WBEE-FM

Last updated
WBEE-FM
WBEE-FM logo.png
Broadcast area Rochester metro area
Frequency 92.5 MHz (HD Radio)
Branding92.5 WBEE
Programming
Language(s) English
Format Country
Subchannels HD2: WROC simulcast (sports radio)
Ownership
Owner
  • Audacy, Inc.
  • (Audacy License, LLC, as Debtor-in-Possession)
History
First air date
February 1961 (1961-02)
Former call signs
  • WBBF-FM (1961–69)
  • WBFB (1969–76)
  • WNWZ (1976–1977)
  • WMJQ (1977–86)
  • WLRY (1986–87)
Former frequencies
101.3 MHz (1961–1965)
Call sign meaning
 Honeybee
Technical information [1]
Licensing authority
 FCC
Facility ID 71206
Class B
ERP 50,000  watts
HAAT 152 meters (499 ft)
Transmitter coordinates
 43°10′37″N77°28′37″W / 43.177°N 77.477°W / 43.177; -77.477
Translator(s) HD2: 95.7 W239BF (Rochester)
Links
Public license information
Webcast Listen live (via  Audacy)
Website www.audacy.com/wbee

WBEE-FM (92.5 MHz) is a commercial radio station in Rochester, New York. It airs a country music radio format and is owned by Audacy, Inc. (formerly Entercom Communications), after being acquired from Sinclair Broadcasting in 1999. The station's studios are located in downtown Rochester at Entercom's High Falls Studios, while its transmitter tower is off Five Mile Line Road in Penfield. [2]

Contents

The station is usually #1 or #2 in listenership in the Rochester radio market according to Nielsen Audio. The station broadcasts in HD and airs the all-sports format from co-owned AM 950 WROC on its HD-2 channel.

History

The 92.5 MHz frequency in Rochester was first occupied in 1960 by WVOR, owned by the Functional Broadcasting Company. [3] But within a couple of years, that station moved to 100.5 (home today to WDVI). In 1965, classical music station WBBF-FM moved to the unoccupied 92.5 frequency. WBBF-FM had already been established in 1961 at 101.3 as the sister station to popular AM outlet WBBF. The call letters were changed to WBFB in 1969. [4]

In 1975, NBC Radio started a 24-hour all-news radio network called NIS (News and Information Service), with WBFB switching to join the NIS Network, becoming WNWZ, and donating its classical music library to WXXI-FM, which has remained a classical station ever since. However, the network was not profitable, and NBC announced it would be shut down at the end of 1976.

At the same time, the soft rock format had been catching on around the country, heard on stations such as WMGK in Philadelphia and WMJC in Detroit. LIN Broadcasting, which owned WNWZ at the time, decided to put a soft rock format on 92.5, calling the station WMJQ, as well as their branding "Magic 92". [5] These stations played many of the same artists as were heard on album rock stations, but only their softer works. Over time, WMJQ moved to a more mainstream album rock direction, putting it in competition with Rochester's leading rock station WCMF, eventually WMJQ was renamed as "Rockradio 92MJQ".

By early 1983, WMJQ had shifted to more of a modern rock format, though continuing to play a lot of mainstream album rock artists, and used the slogan "Rock of The Eighties." The modern rock format had proved to be quite successful on KROQ-FM in Los Angeles and other stations around the country. However, in the late summer of 1983, LIN Broadcasting decided to make a switch; co-owned WBBF had given up its Top 40/CHR format for news-talk the previous year, as many AM stations were doing at the time. Capitalizing on this, WMJQ switched to a Top 40/CHR format in early September 1983, under their new nickname as "Hitradio Q92". (The Rochester market now had three FM Top 40/CHR/stations (WPXY-FM had adopted a Top 40/CHR format the previous year, and WHFM (98.9 FM) had been Top 40/CHR leader since the late 1960s)). Even after WHFM changed format in early 1985, WMJQ was in a difficult competitive position against format ratings-leader WPXY.

On April 2, 1987, WMJQ flipped to another format that was quickly becoming popular among FM radio stations at the time and began broadcasting country music as WBEE-FM. [6] (The WMJQ call sign was then immediately acquired by what is now WBKV in Buffalo, who held the sign for the next decade.) It used the FM suffix to its call letters because there was already an AM station, WBEE in Harvey, Illinois near Chicago, now known as WBGX.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WZGC</span> Sports radio station in Atlanta

WZGC – branded 92.9 The Game – is a commercial sports radio station licensed to serve Atlanta, Georgia, covering the Atlanta metropolitan area. Owned by Audacy, Inc., WZGC is the Atlanta affiliate for Infinity Sports Network; the flagship station for the Atlanta Falcons, Atlanta Hawks and Atlanta United FC radio networks; and the radio home of Randy McMichael. The WZGC studios are located at Colony Square in Midtown Atlanta, while the station transmitter is located in Atlanta's North Druid Hills neighborhood. In addition to a standard analog transmission, WZGC broadcasts over one HD Radio channel, and is available online via Audacy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WFLY</span> Radio station in New York, United States

WFLY is a Top 40/CHR radio station licensed to Troy, New York, and serving the Capital District. The station is owned by Pamal Broadcasting and is considered the company's flagship station. The radio studios and offices are at 6 Johnson Road in Latham.

WXTU is a commercial radio station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Owned by Beasley Broadcast Group, the station broadcasts a country music format. Its studios and offices are located at 1 Bala Plaza on East City Avenue in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania, while its transmitter is located in the Roxborough section of the city.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WRXL</span> Radio station in Virginia, United States

WRXL is a commercial radio station licensed to Richmond, Virginia, and serving Central Virginia. WRXL is owned and operated by Audacy, Inc. WRXL airs an alternative rock radio format.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KALV-FM</span> Contemporary hit radio station in Phoenix

KALV-FM is a commercial radio station in Phoenix, Arizona. It is owned by Audacy, Inc. and it airs a top 40 (CHR) format. KALV-FM's studios are located in downtown Phoenix, and its transmitter is in South Mountain Park. For its first 20 years, the stations went by the call letters KHEP. From 1992 - 2016, the station used the callsign KZON.

WTIC-FM is a commercial radio station in Hartford, Connecticut. It is owned by Audacy, Inc. and broadcasts a hot adult contemporary radio format. The station's studios and offices are located on Executive Drive in Farmington.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KFRG</span> Radio station in San Bernardino, California

KFRG is a commercial radio station licensed to San Bernardino, California, and broadcasting to the Riverside-San Bernardino-Inland Empire radio market. KFRG airs a country music radio format calling itself "K-FROG" and is believed to be the original "Frog" station under previous owner Keymarket. The brand name has been subsequently licensed by Keymarket to dozens of American radio stations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WWMX</span> Radio station in Maryland, United States

WWMX, known on-air as Mix 106.5, is a commercial radio station in Baltimore, Maryland. It broadcasts a hot adult contemporary radio format and is owned by Audacy, Inc. The studios and offices are on Clarkview Road off Jones Falls Expressway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WRVQ</span> Contemporary hit radio station in Richmond, Virginia

WRVQ is a commercial radio station licensed to Richmond, Virginia, and serving Central Virginia. WRVQ is owned and operated by Audacy, Inc. It airs a top 40 (CHR) radio format. The syndicated Elvis Duran show from former sister station WHTZ in New York City is heard in morning drive time. The studios and offices are located just north of Richmond city limits on Basie Road in unincorporated Henrico County, Virginia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WPXY-FM</span> Radio station in Rochester, New York, US

WPXY-FM is a heritage top 40 (CHR) station licensed to Rochester, New York. Its transmitter is located on Pinnacle Hill in Brighton, and its studios are located at High Falls Studios in downtown Rochester. WPXY also broadcasts on HD Radio, and includes a secondary subchannel, known as "Channel Q", which carries an LGBTQ+-oriented Talk/EDM format.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WJBQ</span> Radio station in Maine, United States

WJBQ is a commercial radio station in Portland, Maine. It is owned by Townsquare Media and it airs a top 40 (CHR) format. The studios and offices are at One City Center in Downtown Portland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WLYF</span> Adult contemporary radio station in Miami

WLYF is a commercial radio station in Miami, Florida. Owned by Audacy, Inc., it broadcasts an adult contemporary radio format. WLYF's studios and offices are co-located with its Audacy sister stations on NE 2nd Avenue in Miami.

WBKV is a radio station in Buffalo, New York. It is owned by Educational Media Foundation and is a part of its K-Love network.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WKRZ</span> Radio station in Freeland, Pennsylvania

WKRZ is a commercial radio station licensed to Freeland, Pennsylvania, and serving the Wilkes-Barre - Scranton - Northeastern Pennsylvania radio market. It has aired a Top 40/CHR radio format since 1980. The station is owned by Audacy, Inc., through licensee Audacy License, LLC.

WBBF is a commercial AM radio station in Buffalo, New York. It airs a top 40 (CHR) radio format and is owned by Cumulus Media. The studios and offices are on James E. Casey Drive in Buffalo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KEPN</span> ESPN Radio affiliate in Lakewood, Colorado

KEPN is a commercial radio station licensed to Lakewood, Colorado, and serving the Denver metropolitan area. It is owned by Salt Lake City–based Bonneville International with studios and located in Greenwood Village, and the transmitter is in Lakewood.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WBZA</span> Radio station in Rochester, New York

WBZA is a commercial FM radio station in Rochester, New York. It airs an adult hits format and is owned by Audacy, Inc., based at the High Falls Studios, on Commercial Street and State Street in downtown Rochester.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WROC (AM)</span> Radio station in Rochester, New York

WROC, currently branded as 95.7 The Fan, is an AM radio station licensed to Rochester, New York, airing a sports radio format. The format is closely affiliated with Buffalo sister station WGR, and carries content from Infinity Sports Network, the BetQL Network, and local shows, along with play-by-play from teams owned by Pegula Sports and Entertainment. The station's studios are located at High Falls Studios downtown, and its transmitter tower is on Rochester's southside near the I-390/I-590 freeway interchange.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WFKL</span> Radio station in Fairport, New York

WFKL is an FM radio station licensed to Fairport, New York, and serving the Rochester metropolitan area. The station, branded as "Fickle 93.3", broadcasts an adult hits radio format, or what the station refers to as "We Play Everything," similar to Jack FM. It is and owned by Stephens Media Group which also owns WRMM and WZNE. The studios are in the First Federal Plaza building in downtown Rochester.

WDCX is a commercial AM radio station licensed to Rochester, New York. The station airs a brokered religious radio format. WDCX's license is held by Kimtron, Inc. which is owned by Crawford Broadcasting. WDCX was a sister station to 102.7 WLGZ-FM.

References

  1. ↑ "Facility Technical Data for WBEE-FM". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  2. ↑ Radio-Locator.com/WBEE
  3. ↑ Broadcasting Yearbook 1963 page B-126
  4. ↑ Broadcasting Yearbook 1972 page B-145
  5. ↑ Broadcasting Yearbook 1978 page C-151
  6. ↑ WMJQ Drops CHR For Country Format (Radio & Records 4/10/1987, page 6)
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.