WBBZ (1230 kHz, "Newstalk 1230") is an AM

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 to Ponca City, Oklahoma. The station broadcasts an

news/talk 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 featur ...

format and is owned by Sterling Broadcasting, LLC.

History

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 jurisd ...

(FCC) records list WBBZ's "Date First Licensed" as September 9, 1925. However, due to the station's complicated history, there are alternate chronologies that trace its founding to both early 1924, and January 1928. In early 1924 Noble B. Watson in Indianapolis, Indiana, was issued a license for a new station with the sequentially assigned call letters WBBZ. Nobel ceased operating the station in May 1925, and the Department of Commerce, regulators of radio at the time, reported that the station had been deleted. However, Noble sold the station equipment to

Charles Carrell Charles Lewis "C. L." Carrell (1875-December 11, 1933) was a Chicago-based theater and talent promoter. Beginning in 1925, Carrell became the licensee for seven portable radio stations, which were sent to small towns in the midwest for limited ru ...

of Chicago, Illinois, who on September 9, 1925, received a new station license that retained the WBBZ call letters. Carrell outfitted WBBZ as a portable broadcasting station, joining what would eventually be a roster of seven stations that he controlled. These stations were generally hired out for a few weeks at a time to theaters, mostly located in small midwestern towns that didn't have their own radio stations, to be used for special programs broadcast to the local community. WBBZ reportedly made its first Ponca City appearance sometime in 1927, when Carrell associate Harry Kyler brought the station to town for a week-long run at the Poncan Theatre. The station later returned for a longer stay at the Theatre, beginning with a broadcast at 7:00 p.m. on January 30, 1928. In May 1928, the recently formed

Federal Radio Commission The Federal Radio Commission (FRC) was a government agency that regulated United States radio communication from its creation in 1927 until 1934, when it was succeeded by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The FRC was established by t ...

announced it would soon end the licensing of portable facilities, and the stations were notified that they would be deleted if they didn't find permanent homes. Carrell decided to keep WBBZ permanently in Ponca City, while retaining full ownership. WBBZ was a charter member of the Oklahoma Network when it was formed in 1937. C. L. Carrell operated WBBZ until his death in 1933, after which his widow, Adelaide Lillian Carrell, took over as owner and station manager. She in turn made arrangements in 1948 to sell the station to the Ponca City Publishing Co., which was finalized early the next year. On September 12, 2018, WBBZ changed formats from

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 198 ...

adult contemporary 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 ...

, branded as "Sunny 1230", a format transferred from sister station

KQSN KQSN 104.7 FM is a radio station licensed to Ponca City, Oklahoma. The station broadcasts a country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States ...

, which switched to

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, whil ...

."Double Flip in Ponca City"
by Lance Venta, Radioinsight, September 12, 2018. On September 6, 2022, WBBZ changed formats from adult contemporary to news/talk.

References

External links

FCC History Cards for WBBZ
(covering 1927-1980) {{News/Talk Radio Stations in Oklahoma News and talk radio stations in the United States Radio stations established in 1928 µWBBZ (AM)