WFMF

WFMF (102.5 FM), branded as "102.5 WFMF", is a commercial radio station owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. and licensed to Baton Rouge, Louisiana. It serves the Baton Rouge metropolitan area with a contemporary hit format. The studios are located in Baton Rouge, and the transmitter site is in nearby Plaquemine.

For the radio station in Chicago, Illinois that held the call sign WFMF from 1948 to 1974, see WSHE-FM.
WFMF
CityBaton Rouge, Louisiana
Broadcast areaBaton Rouge Metro
Branding102.5 WFMF
SloganToday's Hit Music
Frequency102.5 MHz (HD Radio)
Translator(s)98.7 K254DM (Baton Rouge, relays HD2)
First air dateJune 15, 1941 (June 15, 1941) (as W45BR)
FormatContemporary hit radio
HD2: Talk radio (WJBO)
ERP100,000 watts
HAAT457 meters
ClassC
Facility ID4053
Transmitter coordinates30.326°N 91.277°W / 30.326; -91.277
Call sign meaningportmanteau of FM and Manship Family (original owners)
Former call signsW45BR (1940-1943)
WBRL (1943-1959)
WJBO-FM (1959–1974)
WFMF (1974–1996)
WLSS (1996–1999)
AffiliationsPremiere Networks
OwneriHeartMedia, Inc.
(Capstar TX LLC)
Sister stationsKRVE, WJBO, WYNK-FM
WebcastListen Live
Websitewfmf.iheart.com

Dating to the early 1940s, WFMF is one of the oldest FM stations in the United States. It is the Baton Rouge affiliate for: The Kidd Kraddick Morning Show; On Air with Ryan Seacrest; and American Top 40. WFMF broadcasts in the HD Radio hybrid format. Besides a standard analog transmission, WFMF broadcasts over two HD Radio channels, and is also available online via iHeartRadio.

History

On October 31, 1940 the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) awarded the first fifteen commercial FM station construction permits, including one for 44.5 MHz to the Baton Rouge Broadcasting Company. Inc.,[1] which was issued the call sign W45BR.[2] Baton Rouge Broadcasting was owned by the Manship family, which also owned AM station WJBO and a local newspaper, The Morning Advocate. The new station grants originally allowed for commercial operation to begin on January 1, 1941, however, the owner's newspaper link caused a delay, after the FCC began an investigation as to whether newspaper cross-ownership of radio stations should be restricted.[3]

On May 6, 1941 W45BR was one of three newspaper-affiliated stations given provisional permission, pending the outcome of the newspaper ownership review, to begin operations.[4] After a short period of test transmissions, the station made its debut broadcast as "the first frequency modulation radio station in the deep south"[5] on June 15, 1941.[6] Programming was initially advertised as being "a different program from WJBO (with a few exceptions)", with a daily schedule of 7:00-9:00 a.m., 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m., and 6:00-9:00 p.m.[7]

Effective November 1, 1943, the FCC modified its policy for FM call letters,[8] and the call sign was changed to WBRL. In 1946, as part of reassignment of all stations to a new FM band allocation, WBRL was moved to 96.1 MHz, and two years later it moved again to 98.1 MHz. In 1959, WBRL's call letters changed to WJBO-FM, still simulcasting WJBO. In the mid-1960s, the station started broadcasting in FM stereo, and started offering classical music and some musical programs independent of WJBO. In 1965, WJBO-FM moved to 102.5 MHz, allowing WAFB-FM (now WDGL-FM), a companion station to Channel 9 WAFB-TV, to move from 104.3 MHz to the vacated 98.1 MHz assignment.

In the late 60s and into the mid-70s, WJBO-FM was a freeform progressive rock station that went by the name "Loose Radio." In 1974, WJBO-FM switched its call sign to WFMF and shifted to a personality driven full-service Top 40 format under Program Director Randy Rice and became one of the most successful FM-Top 40/CHR stations in the United States (Arbitron Ratings market share). WFMF remained a top 40 station throughout the 1980s and early 1990s. It used the monikers "102 WFMF," "Hot 102," and "Mix 102.5" for a short time in 1994 before reverting to "102.5 WFMF." Throughout its history as a Top 40, the station had shifted its musical directions, to Rhythmic, Adult-leaning and Alternative, but in each case returned to a mainstream playlist.

In 1989, the Manship family sold WFMF and WJBO to station manager George Jenne, who moved the stations' studios to Government Street. In 1996, WJBO and WFMF were sold by George Jenne/Capital City Communications to Capstar Broadcasting (under the name Gulfstar). Capstar immediately shifted WFMF from Top 40 to Modern AC as "Loose 102" under the new call letters WLSS. The change turned out to be a ratings disaster and after lasting only half a year as a Modern AC, WLSS went back to Top 40 in February 1997, using the name "Loose 102-5" at first. Then it simply called itself "102.5" in early 1999. On October 7, 1999, WFMF returned as the call sign and the name "102.5 WFMF" was resurrected a short time later.

Since being bought by Capstar, WFMF has been through several owners as a result of buyouts. Capstar was purchased by Chancellor Media in 1998 (and renamed AMFM Communications), which in turn was purchased by Clear Channel Communications in 2000. In 2014, Clear Channel switched its name to iHeartMedia, Inc.

HD radio

An Ibiquity-licensed station, WFMF began broadcasting an HD Radio signal in August 2007. At first, WFMF multicased the New CHR format from Clear Channel's Format Lab on its HD2 channel,[9][10] but in the wake of Hurricane Gustav in September 2008, began simulcasting the news-talk format of sister station WJBO. On January 2, 2017, WJBO started simulcasting on K249DV 97.7 Baton Rouge. In 2020, WJBO's simulcast moved from 97.7 to 98.7.

References
  1. "New FM Call Letters Proposed", Broadcasting, November 15, 1940, page 77.
  2. The initial policy for commercial FM station call signs included an initial "W" for stations located east of the Mississippi River, followed by the last two digits of a station's frequency assignment, "45" in this case, and closing with a one or two character city identifier, which for Baton Rouge stations was "BR" .
  3. "FCC Starts Newspaper Ownership Drive", Broadcasting, March 24, 1941, page 7.
  4. "Three Newspapers Get FM Stations", Broadcasting, May 12, 1941, page 26.
  5. "FM Radio Station Programs to Begin" (AP), Monroe Morning World, June 15, 1941, page 23. The first FM station in the southern United States was W47NV in Nashville, Tennessee.
  6. "W45BR On Air First Time Today", Baton Rouge Morning Advocate, June 15, 1941, pages 1-A, 6-A.
  7. "New F. M. Station to Begin Regular Schedule Sunday!" (advertisement), Baton Rouge Morning Advocate, June 15, 1941, page 7-B.
  8. "Standard Broadcast Station Call Letters for All Outlets Starting Nov. 1, FCC Rule", The Billboard, September 4, 1943, page 7.
  9. HD Radio Station List
  10. http://www.freqseek.com/LA/Baton%20Rouge/hd-radio-stations.aspx Baton Rouge HD stations
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