WLYF

WLYF
City Miami, Florida
Broadcast area South Florida
Branding 101.5 LITE FM
Slogan Refreshing
Frequency 101.5 MHz (also on HD Radio)
First air date 1948 (as WWPB-FM)
Format Beautiful Adult Contemporary
HD2: Soft AC Today's Life
ERP 100,000 watts
HAAT 248 meters (814 ft)
Class C1
Facility ID 30827
Callsign meaning LYF = "Life"
Former callsigns WWPB-FM (1948-1970)
Owner Entercom
(Entercom Miami License, LLC)
Sister stations WAXY, WKIS, WMXJ, WPOW, WQAM, WSFS, WCMQ-FM
Webcast Listen Live
Listen Live (HD2)
Website Lite Miami
Today's Life Miami (HD2)

WLYF (101.5 MHz, "101.5 LITE FM") is a commercial FM radio station in Miami, Florida. The station airs a beautiful mainstream adult contemporary radio format. It is owned by Entercom, Inc. The station has live DJs during the day and carries the syndicated John Tesh Show overnight.

The studios and offices are on Northwest Second Avenue in Miami.[1] The transmitter is off NW 207 Street in Miami Gardens.[2] WLYF is a Class C FM station broadcasting with an effective radiated power (ERP) of 100,000 watts from a tower 814 feet (248 m) in height above average terrain (HAAT). The station broadcasts in the HD Radio format. Its HD-2 channel carries a soft adult contemporary sound of 1970s and 80s hits, called "Today's Life Miami."

History

WWPB-FM

In April 1948, the station signed on the air as WWPB-FM, owned and operated by Paul Brake (his name reflected in the call sign).[3] It was the FM counterpart to AM 1450 WWPB (now WOCN) and ran at 8,500 watts, a fraction of its current power. It was one of only three FM stations on the air in Miami in the post-war years and it mostly simulcast its AM sister station.

In the late 1950s, WWPB-FM became a classical music station, affiliating with WQXR in New York City, which had a network of classical programming for FM stations.[4] When that service ended, WWPB-FM continued on its own as a classical outlet. In the 1960s, the station boosted its power to 31,000 watts but on a tower of 285 feet, so the station's coverage was only for Miami and its closer suburbs.

Beautiful Music WLYF

In April 1970, Sudbrink Broadcasting acquired the station.[5] The station was paired with AM 1550 WRIZ (now WRHC) in Coral Gables, which Sudbrink had bought the year before. In December 1970, the call letters were changed to WLYF. The city of license was switched to Coral Gables to match WRIZ. WLYF adopted a beautiful music format produced and distributed by Stereo Radio Productions. WLYF was known promotionally for many years as "Life," until the current "Lite FM" name was adopted.

Sudbrink relocated WLYF to the WLBW television tower and increased its effective radiated power to 100,000 watts, allowing it to be easily heard in Fort Lauderdale and even picked up in West Palm Beach. The beautiful music format proved a hit, especially among Miami's large retired community. WLYF became the first FM radio station in a Top 25 radio market to achieve a number one audience rating.[6]

In 1978, the station was sold to Storer Communications.[7] Storer also owned AM 710 WGBS in Miami (now WAQI) so WLYF's city of license switched back to Miami.

In 1979, WLYF was purchased by Jefferson-Pilot Broadcasting (later Lincoln Financial Media).[8] The studios were moved to NW Second Avenue in North Dade, near what is now Hard Rock Stadium.

Switch to Adult Contemporary

By the late 1980s, the audience for easy listening stations was getting older. WLYF gradually added more soft rock vocals and decreased the instrumental tunes. By the early 1990s, WLYF had made the transition to a soft adult contemporary format, now known as "101.5 LITE-FM." Radio programming vet Rob Sidney replaced Larry Travers who had programmed the Easy Listening format. Sidney guided the station to an all-vocal sound with a more upbeat delivery. By the early 2000s, Sidney moved the station to a mainstream AC format.[9]

On December 8, 2014, Entercom announced that it was purchasing Lincoln Financial Group's entire 15-station lineup (including WLYF) in a $106.5 million deal. It would operate the outlets under a local marketing agreement (LMA) until the sale was approved by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).[10] The sale was consummated on July 17, 2015.

References

  1. ↑ LiteMiami.com/contact-us
  2. ↑ Radio-Locator.com/WLYF-FM
  3. ↑ Broadcasting Yearbook 1952 page 108
  4. ↑ Broadcasting Yearbook 1963 page B-40
  5. ↑ Broadcasting Yearbook 1974 page B-41
  6. ↑ "Closed Circuit" (PDF). Broadcasting Magazine. December 27, 1971.
  7. ↑ "Approved" (PDF). Broadcasting Magazine. April 17, 1978.
  8. ↑ Broadcasting Yearbook 1982 page C-50
  9. ↑ Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 2003 page D-101
  10. ↑ "Entercom Acquires Lincoln Financial Media" from Radio Insight (December 8, 2014)

Coordinates: 25°58′01″N 80°12′43″W / 25.967°N 80.212°W / 25.967; -80.212


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.