WCFB
WCFB (94.5 MHz) is a commercial FM radio station licensed to Daytona Beach, Florida, serving the Greater Orlando area. WCFB is owned by Cox Radio and airs an urban adult contemporary radio format. Its studios and offices are located on North John Young Parkway in Orlando.[1] On weekdays, WCFB carries the syndicated Tom Joyner Morning Show and in afternoons, Michael Baisden. It also airs an hour of urban contemporary gospel music at 5 a.m. and a Quiet Storm softer urban AC show at night.
 | |
| City | Daytona Beach, Florida |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Central Florida/Greater Orlando |
| Branding | Star 94.5 |
| Slogan | Today's R&B and Throwbacks |
| Frequency | 94.5 MHz (also on HD Radio) 94.5-2: WCFB-HD2 (Spanish Hot AC) |
| Translator(s) | 107.3 W297BB (Orlando, relays HD2) |
| First air date | March 1947 (as WNDB-FM) |
| Format | Urban AC |
| ERP | 100,000 watts |
| HAAT | 451 meters (1480 ft) |
| Class | C |
| Facility ID | 10343 |
| Call sign meaning | W Central Florida's B94.5 (former brand name) |
| Former call signs | WNDB-FM (1947-1973) WDNJ (1973-1978) WWLV (1978-1992) |
| Owner | Cox Media Group (Cox Radio, Inc.) |
| Sister stations | WDBO, WDBO-FM, WMMO, WPYO, WWKA part of Cox cluster with TV station WFTV |
| Webcast | Listen Live Star 94.5 Listen Live 107.3 Solo Éxitos (WCFB-HD2) 107.3 Solo Éxitos (WCFB-HD2) (via TuneIn) |
| Website | Star945.com 107.3 Solo Éxitos (HD2) |
The station has a powerful Class C signal, heard from St. Augustine to Ocala to Kissimmee. The effective radiated power (ERP) is 100,000 watts, vertical polarization, the maximum for non-grandfathered station in the U.S.[2] 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.[3]
History
The station first signed on in March 1947 as WNDB-FM, sister station of WNDB.[4] 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 B94.5.[5][6][7] On May 11, 1995, WCFB changed formats to Rhythmic AC, which later evolved to Urban Adult Contemporary as Star 94.5.[8][9][10] 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 purchased by Cox Communications in 1997.
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.[11] 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.[12]
Station Management
- Program Director Kevin Gardner
- Music Director Kevin Gardner
- News/Community Affairs Director Monica May
Digital Subchannels
HD2 and W297BB
WCFB-HD2 broadcasts in the HD Radio hybrid format. On its HD2 subchannel, it carries a Spanish Hot AC 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.[13]
On June 16, 2014, WCFB-HD2 (which dropped an urban gospel format) and W297BB began stunting, sometimes playing a Christian Contemporary music format known as Rejoice 107.3, and sometimes a soft adult contemporary format, 107.3 The Dove.[14][15] 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 "X 107.3". "X" launched with "Pompeii" by Bastille.[16][17] The translator/HD2 signal also aired Jacksonville Jaguars programming when sister station AM 580 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.[18]
WCFB-HD2 translator
| Call sign | Frequency (MHz) | City of license | Facility ID | ERP (W) | Height (m (ft)) | Class | FCC info |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W297BB | 107.3 | Orlando, Florida | 152901 | 250 | 134 m (440 ft) | D | FCC |
References
- Star945.com/contact-us
- FCC.gov/WCFB
- Radio-Locator.com/WCFB-FM
- Broadcasting Yearbook 1968 page B-35
- https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/orlandosentinel/doc/278147282.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Aug+8%2C+1992&author=Hinman%2C+Catherine&pub=Orlando+Sentinel&edition=&startpage=&desc=THE+FUTURE+OF+WWLV%3A+TO+B+OR+NOT+TO+B
- https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/orlandosentinel/doc/278095194.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Sep+26%2C+1992&author=Catherine+Hinman+of+The+Sentinel+Staff&pub=Orlando+Sentinel&edition=&startpage=&desc=WCFB-FM+HAS+CHANGED+TUNE+TO+COUNTRY+MUSIC
- http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-RandR/1990s/1992/RR-1992-10-02.pdf
- "Vox Jox". Billboard. 107 (20): 100. May 20, 1995.
- https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/orlandosentinel/doc/278610484.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=May+12%2C+1995&author=Hinman%2C+Catherine&pub=Orlando+Sentinel&edition=&startpage=&desc=NEWCITY+HAS+A+NEW+SOUND+FOR+94.5+FM
- http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-RandR/1990s/1995/RR-1995-05-12.pdf
- Star 94.5 Orlando Joins Classic Hip Hop Club
- Star 94.5 Orlando Retreats From All Classic Hip Hop
- https://radioinsight.com/blog/headlines/84617/cox-acquires-orlando-area-translator/
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFCi7euoncI
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WohgFBWdTUI
- https://radioinsight.com/blog/headlines/89088/cox-launches-orlando-translator/
- http://formatchange.com/x107-3-debuts/
- https://radioinsight.com/blog/headlines/105098/x107-3-orlando-stunting/
External links
- Star 94.5 Website
- Pictures of Tower Destruction from Feb 2 2007 tornado
- Query the FCC's FM station database for WCFB
- Radio-Locator information on WCFB
- Query Nielsen Audio's FM station database for WCFB