WFBC-FM
Adult contemporary | |
Ownership | |
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Owner |
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History | |
First air date | May 12, 1947 |
Call sign meaning |
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Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
Facility ID | 34390 |
Class | C |
ERP | 100,000 watts |
HAAT | 552 meters (1,811 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 35°06′43″N 82°36′24″W / 35.11194°N 82.60667°W |
Translator(s) | |
Links | |
Public license information | |
Webcast |
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Website | (HD2) |
WFBC-FM (93.7
The station's transmitter is located on Caesar's Head mountain in South Carolina. WFBC-FM has coverage in almost all of Upstate South Carolina (includes the Piedmont and Foothills), parts of Northeast Georgia, and parts of Western North Carolina. This station can be heard as far east as Charlotte, North Carolina, as far south as Irmo, South Carolina, as far north as Greeneville, Tennessee, and as far southwest as Athens, Georgia. Its studios are in Greenville.
History
The call letters WFBC were taken from a station in Knoxville, Tennessee that had gone off the air in the early 1930s and reassigned to Greenville. WFBC signed on the air May 3, 1933. Former WFBC program director Norvin Duncan said that the WFBC call letters stood for "First Baptist Church". Three other stations in the Greenville market used the WFBC call sign: The original AM station owned by the Peace family, owners of the Greenville News and Greenville Piedmont, and broadcasting on 1330 kHz, now WYRD; television channel 4, signed on by the family in 1953, which used the calls until 1983 (when it became WYFF); and TV channel 40 in Anderson, which changed its calls to WFBC-TV from WAXA after an ownership change. The WFBC-TV call sign was used on channel 40 until 1999; it is now WMYA-TV.
WFBC-FM signed on May 12, 1947 as a sister station to WFBC. The programming was 90% simulcast for the first 8 to 10 years featuring block local programming and NBC Network programs. The early management team included : Bevo Whitmire, Ken Beechboard, R. A. Jolly, Wilson Wearn and Bruce Buchanan.
During the late 1940s and early 1950s, WFBC-FM featured the Esso Reporter each 30 minutes during the morning hours with Norvin Duncan as host. Other early morning shows; Housekeeping-a-hobby with Alice Wyman, Kitchen Kapers with Claude Freeman and The "Aristocratic Pigs" with Baby Ray.
WFBC-FM's later morning shows featured "Shelley's Shenanigans" with Bob Shelley (1953–1956), Bob Poole and "Pooles Party Line" (1957–1961). In 1962, Monty Dupuy became the long running host of the simulcast morning show which was one of the most popular shows in Greenville Radio History garnering more than 50% of the audience for more than 15 years. Dupuy was the morning host on WFBC-FM from 1962 to 1977. In 1965, WFBC-FM began independent programming of "light music" and "Music with McMasters" only simulcasting during the Dupuy morning show and special events. WFBC-FM started programming Drake Chenaults (Hit Parade) format in early 1971 becoming one of the most popular radio stations in the upstate.
Past on-air staff during the 1960s and 1970s on WFBC-FM include: Norvin Duncan, Johnny Wright, Bob Poole, Bob Shelley, Monty Dupuy, Stowe Hoyle, Ben Greer, Bill Kregar, Verner Tate, Alice Wyman, Claude Freeman, Wilfred Walker, Billy Powell, Lee Kanipe, Max Mace, Jeff Fields, Ray Clune, Johnny Batson, Andy Scott, Ken Rogers, Dan Kelly, Jerry Haynes, Jim Burnside, Eston Johnson, Scott Shannon, Bill Love, Dale Gilbert, Dave Partridge, Jim Phillips, Rick Driver and Patty Snow.
WFBC-FM was an
In April 1994, WFBC-AM-FM was sold, and in 1995, after stunting with a disc jockey reading the local phone book,[2] WFBC-FM switched to its current CHR format. This outraged many local Oldies listeners, and soon, 103.3 and 103.9 (WOLT and WOLI-FM) picked up the Oldies format.
In 1997, Tias Schuster was the station's mascot Buzzy Bee, later becoming afternoon DJ and music director. Schuster returned to the station as program director in 2012.[3]
WFBC added
HD channels
HD2 (The Block)
W242BX, formerly a
HD3 (The Fan Upstate)
WFBC-HD3 relays programming originated from
HD4
WFBC-HD4 previously relayed the signal of 106.3 WSPA-FM, and prior to that, the news/talk format of 106.3 WYRD-FM. WYRD's talk format moved to 98.9 on March 28, 2023, and was switched with the
Morning show
The "Hawk and Tom Morning Show" is hosted by Hawk Harrison, Tom Steele, Torry Seward, and Kato Keller. It features Torture Tuesday, The Second Date Update and Crank Calls with Thelma Holister, Cecil B. Holister and Mumbleman as primary characters. The Hawk and Tom Show has been broadcasting since April 13, 1997, and for two years before that as the Hawk and Marty Show.
Hawk and Tom hosted the Upstate Race for the Cure each year from 1997–2006 and helped to raise money for Susan G. Komen for the Cure.
In 2008 they began hosting the
Former Logos
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1996-2007
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2007-2017
References
- ^ "Facility Technical Data for WFBC-FM". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
- ^ Taylor, Chuck, "10 Musical Stations with Bold Directors and Bold Teams--Shaking Up the Airwaves," Billboard, 8/6/2011, Vol. 123, Issue 27.
- ^ "WNVZ PD Tias Schuster Takes OM/PD Post At WFBC, WSPA". allaccess.com. 2012-01-12. Retrieved 2012-01-17.
- ^ "On Air with Ryan Seacrest - News & more from the live radio show". On Air with Ryan Seacrest.
- ^ Venta, Lance (October 21, 2015). "96.3 The Block Drops Hip-Hop Into Greenville". radioinsight. Retrieved October 23, 2015.
- ^ "96.3 The Block Debuts". October 23, 2015.
- ^ "The Block Doubles Up Into Spartanburg - RadioInsight". May 5, 2016.
- ^ "The Block Adds Third Signal in South Carolina - RadioInsight". March 21, 2019.
- ^ Venta, Lance (August 12, 2016). "Greenville's Chuck-FM On The Move". radioinsight. Retrieved August 12, 2016.
- ^ Venta, Lance (January 23, 2017). "ESPN Upstate Shifts Frequencies In Greenville". radioinsight. Retrieved April 17, 2019.
- ^ Moore, Stephanie (March 6, 2023). "Changes announced for two Upstate radio stations". WYFF.
External links
- Official website
- WFBC in the FCC FM station database
- WFBC in Nielsen Audio's FM station database
- W242BX in the FCC FM station database
- W242BX at FCCdata.org
- W249DL in the FCC FM station database
- W249DL at FCCdata.org
- W268BL in the FCC FM station database
- W268BL at FCCdata.org
- W283CG in the FCC FM station database
- W283CG at FCCdata.org
- W290BW in the FCC FM station database
- W290BW at FCCdata.org
- W299BK in the FCC FM station database
- W299BK at FCCdata.org