WCFB

Last updated

WCFB
Star 94.5.png
Broadcast area Central Florida–Greater Orlando
Frequency 94.5 MHz (HD Radio)
BrandingStar 94.5
Programming
Format Urban AC
Subchannels HD2: Power Orlando (Top 40 (CHR))
Ownership
Owner
History
First air date
March 1947;77 years ago (1947-03)
Former call signs
  • WNDB-FM (1947–1973)
  • WDNJ (1973–1978)
  • WWLV (1978–1992)
Call sign meaning
Central Florida's B 94.5 (former branding)
Technical information [1]
Licensing authority
 FCC
Facility ID 10343
Class C
ERP 100,000 watts
HAAT 451 meters (1480 ft)
Links
Public license information
Webcast
Website star945.com
powerorlando.com (HD2)

WCFB (94.5 MHz) is a commercial FM radio station licensed to Daytona Beach, Florida, serving the Greater Orlando area. The station is owned by Cox Media Group, and airs an urban adult contemporary radio format. Its studios and offices are located on North John Young Parkway in Orlando. [2] On weekdays, WCFB carries the syndicated Rickey Smiley Morning Show, as well as an hour of urban contemporary gospel music at 5 a.m., and a Quiet Storm program at night.

Contents

The station has a powerful 100,000 watt Class C signal, heard from St. Augustine to Ocala to Kissimmee. [3] (The horizontal polarization in 97,500 watts, but increases to the maximum 100,000 with beam tilt.) The transmitter tower is off Redlands Drive in DeLand. [4]

History

Former Star 94.5 logo WCFB former logo.png
Former Star 94.5 logo

The station first signed on March 31, 1947, as WNDB-FM, the first standalone FM station in the state of Florida; [5] the next year, the newspaper launched an AM outlet, WNDB (1150 AM). [6] It was owned by the News-Journal Corporation, the publisher of the Daytona Beach News Journal. For most of its first two decades, it largely simulcast its AM counterpart. In 1973, it changed its call sign to WDNJ, airing a beautiful music format with some classical music as well.

In 1978, the station switched to soft adult contemporary as WWLV, Love 94.5. On September 25, 1992, after being purchased by New City Communications, WWLV flipped to country as WCFB, using the identifier Young Country B94.5. [7] [8] [9] Some of B94.5 on air personalities included "Big" Steve Kelly, Ellis B Feaster (now at WPOZ in Orlando), & Buzz Jackson. On May 11, 1995, WCFB changed formats to Rhythmic AC, which later evolved to Urban Adult Contemporary as Star 94.5. [10] [11] [12] This makes WCFB the first urban radio station in years in Orlando to challenge longtime WJHM, which switched formats from rhythmic contemporary to urban contemporary by that time. When WJHM returned to Rhythmic Top 40 in 2011, WCFB once again became the de facto Urban outlet in Central Florida, even though it has always stayed in its own lane with its audience rather than try to compete fiercely for listeners.

WCFB was acquired by Cox Media Group in 1997.

Logo as Urban AC, 2010-2014; the new logo is the same, but with the new slogan. WCFB logo.png
Logo as Urban AC, 2010–2014; the new logo is the same, but with the new slogan.

A tornado on February 2, 2007, knocked WCFB's signal off the air for a brief period, as it destroyed the transmitter site and a nearby building, near Pine Lakes. The station returned to the air broadcasting from a temporary transmitter located at another Cox owned tower in Christmas for a short period of time before the station's temporary transmitter site moved to high power facilities at a tower in Orange City off of Miller Rd. The replacement tower in Paisley was finished in mid-November 2007. As of October 24, 2008, WCFB has moved back to the Pine Lakes site.

On November 26, 2014, WCFB flipped from Urban AC to classic hip hop. At that time, WCFB dropped the syndicated "Tom Joyner Morning Show", and replaced it with The Steve Harvey Morning Show . [13] However, due to negative audience feedback, in December 2014, WCFB flipped back to Urban AC, with the classic hip hop format moving to their HD3 sub-channel. [13]

Digital subchannels

HD2 and W297BB

WCFB-HD2 broadcasts in the HD Radio hybrid format. In 2014, the HD2 channel began simulcasting on an FM translator at 107.3 MHz with the call sign W297BB. That translator was originally home to Christian AC-formatted WREH and was simulcast on iHeartMedia's WRUM-HD2 before Cox bought the translator in August 2013. [14]

On June 16, 2014, WCFB-HD2 (which dropped an urban gospel format) and W297BB began stunting with a "Wheel of Formats", which consisted of a Christian Contemporary music format known as Rejoice 107.3, and a soft adult contemporary format, 107.3 The Dove. [15] [16] This was followed by a 40-hour loop of The Beatles' "Revolution". On June 19 at noon, WCFB-HD2/W297BB officially flipped to alternative rock, branded as "X107.3". "X" launched with "Pompeii" by Bastille. [17] [18] The translator/HD2 signal also aired Jacksonville Jaguars programming when sister station WDBO was occupied by Miami Dolphins programming. (WDBO owns the affiliate rights in Orlando for both teams.)

On February 22, 2016, at Midnight, after playing "Ways to Go" by Grouplove, W297BB/WCFB-HD2 began stunting with a loop of Newcleus' "Jam On It." At noon, the frequencies flipped to Spanish Hot AC, branded as 107.3 Solo Éxitos. [19]

After the "Exitos" format was tweaked to contemporary hits and moved to WOEX on June 29, 2020, WCFB-HD2 flipped to ESPN Radio's national feed and was later deactivated. The HD2 signal was reactivated in March 2022, carrying a simulcast of former sister station WPYO, pending that station’s sale to Spanish Broadcasting System and eventual format flip. On April 1, 2022, at midnight, WPYO's former CHR format without on-air staff ended up moving to WCFB-HD2 entirely under the "Power Orlando" branding. The first song on "Power Orlando" was "Heat Waves" by Glass Animals. On September 28, 2022, at 7:06 pm, after playing “Astronaut in the Ocean” by Masked Wolf, WCFB-HD2 and all other Cox radio stations in the area went on to simulcast WDBO to provide updates for Hurricane Ian. By September 30, the other local radio stations went back to mostly normal operations, but WCFB-HD2 continued to simulcast WDBO post-Hurricane Ian, showing signs of “Power Orlando” possibly winding down operations. “Power Orlando” did not return to normal operations until Monday, October 10, 2022, at 1:30 pm, in which “I Ain't Worried” by OneRepublic was played. “Power Orlando” ended up lasting longer than the remnants of “96 Rock” that continued on the HD2 sub channel of WDBO-FM (now WOEX), which only lasted a few months.

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References

  1. ↑ "Facility Technical Data for WCFB". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  2. ↑ "STAR 94.5". STAR 94.5. Archived from the original on May 28, 2021. Retrieved October 27, 2021.
  3. ↑ FCC.gov/WCFB
  4. ↑ "WCFB-FM Radio Station Coverage Map". radio-locator.com. Archived from the original on October 27, 2021. Retrieved November 30, 2017.
  5. ↑ "FM Station To Open At Daytona Beach". The Miami News. Associated Press. March 31, 1947. p. 1-B. Archived from the original on October 27, 2021. Retrieved July 13, 2020.
  6. ↑ "Broadcasting Yearbook 1968 page B-35" (PDF).
  7. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on February 16, 2016. Retrieved July 7, 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  8. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on February 16, 2016. Retrieved July 7, 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  9. ↑ "Ratings" (PDF). www.americanradiohistory.com. Retrieved October 27, 2021.
  10. ↑ "Vox Jox". Billboard . Vol. 107, no. 20. May 20, 1995. p. 100.
  11. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on February 16, 2016. Retrieved July 7, 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  12. ↑ "Ratings" (PDF). www.americanradiohistory.com. Retrieved October 27, 2021.
  13. 1 2 "Star 94.5 Orlando Retreats From All Classic Hip-Hop". December 9, 2014. Archived from the original on November 27, 2020. Retrieved October 27, 2021.
  14. ↑ "Cox Acquires Orlando Area Translator". August 14, 2013. Archived from the original on June 1, 2016. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
  15. ↑ "W297BB Rejoice 107 3 Orlando – Cox Radio Orlando Format stunting – June 16 2014". Archived from the original on October 27, 2021. Retrieved February 23, 2016– via www.youtube.com.
  16. ↑ "W297BB The Dove-Rejoice 107.3 Orlando – Cox Radio Orlando Format stunting – June 17 2014 5-6PM". Archived from the original on October 27, 2021. Retrieved February 23, 2016– via www.youtube.com.
  17. ↑ "Cox Launches X107.3 Orlando". June 19, 2014. Archived from the original on June 20, 2018. Retrieved October 27, 2021.
  18. ↑ "X107.3 Debuts". June 19, 2014. Archived from the original on September 26, 2020. Retrieved October 27, 2021.
  19. ↑ "X107.3 Orlando Flips to Spanish Hot AC". February 22, 2016. Archived from the original on June 1, 2016. Retrieved February 22, 2016.

28°58′48″N81°27′18″W / 28.980°N 81.455°W / 28.980; -81.455

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