJZ (96.1 FM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Jacksonville, Florida. It is owned by Renda Broadcasting and airs a mainstream adult contemporary radio format. WEJZ is the Jacksonville affiliate for the syndicated Delilah and John T ...
), and in 1949, it put a TV station on the air, WMBR-TV (now
WJXT). WMBR-TV was the first TV station in Jacksonville and carried programming from all the major networks initially.
Meanwhile, in 1942, another AM station went on the air in Jacksonville, WJDC at 1270 kHz. It was owned by the Jacksonville Broadcasting Company and was powered at 5,000 watts. In a few years, it had moved to 600 kHz. It changed its
call sign to WPDQ and was an
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
affiliate. Henderson Belk, a North Carolina businessman, purchased WPDQ in 1964 from
Brush-Moore Newspapers.
[WPDQ Jacksonville sold for $750,000](_blank)
''Broadcasting'', Volume 66, pp. 9, 96 (May 18, 1964)
Moving to AM 600
In the 1960s and early 1970s, WPDQ carried a
Top 40 format, while WMBR stayed with its
full service Full service or Full Service may refer to:
* Full-service radio, a wide range of programming
* Full Service Network, a communications company
Entertainment
* "Full Service", a song by the New Kids on the Block from their album ''The Block''
* F ...
middle of the road (MOR) format. In 1975, after Belk sold the station to Robert Rounsaville of Atlanta,
[Jacksonville stations undergo four-way juggle](_blank)
''Television/Radio Age'', Volume 23, p.11 (1975) the two stations made a switch. WMBR took the better frequency at 600 kHz, describing its format as "Bright MOR Personality." WPDQ moved higher up the dial to WMBR's old frequency, 1460 kHz, continuing its Top 40 format.
In 1977, AM 600 switched its call letters to WSNY, calling itself "Sunny 60," although the format remained the same. Then, in 1980, the call letters were changed to WAIV, and began
simulcasting Top 40 programming from its FM
sister station
In broadcasting, sister stations or sister channels are radio or television stations operated by the same company, either by direct ownership or through a management agreement.
Radio sister stations will often have different formats, and somet ...
WAIV-FM, known as “The Big Wave.”
From Country to Talk
Pop Country became the new format in 1981 with a call letter change to WOKV, known as "OK 60 The Unrock." Music continued on WOKV through the 1980s, with various adjustments from pop country to
adult contemporary to
oldies. In 1986, the station was bought by
EZ Communications.
Broadcasting Yearbook 1990 page B-67
/ref> AM 600 would then flip to a news/talk format, and was Jacksonville's original home of the syndicated Rush Limbaugh Show.
In 1994, Prism Radio Partners acquired the former WAPE, "The Big Ape." WAPE had Jacksonville's best AM signal, transmitting with 50,000 watts by day non-directional, and 10,000 watts at night with a directional signal. The WOKV callsign and news/talk programming was moved to 690 AM; the WPDQ callsign was again returned to AM 600, and flipped to an adult standards format.
Sports and Radio Disney
In 1996, WPDQ flipped to sports talk as "The Ball"; concurrent with the flip, WPDQ changed call letters to WBWL.
Cox Radio purchased the station in 1999, and in April 2002, WBWL was sold to The Walt Disney Company, and became Jacksonville's affiliate for Radio Disney
Radio Disney was an American radio network operated by the Disney Radio Networks unit of Disney Branded Television within the Disney General Entertainment Content, headquartered in Burbank, California.
The network broadcast music programming ...
on August 1 of that year.
WBOB Talk
Children's radio Children's radio is a radio format aimed primarily at preteen children. Examples include the now defunct Radio Disney network of radio stations, Kids Place Live satellite radio channel and in the UK Fun Kids.
Stations
See also
*List of children ...
programming lasted until October 1, 2010, when Radio Disney sold WBWL to Chesapeake-Portsmouth Broadcasting Corporation. The call letters were changed to WBOB, and the format flipped to conservative talk, featuring Bill Bennett's Morning in America, Laura Ingraham and Glenn Beck
Glenn Lee Beck (born February 10, 1964) is an American conservative political commentator, radio host, entrepreneur, and television producer. He is the CEO, founder, and owner of Mercury Radio Arts, the parent company of his television and rad ...
, along with a variety of local news and talk programming.
As of the 2014 season, WBOB broadcasts games from the Jacksonville Sharks Arena Football League. Also in the mid-2010s, WBOB got a power boost, going from 5,000 watts day and night, to 50,000 watts in the daytime and 9,700 watts at night.
References
External links
FCC History Cards for WBOB
*
*
{{Jacksonville Radio
BOB
Radio stations established in 1933
1933 establishments in Florida
Former subsidiaries of The Walt Disney Company
News and talk radio stations in the United States