WBUK (106.3 FM) – branded ''106.3 The Fox'' – is a commercial

classic rock Classic rock is a US radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the mid 1990s, primar ...

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 ...

licensed to

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

. Owned by the Findlay Publishing Company through licensee Blanchard River Broadcasting, the station serves the

Northwest Ohio Northwest Ohio, or Northwestern Ohio, consists of multiple counties in the northwestern corner of the US state of Ohio. This area borders Lake Erie, Southeast Michigan, and northeastern Indiana. Some areas are also considered the Black Swamp are ...

counties of Putnam,

Hancock Hancock may refer to: Places in the United States * Hancock, Iowa * Hancock, Maine * Hancock, Maryland * Hancock, Massachusetts * Hancock, Michigan * Hancock, Minnesota * Hancock, Missouri * Hancock, New Hampshire ** Hancock (CDP), New Hampshir ...

, and

Allen Allen, Allen's or Allens may refer to: Buildings * Allen Arena, an indoor arena at Lipscomb University in Nashville, Tennessee * Allen Center, a skyscraper complex in downtown Houston, Texas * Allen Fieldhouse, an indoor sports arena on the Unive ...

. The WBUK studios are located in the city of Findlay, while the station transmitter resides near the village of Pandora.

History

The 106.3 frequency originally was home to WPNM (with the calls standing for Putnam, the station's county of license) and was founded on February 4, 1977 by Bellefontaine-based Triplett Broadcasting which owned the former WTOO AM & FM (now

WBLL WBLL (1390 AM) is an American radio station in Bellefontaine, Ohio. It currently broadcasts with country music programming, along with certain sporting events (Cleveland Guardians baseball, local high school sports). The station is owned by V-T ...

(AM) and

WPKO-FM WPKO-FM (98.3 FM) is an American radio station in Bellefontaine, Ohio. It is programmed in a hot adult contemporary radio format, and is almost entirely locally produced. The station is owned by V-Teck Communications, and is the sister station to ...

respectively) and

WYNT WYNT (95.9 FM) is a hot adult contemporary station formerly located in Upper Sandusky, Ohio now located with its studios in Marion, Ohio and its transmitter and city of license moved to Caledonia, Ohio. It broadcasts music from the 1990s through ...

when it was still in Upper Sandusky. Financial difficulties forced Triplett to sell its properties in the 1980s. WPNM's studios were originally located in its city of license of Ottawa which at first tried a contemporary hit format, then for many years employed a jazz format until 1986 when it became WQTL. The WBUK calls and format moved to 106.3 in 2002. WBUK launched in 1991 under the ownership of the late Charles Hutchinson's CHH Corporation, and under the direction of Jake Phillips as General Manager and Michael Waite as program director. Phillips was also the General Manager that launched 92Zoo in the same market in the mid 80's. WBUK "The Big Buck" originally broadcast from 1991 to 2002 at 107.5 in the city of license of Ft. Shawnee with studios located on South Metcalf Street near the Ottawa River. It became part of the Lima cluster of

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 ...

in the late 1990s. The 107.5 frequency is now occupied by

active rock Active rock is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations across the United States and Canada. Active rock stations play a balance of new hard rock songs with valued classic rock favorites, normally with an emphasis on the harder edge o ...

WZRX-FM WZRX-FM (107.5 FM broadcasting, FM) is a commercial radio station broadcasting an oldies format. Licensed to Fort Shawnee, Ohio, United States, the station serves the Lima area. The station is currently owned by . Its studios and offices are locat ...

. Over the years, The Big Buck played home to many well known Lima radio personalities. The Breakfast Bunch with Steve McCoy and Todd Walker, Michael Waite(Now OM of WJBR Wilmington, Delaware), Adam Wright, Mike Edwards, Phil Austin, Renee Scott, Betsy Winget, Dave (Mark) Ryan, Spark Simon, "The Roger Ride" Roger Foreman, Eric Hansen, Cori Paige, Jim Edwards, Tony Day, Bobby Cole, and many others.

Current programming

Until 106.3 became the new home of "The Fox", long time Lima area broadcast veteran Spark Simon was the morning personality on "The Big Buck"; the rest of the on-air broadcasts was provided by

Jones Radio Networks Jones Radio Networks & Jones Media Group were branches of Jones International before being sold to Triton Media Group. JRN and JMN provide local radio stations with satellite-delivered formats. They also offer other services to local radio such ...

' Good Time Oldies format. Renee Scott was previously an air personality. As part of a divesture among Clear Channel's small-market radio stations, WBUK was initially sold to Florida-based GoodRadio.TV LLC in May 2007, but the deal soon collapsed prior to FCC approval. In September 2008, Clear Channel Communications sold WBUK to the Blanchard River Broadcasting subsidiary of Findlay Publishing Company, which owns and operates

WFIN WFIN (1330 AM) is a radio station broadcasting a mixed news/talk and sports talk format. Licensed to Findlay, Ohio, United States, the station is currently owned by Blanchard River Broadcasting Company, which is owned by The Findlay Publishing Co ...

AM and

WKXA-FM WKXA-FM (100.5 FM) is a radio station licensed to Findlay, Ohio, United States. The station is currently owned by Blanchard River Broadcasting Company, a division of the Findlay Publishing Company. History The station began as WFIN-FM and in 1 ...

. Blanchard's purchase of WBUK has since earned FCC approval. WLIO story of WBUK's sale to Blanchard River Broadcasting, September 19, 2008
/ref> As WBUK's format is a competitor to the

classic hits Classic hits is a radio format which generally includes songs from the top 40 music charts from the late 1960s to the early 2000s, with music from the 1980s serving as the core of the format. Music that was popularized by MTV in the early 1980s ...

format of WKXA, WKXA has since changed to a

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...

format.

References

External links

* * {{Findlay Publishing Company BUK Radio stations established in 1977 Classic rock radio stations in the United States 1977 establishments in Ohio