WEAT

WEAT (107.9 FM, "Sunny 107-9") is a radio station licensed to the West Palm Beach, Florida market. It is owned by Hubbard Radio, through licensee WPB FCC License Sub, LLC. Its studios are in West Palm Beach and its transmitter is located west of Lake Worth, Florida.

WEAT
CityWest Palm Beach, Florida
Broadcast areaWest Palm Beach, Florida
BrandingSunny 107-9
SloganWest Palm's Greatest Hits
Frequency107.9 MHz
First air dateAugust 1, 1965 (as WPBF)[1]
FormatClassic hits
ERP100,000 watts
HAAT130 meters
ClassC1
Facility ID1918
Former call signsWPBF (1965–1971)
WIRK-FM (1971–2012)
OwnerHubbard Radio
(WPB FCC License Sub, LLC)
Sister stationsWIRK, WMBX, WRMF, WFTL, WMEN
WebcastListen Live
Websitesunny1079.com

History
For information on WEAT-FM at 104.5/104.3 MHz from 1969 to 2012, see WSFS (FM).

The 107.9 frequency went on the air August 1, 1965 as WPBF (no relation to the present-day television station), a "good music" station owned by Ken-Sell, Inc. alongside WIRK (1290 AM).[1] WPBF became WIRK-FM on March 5, 1971.[2] Later that year, the station shifted to a syndicated classic hits format known as "Olde Golde".[3] However, in January 1974, WIRK broke from the syndicated Olde Golde and flipped to country with live, local talent.[4] By 1978, it ranked in the top 10 most-listened-to country music stations in the United States.[5]

WIRK-AM-FM was sold for the first time in its history in 1983 to Price Communications for $7 million.[6] A year later, it entered into an agreement with Burt Reynolds to build a remote studio at his horse ranch in Jupiter and broadcast from it from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily.[7] Price sold WIRK-FM and 1290, at the time known as WBZT, to American Radio Systems in 1994.[8] In 1995, Chancellor Broadcasting traded its West Palm Beach radio stations, including WIRK, to American Radio Systems in exchange for a station in California and $33 million;[9] the next year, CBS bought the entire American Radio Systems group in a $2.6 billion transaction, though some stations were divested.[10]

In 2012, CBS Radio, citing a desire to focus on larger markets, sold its entire cluster in West Palm Beach to Palm Beach Broadcasting for $50 million.[11] The sale included the intellectual unit of adult contemporary WEAT (104.3 FM), but as Palm Beach already owned one FM station (WRMF), it had to divest two of CBS's stations to other buyers. Because the 104.3 FM facility could be moved into the Miami market, it was tagged for sale. On June 1, 2012, Sunny and the WEAT call letters moved from 104.3 (which became WMSF) to 107.9, while WIRK and its country format moved to 103.1 MHz, marking the end for former hot adult contemporary station WPBZ.[12]

Dean Goodman folded Palm Beach Broadcasting into another radio holding, Digity, upon the latter's purchase of NextMedia in 2013.[13] Effective February 25, 2016, Digity, LLC and its 124 radio stations were acquired by Alpha Media for $264 million. Alpha then sold its West Palm Beach cluster to Hubbard in 2018 for $88 million.[14]

After having been an adult contemporary station since 1992 (when the original WEAT-FM flipped from easy listening), Hubbard transitioned WEAT to classic hits in 2019, reducing overlap with WRMF.

References
  1. "On The Air TODAY!!". Fort Lauderdale News. August 1, 1965. Retrieved January 5, 2020.
  2. FCC History Cards for WEAT
  3. "Olde Golde..." Palm Beach Post. October 17, 1971. p. F11. Retrieved January 5, 2020.
  4. "Radio Notes". Palm Beach Post. January 27, 1974. p. G2. Retrieved January 5, 2020.
  5. Spires, Shari (October 19, 1978). "WIRK-FM: 'Blue Ribbon Team'". Palm Beach Post. p. B1. Retrieved January 5, 2020.
  6. "WIRK Radio Stations Sold". Palm Beach Post. June 18, 1983. p. D7. Retrieved January 5, 2020.
  7. Michals, Bob (July 31, 1984). "Burt Reynolds OK's 'Country K' Plans For Ranch Remote". Palm Beach Post. p. E5. Retrieved January 5, 2020.
  8. McKenney, Mitch (June 14, 1994). "WIRK-FM, WBZT-AM won't change formats, buyer says". Palm Beach Post. p. 4B. Retrieved January 5, 2020.
  9. "Radio stations traded". Sun-Sentinel. June 25, 1996. p. 3D. Retrieved January 5, 2020.
  10. Waresh, Julie (September 20, 1997). "Westinghouse buy includes local stations". Palm Beach Post. p. 7B. Retrieved January 5, 2020.
  11. Heroux Pounds, Marcia (April 12, 2012). "Deal calls for sale of 3 local radio stations". Sun-Sentinel. p. 3D. Retrieved January 5, 2020.
  12. Glade, Dennis (June 1, 2012). "Changing Frequencies". Palm Beach Post. p. 1B. Retrieved January 5, 2020.
  13. Venta, Lance (October 28, 2013). "Digity Acquires NextMedia". RadioInsight. Retrieved January 5, 2020.
  14. Venta, Lance (November 15, 2018). "Hubbard/Alpha Media West Palm Beach Purchase Price Revealed". RadioInsight. Retrieved January 5, 2020.

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