WWBG

WWBG (1470 AM) is an American radio station licensed to serve Greensboro, North Carolina, United States. The station, launched in 1999, is currently owned by Richard Miller's Twin City Broadcasting Company, LLC.

WWBG
Simulcast of WTOB Winston-Salem
Broadcast areaPiedmont Triad
Frequency1470 kHz
BrandingClassic Hits WTOB
Programming
FormatClassic hits
Affiliations
Ownership
Owner
  • Richard Miller
  • (Twin City Broadcasting Company, LLC)
WTOB, WCOG
History
First air date
1999 (1999)
Call sign meaning
homage to WBIG
Technical information
Facility ID67831
ClassB
Power
  • 10,000 watts day
  • 5,000 watts night
Transmitter coordinates
36°09′01″N 79°54′48″W
Links
WebcastListen Live
Websitewtob980.com

WWBG broadcasts a classic hits music format to the Greensboro–High Point area, simulcast from co-owned WTOB in Winston-Salem.[1]

History of WBIG
Main article: WBIG (North Carolina)

The call sign of WWBG is a tribute to the prior occupant of this frequency in Greensboro, WBIG, which broadcast from the city for 60 years. Established in 1925 in Charlotte and moved to Greensboro the next year by founder Wayne M. Nelson, the station became the first broadcasting property of Jefferson-Pilot in 1934 and affiliated with CBS. It continued as the most popular station in Greensboro in decades, though in later years the move of music audiences to FM and the growth of the radio market outside of Greensboro proper put it at a severe disadvantage. Jefferson-Pilot shut the station down on November 20, 1986; the land was sold five years later for the construction of a Lowe's home improvement store.

History of WWBG

On December 9, 1994, Walt Cockerham announced that the former WBIG would return to the air with its old frequency, but the call sign was no longer available.[2] (A station in Aurora, Illinois, would adopt the WBIG call sign in 1991.) During the year after WKEW changed from news/talk, Truth Broadcasting bought several stations in the Greensboro area, including the one that would be called WWBG, the call sign that the new station was assigned by the Federal Communications Commission on August 21, 1992.[3] Truth Broadcasting planned to do what WKEW had done.[4] This meant news, talk, sports and community affairs relating to Greensboro. On November 1, 1999, Dunn and Bray returned to 1470 AM. Dunn said, "It's like being home. We've got the old morning crew back together."[5]

The news/talk format only lasted until January 1, 2002, because, program director David Albright said, it was not profitable and a number of Spanish-speaking people wanted a radio station of their own. "La Movidita" was already airing on WTOB in Winston-Salem.[6]

In 2003, Truth Broadcasting stopped selling time to La Movidita, which moved to its former home WSGH. Que Pasa moved from WSGH to WWBG and WTOB.[7]

WTOB began airing separate programming in 2013.[8]

In December 2020, WTOB 980 AM/96.7 FM began simulcasting on the 1470 AM frequency. During simulcast, the station call sign WWBG has been retained, and the transmitter power has been maintained at 10,000 watts daytime and 5,000 watts at night. WTOB currently has an oldies music format and is being simulcast on WWBG.[9]

References
  1. "Station Information Profile". Arbitron. Retrieved January 31, 2011.
  2. Schlosser, Jim (December 10, 1994). "Radio Revival Planned on Triad Airwaves". Greensboro News & Record.
  3. "Call Sign History". FCC Media Bureau CDBS Public Access Database. Retrieved January 31, 2011.
  4. Rowe, Jeri (September 14, 1999). "News-Talk Radio Returning to Air - WWBG Resurrects Part of Greensboro's Heritage to Start a News-Talk Station". Greensboro News & Record.
  5. Rowe, Jeri (October 28, 1999). "Dusty Dunn Returns to Greensboro Airwaves". Greensboro News & Record.
  6. Kritzer, Jamie (December 27, 2001). "Radio Station WWBG Changing Format". Greensboro News & Record.
  7. "Hispanic Radio Stations Switch Places on Dial". Greensboro News & Record. March 20, 2003.
  8. Clodfelter, Tim (March 13, 2013). "WTOB going back to the future with oldies, beach music". Winston-Salem Journal. Retrieved April 10, 2013.
  9. "WTOB Radio now can be heard in Greensboro on 1470 AM/WWGB – Greensboro Sports".
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