WXBN (880 kHz) is a

commercial Commercial may refer to: * a dose of advertising conveyed through media (such as - for example - radio or television) ** Radio advertisement ** Television advertisement * (adjective for:) commerce, a system of voluntary exchange of products and s ...

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 Sweetwater, Florida, and serving the Miami–Fort Lauderdale

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 and radio station offerings, and may also incl ...

. It is owned by

iHeartMedia, Inc. 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 ...

, and airs a black-oriented news format as an affiliate of the co-owned

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 ...

880 AM The following radio stations broadcast on AM frequency 880 kHz: 880 AM is classified as a North American clear-channel frequency by the Federal Communications Commission; WCBS in New York City is the dominant Class A station on 880 k ...

is a United States

clear-channel A clear-channel station is an AM radio station in North America that has the highest protection from interference from other stations, particularly concerning night-time skywave propagation. The system exists to ensure the viability of cross-cou ...

frequency reserved for Class A WCBS in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. WXBN uses a highly directional antenna array (8 towers) to prevent interference to WCBS's nighttime skywave signal. The

transmitter In electronics and telecommunications, a radio transmitter or just transmitter is an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna. The transmitter itself generates a radio frequency alternating current, which is applied to the ...

is off the

Tamiami Trail The Tamiami Trail () is the southernmost of U.S. Highway 41 (US 41) from State Road 60 (SR 60) in Tampa to US 1 in Miami. A portion of the road also has the hidden designation of State Road 90 (SR 90). The north� ...

(

U.S. Route 41 U.S. Route 41, also U.S. Highway 41 (US 41), is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway that runs from Miami, Florida, to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Until 1949, the part in southern Florida, from Naples to Miami, ...

) in

Everglades, Florida Everglades City (formerly known as Everglades) is a city in Collier County, Florida, United States, of which it is the former county seat. As of the 2010 census, the population is 400. It is part of the Naples– Marco Island Metropolitan Stat ...

History

Florida City Radio

A construction permit was granted to Florida City Radio 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 ...

(FCC) on February 18, 2008, to start this station. The

call letters 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 ...

WZAB were issued on July 15, 2008. But the station did not go on the air until

Salem Communications Salem Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: SALM; formerly Salem Communications Corporation) is an American radio broadcaster, Internet content provider, and magazine and book publisher formerly based in Camarillo, California (moved most operations to Irv ...

began its local marketing agreement (LMA) with Florida City Radio to operate the station. WZAB made its debut on October 7, 2008, airing a business

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 ...

format as "880 The Biz". Florida City Radio soon sold the station to Salem outright for $1.4 million.

Catholic programming

On July 25, 2019, Salem Media Group agreed to sell WZAB and WKAT in the Miami market, as well as WLCC and

WWMI WWMI (1380 AM) is a radio station broadcasting a Catholic talk format, as an affiliate of Relevant Radio. Licensed to St. Petersburg, Florida, United States, the station serves the Tampa Bay Area. The station is owned by Relevant Radio, Inc. H ...

in 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 ...

market, to Immaculate Heart Media, Inc. for more than $8.2 million. The sale closed on September 30, 2019. WZAB began airing

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

religious programming with the sale. But the Miami area also has a Catholic station on 1080 AM, WQOS in Coral Gables. The religious format on 880 AM lasted a little over a year.

Black Information Network

iHeartMedia began operating WZAB under a local marketing agreement (LMA) on October 1, 2020, with the intention of making it Miami's Black Information Network outlet. It was part of a deal in which WZAB would be swapped to iHeart in exchange for

KKDD KKDD (1290 AM) is a radio station in San Bernardino, California. The station is owned by Relevant Radio, Inc. It airs a Catholic talk format for the Inland Empire region of Southern California including Riverside and San Bernardino. History ...

San Bernardino, California San Bernardino (; Spanish for "Saint Bernardino") is a city and county seat of San Bernardino County, California, United States. Located in the Inland Empire region of Southern California, the city had a population of 222,101 in the 2020 ce ...

, W292DH in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...

, and $1 million. Following a day of carrying historical speeches, WZAB began carrying BIN programming on October 2. Effective November 30, 2020, iHeartMedia acquired WZAB.iHeartRadio Acquires WZAB-AM/Miami in Radio Swap
Radio Online - December 8, 2020 The call sign was changed to WXBN on March 3, 2021.

References

External links

{{IHeartMedia XBN Radio stations established in 2008 2008 establishments in Florida Black Information Network stations All-news radio stations in the United States IHeartMedia radio stations