![]() | |
Broadcast area | Tampa Bay Area |
---|---|
Frequency | 94.1 MHz (HD Radio) |
Branding | WiLD 94.1 |
Programming | |
Format | Rhythmic CHR |
Ownership | |
Owner |
|
WPBB, WJBR, WQYK-FM, WRBQ-FM, WYUU | |
History | |
First air date | August 29, 1965 |
Former call signs |
|
Call sign meaning | "Wild" |
Technical information [1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
Facility ID | 51987 |
Class | C |
ERP | 100,000 watts |
HAAT | 455 meters (1,493 ft) |
Links | |
Public license information | |
Webcast | Listen live |
Website | wild941.com |
WLLD (94.1 FM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Lakeland, Florida, and serving the Tampa Bay area. Owned by Beasley Broadcast Group, it broadcasts a rhythmic CHR format. WLLD's studios and offices are located in St. Petersburg, and its transmitter site is located in southeastern Hillsborough County near the "Four Corners" approximately 30 miles southeast of Tampa.
94.1 signed on the air on August 29, 1965 . [2] The original call sign was WVFM and it and aired an easy listening format. The station played quarter hour sweeps of soft instrumentals, along with some mellow vocals. It was largely automated.
The station was off the air for almost a year between November 1966 and September 1967. [3] The owners didn't want to broadcast while it was in the process of being sold. Easy listening remained the format at WVFM for almost three decades. The station changed its call letters to WEZY in 1988. WEZY later evolved from mostly instrumental beautiful music into soft adult contemporary before changing to smooth jazz WSJT on July 1, 1995. [4] [5]
The kayfabe line is that the station was started by two friends, Josh and Brian, who had been drinking on Josh's father's boat claiming to have pirated radio waves. The duo bragged of their contraband and irregulated airwaves until they were bought and turned into what is now the station that is broadcasting today. In reality, the station just had a very small budget to start with, often resulting in the same songs playing over and over again. Tone Lōc's "Wild Thing" was the first song the station had played over the air. The fictional friends would claim to have allegiance toward the song during their drunken stupor and continued to play the song repeatedly over the course of days. For the first few days the station was on the air, the song continued to be played in an effort to spark word of mouth attention.
At first, WLLD's musical direction included a balanced mix of hit-driven R&B, Hip-Hop music and Dance tracks, mostly to counter Top 40 rival 93.3 WFLZ-FM, a move that would pay off up until WBTP (WFLZ's sister station) debuted as an urban contemporary station. Today, WLLD's playlist is atypical of most rhythmic stations as it consists of mostly hip-hop and R&B hits, thus is considered to be a rhythmic crossover by "Billboard".
WLLD was located on the 98.7 frequency from May 15, 1998, until 5:00 p.m. on August 19, 2009. At that point, it swapped frequencies with smooth jazz station WSJT (now the current WPBB). The first song played after the switch was Tone Loc's "Wild Thing", the same first song that was played when WLLD was first launched in 1998 when it was on the 98.7 frequency.
On October 2, 2014, CBS Radio announced that it would trade all of the company's radio stations in Charlotte and Tampa (including WLLD), as well as WIP (AM) in Philadelphia, to the Beasley Broadcast Group. This was in exchange for five stations in Miami and Philadelphia. [6] The swap was completed on December 1, 2014. [7]
The Last Damn Show is an annual concert put on by WLLD. It is put on in late October or early November every year since 1999. The show got its title from being the "last damn show" before the world ended in Y2K; hence, in continuation with the world remaining unscathed. Past performers include Eminem, Lil Wayne, Destiny's Child, P. Diddy, Busta Rhymes, Bubba Sparxxx, Lil Jon and the Eastside Boyz, Trick Daddy, Luke, Ludacris, Kanye West, and Twista among others. The concert was originally held at The St. Pete Times Forum, but is held in other locations, such as Tropicana Field. It has pulled in over 20,000 in attendance almost every year.
On the evening of September 11, 1999, WLLD broadcast the Last Damn Show concert live from 6 to 11 p.m. Because WLLD did not censor profane language and other instances of indecency from the broadcast, the Florida Family Association filed a complaint with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The Association wanted the FCC to revoke WLLD's license. [8] The FCC fined WLLD owner Infinity Broadcasting (now the defunct CBS Radio) $7,000 the following year. [9] Infinity filed an appeal, but the FCC denied the appeal in 2004. [10]
WiLDsplash is the annual concert during spring break out on by WLLD in Clearwater Beach. It has been a Bay Area staple since 2001 and pulls crowds in excess of 15,000 fans consistently. Past performers Wiz Khalifa, Snoop Dogg, Busta Rhymes, Bubba Sparxxx, 50 Cent, Sean Paul, Buju Banton, JoJo, 112, Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, Ziggy Marley, Young Jeezy, Stephen & Damian Marley among others.
WLLD uses the "WiLD" branding in Tampa. The brand has since been trademarked by Clear Channel Communications (now iHeartMedia) years later. Because that happened since the debut of WLLD, this Beasely-owned station is permitted to continue using this moniker.
iHeart owns several "WiLD" stations including KYLD in San Francisco, which has used the "WiLD" branding since its launch in 1992.[ citation needed ]
Bubba the Love Sponge Clem is an American radio personality who hosts The Bubba the Love Sponge Show on the radio station WWBA in Tampa, Florida, and the subscription service Bubba Army Radio. He can also be heard on Florida Man Radio.
WTDY-FM is a commercial radio station that is located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The station is owned by Audacy, Inc. and broadcasts a hot adult contemporary format. WTDY-FM features programming from Premiere Networks.
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.
Beasley Broadcast Group, Inc., based in Naples, Florida, is an owner/operator of radio stations in the United States. As of May 2024, the company owned 59 stations under the Beasley Media Group name.
WPOW – branded Power 96 – is a commercial classic hip-hop radio station licensed to Miami, Florida. Owned by Audacy, Inc., the station serves Miami-Dade County, the Miami metropolitan area, and much of surrounding South Florida. WPOW's studios are located in Audacy's Miami office on Northeast Second Avenue, while the station's transmitter is located in the Miami Gardens neighborhood of Andover.
KXJM is a commercial radio station licensed to Banks, Oregon and serving the Portland metropolitan area. KXJM's studios and offices are in Tigard and the transmitter is located in Portland's West Hills. The station is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc., and airs a Rhythmic CHR format.
WBAV-FM is an urban adult contemporary radio station serving the Charlotte metropolitan area (Metrolina). Owned by Beasley Broadcast Group, WBAV's studios and offices are on South Boulevard in Charlotte's South End. In morning drive time, it carries the syndicated Steve Harvey Morning Show.
WBCN was the call sign assigned from 2009 until 2021, and the last call sign used on the air, for radio station WJBX in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States. The station, while silent, was assigned the call letters WJBX by the Federal Communications Commission on February 5, 2021. The license was deleted on August 24, 2022, before any broadcasts under the WJBX call letters.
WPEG is a mainstream urban radio station serving the Charlotte, North Carolina, market. It is owned by Beasley Broadcast Group. The station's studios are located on South Boulevard in the city's South End, and a transmitter tower is located north of Dallas, North Carolina.
WRBQ-FM is a commercial radio station licensed to Tampa, Florida, airing a classic hits radio format. Owned by the Beasley Broadcast Group, its studios are on Executive Center Drive North, near Gandy Boulevard in St. Petersburg.
WPBB is a commercial FM radio station licensed to Holmes Beach, Florida, and serving the Tampa Bay media market. It is owned by the Beasley Broadcast Group, and airs a classic rock radio format, branded as "98.7 The Shark".
WYUU is a radio station broadcasting from Safety Harbor, Florida, and serving the Tampa/St. Petersburg, Florida area. The station airs a Latin Pop format branded as "Maxima FM." Owned by Beasley Broadcast Group, its studios are in St. Petersburg while its transmitter is in Seminole.
WDUV is a commercial radio station licensed to New Port Richey, Florida and serving the Tampa Bay Area. Owned by Cox Radio, it broadcasts a soft adult contemporary format. It switches to all-Christmas music for much of November and December. WDUV's studios and offices are in St. Petersburg. The transmitter site is off Dartmouth Drive in Holiday.
WQYK-FM is a commercial country music radio station in Tampa, Florida. It is under ownership of Beasley Broadcast Group. Its studios are in St. Petersburg while its transmitter is east of Palm River-Clair Mel.
WJBR is an AM radio station licensed to Seffner, Florida, United States, serving the Tampa Bay market with an all-podcast format known as "Podcast Radio US". Owned by the Beasley Broadcast Group, the station's studios are located on Executive Center Drive in St. Petersburg.
WKIS is a commercial radio station licensed to Boca Raton, Florida, and serving South Florida. It is owned by Audacy, Inc. and airs a country music radio format. Its studios are located in Audacy's Miami office on Northeast Second Avenue. The transmitter tower is off NW 210 Street in Miami Gardens, shared with WTVJ.
WFLZ-FM is a commercial radio station in Tampa, Florida. It airs a contemporary hit radio radio format and is owned and operated by iHeartMedia. The station's studios and offices are located on Gandy Boulevard in South Tampa. Local DJs are heard on weekdays, with syndicated shows, including American Top 40 with Ryan Seacrest, the iHeartRadio Countdown, the Remix Top 30 with Hollywood Hamilton and On The Move with Enrique Santos, heard on weekends.
WZRM is a Spanish-language radio station in the Boston, Massachusetts, market, carrying a Spanish contemporary hits format. Owned and operated by iHeartMedia, it serves the Metro Boston and South Shore areas of Massachusetts, and is licensed to Brockton. The station's studios are located in Medford and the transmitter site is atop Great Blue Hill.
WTBV is a commercial radio station licensed to St. Petersburg, Florida, and serving the Tampa Bay area. It is owned by the Cox Media Group and broadcasts an urban adult contemporary format known as "101.5 The Vibe." The studios are on 4th Street North in St. Petersburg. WTBV carries the syndicated Rickey Smiley Morning Show in drive time.
The year 1998 in radio involved some significant events.