WPOW
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| City of license | Miami/Fort Lauderdale |
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| Broadcast area | South Florida |
| Branding | "Power 96" |
| Frequency | 96.5 (MHz) (also on HD Radio) |
| First air date | 1986 |
| Format | Rhythmic top 40 HD2: Reggae "Pirate Radio" HD3: WQAM simulcast |
| ERP | 98,000 watts |
| HAAT | 307 meters |
| Class | C |
| Facility ID | 73893 |
| Transmitter coordinates | 25°57′59.00″N 80°12′33.00″W / 25.96639°N 80.20917°W |
| Callsign meaning | W POWER |
| Owner | Beasley Broadcast Group (WPOW License, LP) |
| Sister stations | WHSR, WKIS, WQAM, WSBR, WWNN |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | power96.com |
WPOW is a Rhythmic top 40 station serving the Miami-Ft. Lauderdale area. The Beasley Broadcast Group owns the station, which operates at 96.5 MHz with an effective radiated power (ERP) of 98 kilowatts and is licensed in Miami, Florida. Its transmitter is located in Miami.
[edit] History
In the early 1970s, the 96.3 signal was home to a Top 40 CHR station, known as 96 WMYQ (the successor to WGBS-FM, then WJHR), which became 96X (and a call letter change to WMJX) on October 1, 1975. The station briefly changed to an all-disco format in April 1979 (Disco 96), but returned to its prior Top 40 format in November of that year.
The station lost its license and signed off on February 15, 1981. The last song played before sign-off was "The Long And Winding Road" by the Beatles. The last words, spoken on-air by the DJ, Stuart Elliott (who was audibly upset) were "96X..Is WMJX, Miami"
On June 15, 1985, the station was brought back on the air under new ownership (Wodlinger Broadcasting) as a non-stop Top 40 countdown station (The Super 16) under the same 96X name, this time with the call letters WCJX. The Program Director was Jon Holiday, who evolved the station to a more traditional CHR format. However, after another ownership change in May 1986 (from Wodlinger Broadcasting to Beasley-Reed Broadcasting), they would change format on August 4, 1986 at 7 a.m., when the station flipped to a Dance Top 40 format under the name Power 96 (with a change in call letters to WPOW), playing mostly dance, freestyle music and early rap. Power 96 embraced the regionally blossoming Miami bass sound as well, mixing it into their playlist. The name Power 96 was the idea of new owner/General Manager Greg Reed.
The station began as Power 96 with the call letters on August 4, 1986, a dance top 40, and it became the top station in its format in Winter 1987. Power 96 continues its dominant ratings position.
The founding general manager, Greg Reed, was originally a part-owner of Beasley-Reed Broadcasting. Later Reed sold his share of the station to Beasley Broadcast Group, but remained as Vice-President and General manager. The original programming team - Program Director Bill Tanner, Music Director Colleen Cassidy and consultant Jerry Clifton, continue to consult Power 96.
Power 96 DJs include morning host Lazaro Mendes "DJ Laz", co-host Afrika, midday host Ivy, afternoon host Lucy (Lopez), and the night show is hosted by JP & DJ Def, also known as Dos Gordos. Past personalities include the late Bo Griffin, Don Cox and Cramer Haas along with Mindy Frumkes, Mark Moseley, Dennis Reese, Joe Nasty, Robert W. Walker, Gino Latino, Tony the Tiger, "Little Laz" Prieto, Eric Ward, Baby Bree, and in the early days, former I-95/WINZ-FM music director Mark "In The Dark" Shands, who also served as Power 96's assistant program director.
Power 96 is now managed by Beasley's Miami market manager Joe Bell. The present program director, Tom Calococci, arrived in August, 2006 from KKBT, The Beat in Los Angeles, and had previously programmed top stations Houston, Dallas, and Baltimore. Previous program directors included Kim (Kid) Curry, Frank Walsh and Tony The Tiger.
In an era where several competitors carry mostly syndicated programming Power 96 continues to be live and local with a mix of urban, hip-hop and pop rhythmic music. The Power 96 audience continues to reflect the South Florida population - Hispanic, Caucasian and African-American.
[edit] External links
- Power 96's website
- HD-Dash2's website
- Radio Locator web site
- South Florida Radio History web site
- Query the FCC's FM station database for WPOW
- Radio-Locator information on WPOW
- Query Arbitron's FM station database for WPOW
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