WDXB
| |
|---|---|
| Branding | 102.5 The Bull |
| Programming | |
| Format | Country |
| Subchannels | HD2: Black Information Network (Black-oriented news) |
| Affiliations | Premiere Networks |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| WERC, WERC-FM, WMJJ, WQEN | |
| History | |
First air date | March 28, 1962 (as WWWB-FM Jasper) |
Former call signs | WWWB-FM (1962–1986) WZBQ (1986–1987) WZBQ-FM (1987–1994) WOWC (1994–1999) |
Call sign meaning | W DiXie Birmingham (previous name, Dixie 102.5)[1] |
| Technical information[2] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 2114 |
| Class | C1 |
| ERP | 90,000 watts |
| HAAT | 313 meters (1,027 ft) |
| Translator(s) | HD2: 92.7 W224CK (Vestavia Hills) |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen Live HD2: Listen Live |
| Website | 1025thebull.iheart.com HD2: birmingham.binnews.com |
WDXB (102.5
WDXB has an
Programming
Weekdays: Granger Smith is on from 12-5am. The Spencer Graves Show with Megan Terry is on 5-10am. Billy Greenwood is from 10am-2pm. Dino is from 2-4pm. Madison is from 4-7pm The Bobby Bones Show is on from 7pm-12am.
History
WWWB-FM
On March 28, 1962, the station
WWWB-FM was a small-market radio station that served only Jasper and parts of northwest Alabama playing country music. In 1986, WDBB-TV in Tuscaloosa erected a new transmission tower near the border of Jefferson County and Tuscaloosa County to enable its signal to cover the Birmingham TV market. WWWB-FM's owners saw it as an opportunity for their FM station.
WZBQ and WOWC
WWWB-FM began broadcasting off the new WDBB tower and dropped country music for
While Z-102 was successful in the smaller Tuscaloosa market, it did not make a big impact in Birmingham. Birmingham had two other Top 40 stations at the time (WAPI-FM/I-95 and WKXX/Kicks 106) and Gadsden's WQEN/Q-104 covered most of the market as well. WZBQ continued with its Top 40 format throughout the rest of the 1980s and into the early 1990s. In early 1994, the format was changed to oldies, and the station was renamed Cool 102.5.
In August 1994, new owners dropped the oldies format in favor of country and changed the call letters to WOWC. The station was known on the air as Wow Country 102 and began broadcasting from studios in Birmingham. "Wow Country" was the first direct challenge presented to the Birmingham market's top-rated station,
WDXB
In 1999, the call letters of the station were changed to WDXB and the station was renamed Dixie 102.5, as more classic country songs were added to the playlist. Two factors enabled WDXB to become a serious competitor to WZZK. First, the station began broadcasting from a tower more centrally located to Birmingham in 2002, enabling its signal to cover the entire market. Then in 2003, the station hired the popular morning-drive team of Patti Wheeler and "Dollar" Bill Lawson, who had been forced out at WZZK earlier that year.
In 2005, 102-5 the Bull, as WDXB was known by then, finally passed WZZK in the local
In 2008, WDXB changed its city of license from Jasper to Pelham, Alabama.
Coyote J. Calhoun's suspension
One evening in 1988, popular disc-jockey
Steve Russell (Z-102's program director) came into the studio. He told Coyote to shut the mic off multiple times. Coyote refused to turn off the microphone. Steve then tackles Coyote, making a loud ruckus at the studio. Coyote then yells at Steve to let himself go. Another employee named Shadow then tried to help Steve. Coyote tries to request Steve to play a song by The Supremes, but Steve continues to yell at Coyote to ask the same comment "Shut the mic off now". While continuing on-air, Steve can be heard tackling Coyote to the ground. While continuing the argument, Steve and Coyote battled over the mic, flickering on-and-off and on again. As the battle still continues, Steve then replied "You're gone", meaning that Steve fired Coyote for refusing to turn off the microphone. The fight comes to an end once the mic is abruptly shut off, but not before Coyote audibly calls out "you son of a..." on-air.
Because of the ruckus, police officers from the Tuscaloosa Police Department responded to the call after hearing them rattling the studio, and Coyote was escorted out of the building. He returned to Z-102 the following year but quit a short time later for nearby Birmingham's WAPI-FM (I-95).
HD Radio
WDXB-HD2
WDXB airs the Black Information Network on its HD2 subchannel.
WDXB-HD3
On February 16, 2024, WDXB began airing WJLX's oldies format on its HD3 subchannel. WJLX's 1240 AM signal in Jasper is off the air due to the theft of its tower. The HD3 subchannel has since been turned off.[6]
Translator
| Call sign | Frequency | City of license | FID | ERP (W) | Class | FCC info |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W268BM | 101.5 FM | Jasper, Alabama | 150814 | 250 | D | LMS |
References
- ^ Nelson, Bob (October 18, 2008). "Call Letter Origins". The Broadcast Archive. Retrieved October 31, 2008.
- ^ "Facility Technical Data for WDXB". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
- ^ Radio-Locator.com/WDXB
- ^ Radio-Locator.com/W224CK
- ^ Information from Broadcasting Yearbook 1964 page B-6
- ^ WJLX Returns to Air Via iHeartMedia HD3 Donation as Questions Regarding Missing Tower Remain Radioinsight - February 16, 2024
External links
- 102.5 The Bull WDXB official website
- Facility details for Facility ID 2114 (WDXB) in the FCC Licensing and Management System
- WDXB in Nielsen Audio's FM station database
- Facility details for Facility ID 156965 (W224CK) in the FCC Licensing and Management System
- W224CK at FCCdata.org
- Facility details for Facility ID 150814 (W268BM) in the FCC Licensing and Management System
- W268BM at FCCdata.org