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WOCL

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Coordinates: 28°55′12″N 81°19′08″W / 28.920°N 81.319°W / 28.920; -81.319
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WOCL
Broadcast areaGreater Orlando/Central Florida
Frequency105.9 MHz (HD Radio)
Branding1059 Sunny FM
Programming
FormatClassic hits[1]
Subchannels
Ownership
Owner
WOMX-FM, WQMP
History
First air date
July 10, 1967; 57 years ago (1967-07-10) (as WOOO-FM)[2]
Former call signs
WOOO-FM (1967–1970)
WDLF (1971–1974)
WELE-FM (1974–1986)
Call sign meaning
Orlando's CLass/CooL (former format)
Technical information
Facility ID10138
ClassC
ERP100,000 watts
HAAT484 meters (1,588 ft)
Transmitter coordinates
28°55′12″N 81°19′08″W / 28.920°N 81.319°W / 28.920; -81.319
Translator(s)HD3: 93.5 W228DF (Orlando)
Links
WebcastListen live
Website1059sunnyfm.radio.com

WOCL (105.9 FM) is a broadcast radio station in Orlando, Florida, owned by Entercom. The station airs a classic hits format, focusing on music from the 1980s. Its studios are located in Maitland and the transmitter tower is in Orange City.

The station can be heard not only in the Orlando area, but also as far away as the Space Coast in Brevard County, and the eastern shores of Central Florida. To the North, the station can be heard up to Jacksonville. Sunny can also be heard as far west as the Nature Coast of Citrus and Hernando Counties. Sunny FM is also one of the few Orlando stations to cover Ocala with a decent signal.

History

The first format on the 105.9 FM frequency was country, which signed on from DeLand in 1967 with the callsign WOOO-FM, which would change to WDLF three years later.[3][4] It was sold in 1977 and re-branded as WELE-FM as a sister station of WELE in South Daytona, Florida.[5]

In 1986, the format was shifted to oldies and the callsign changed to WOCL.[6] Initially called "Class 105.9", it was renamed "Cool 105.9" in February 1988.[7][8]

On April 8, 1999, the oldies format was moved to WSHE at 100.3 and called Cool 100. (That station has since been reformatted to Latin pop and become Rumba 100.3 with new call letters WRUM.) 105.9, meanwhile, was changed to Jammin' Oldies, a fad format at the time, and re-branded Power 105.9.[9][10][11][12] In 2000, as part of AMFM Media's merger with Clear Channel, WOCL was sold off to Infinity Broadcasting (renamed CBS Radio in 2005). By this time, the Jammin' Oldies format had entered a period of decline.

On October 31, 2000, the station fired its on-air staff and began stunting with Halloween-themed music and liners stating, "You're listening to WOCL 105.9. Listen today at noon.... or die." At Noon, WOCL became Alternative rock, O-Rock 105.9. The first song was Foo Fighters' "Learn to Fly."[13][14][15][16]

Between October 31, 2000, and January 4, 2008, the station played modern rock. During this time, they were also noted for airing the Howard Stern morning show and also the Mr. Burgess prank calls.[citation needed]

O-Rock 105.9 logo used from October 31, 2000 until January 4, 2008. The logo would later be in use again after O-Rock returned on WOCL-HD2.

Two talk shows, The Morning After Show and The Jody & Scott Show were turned into music-only shows in mid-2007.[17]

Stunting and 2008 format change

Sunny 105.9 logo used from 2008 to 2010.

Without warning, at 9:00 A.M. on January 4, 2008, after playing "Down" by 311, WOCL dismissed its on-air staff and began stunting with Bill Drake's The History of Rock & Roll program. During this time, WOCL's webpage displayed a banner with pictures revolving between country music stars, classical figures such as Beethoven, smooth jazz icons such as Kenny G, and sports icons. At 12:40 P.M. on January 10, 2008, the station began playing a year-by-year montage of snippets of popular culture (including movies, commercials, and of course, hit music) and news stories covering the years from 1965 to 1989. This montage was similar to the one played by WCBS-FM in New York City when they relaunched their oldies/classic hits format on July 12, 2007, and almost exactly the same one that would be used by classic hits convert WJMK in Chicago on March 14, 2011. At 1:05:09 P.M., the station re-launched with a Classic hits format, branded as Sunny 105.9.[18] It features a playlist and imaging that closely resembles that of WCBS-FM in New York. The first song played on "Sunny 105.9" was "That's The Way I Like It" by Hialeah group KC and the Sunshine Band.[19]

The shift left WJRR as Orlando's only alternative rock station, although WJRR transitioned back to active rock in 2011 because of panel changes on Nielsen BDS. (Alternative would make two subsequent comebacks on analog Orlando Radio - first at 107.3 FM from June 2014 to February 2016, then on sister station 101.9 WQMP in November 2017.)

O-Rock 105.9 would return as an HD2 channel in April 2008, restoring its modern rock format.

In February 2010, WOCL modified their moniker to 105.9 Sunny FM, focusing on music from 1970 (with a few songs per day from the 1960s) to 1989, with the core being the late 1970s and 1980s, with even some 1990s. It is similar to the format used by sister WCBS-FM in New York City.

On February 2, 2017, CBS Radio announced it would merge with Entercom.[20] The merger was approved on November 9, 2017, and was consummated on the 17th.[21][22]

In 2018, the station changed its slogan to "We Own the 80s", and also updated its logo. The station also slightly tweaked its format and dropped 1960s music, and some early-to-mid 1970s music. The station's playlist now focuses on 1980s music with some 1970s and 1990s songs.

By 2020, WOCL switched to completely 80's hits, and adopted the slogan "Nobody Plays More 80's".

WOCL-HD2

WOCL's former modern rock format "O-Rock" aired on WOCL's HD2 subchannel from 2008 until 2019. That format stayed in place even after sister station WQMP switched to alternative rock in November 2017. A simulcast of New York sports radio station WFAN moved from 105.9 HD3 to 105.9 HD2 to accommodate the playlist overlap of sister alternative rock station WQMP and move of regional Mexican-formatted "Ok 93.5" from WOTW-HD3. In early 2020, Entercom switched the feed of 105.9 HD2 from the WFAN simulcast to the national CBS Sports Radio feed.

WOCL-HD3

WOCL is the current originating station of regional Mexican-formatted "Ok 93.5", moving from WOTW-HD3. It is rebroadcast onto an FM translator at 93.5 FM, W228DF.

References

  1. ^ "Arbitron Station Information Profiles". Arbitron.com. Retrieved 2017-03-13.
  2. ^ Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 2009 (PDF). 2009. p. D-133. Retrieved November 16, 2018.
  3. ^ "WOOO-FM 105.9 Deland". Cflradio.net. 1965-07-10. Retrieved 2017-03-13.
  4. ^ "WDLF-FM 105.9 Deland". Cflradio.net. 1967-07-10. Retrieved 2017-03-13.
  5. ^ "WELE-FM 105.9 Deland". Cflradio.net. 1967-07-10. Retrieved 2017-03-13.
  6. ^ "Archives: OrlandoSentinel.com - WELE CHANGING OWNERS AND NAME". Pqasb.pqarchiver.com. 1986-01-13. Retrieved 2017-03-13.
  7. ^ "Archives: OrlandoSentinel.com - COOL RULES AT WOCL". Pqasb.pqarchiver.com. 1988-02-16. Retrieved 2017-03-13.
  8. ^ "WOCL-FM 105.9 Deland". Cflradio.net. 1988-02-14. Retrieved 2017-03-13.
  9. ^ "Archives: OrlandoSentinel.com - OLDIES STATION WOCL HAS LOST ITS `COOL' MANAGEMENT CHANGES ITS TUNE, DUMPS THE ELVIS CROWD IN FAVOR OF DISCO, '70S SOUL AND MOTOWN". Pqasb.pqarchiver.com. 1999-04-14. Retrieved 2017-03-13.
  10. ^ http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-RandR/1990s/1999/RR-1999-04-09.pdf
  11. ^ "R&R" (PDF). Americanradiohistory.com. April 23, 1999. Retrieved 2017-03-13.
  12. ^ "WOCL-FM 105.9 Power 105.9". Cflradio.net. Retrieved 2017-03-13.
  13. ^ "Rhythmic Oldies "Power 105.9" WOCL becomes "O-Rock 105-9" - Format Change Archive". Formatchange.com. Retrieved 2017-03-13.
  14. ^ "Archives: OrlandoSentinel.com - ALTERNATIVE ROCK FORMAT HITS AIRWAVES". Pqasb.pqarchiver.com. 2000-11-01. Retrieved 2017-03-13.
  15. ^ "Archives: OrlandoSentinel.com - O-ROCK ROLLS INTO TOWN AS JAMMIN' OLDIES SHUFFLES OFF POWER 105.9 LAUNCHES AN ALTERNATIVE ROCK FORMAT WITH A NEW SENSE OF OPTIMISM". Pqasb.pqarchiver.com. 2000-11-03. Retrieved 2017-03-13.
  16. ^ "R&R" (PDF). Americanradiohistory.com. November 3, 2000. Retrieved 2017-03-13.
  17. ^ "WOCL-FM 105.9 Deland". Cflradio.net. 1967-07-10. Retrieved 2017-03-13.
  18. ^ "WOCL-FM 105.9 Deland". Cflradio.net. Retrieved 2017-03-13.
  19. ^ ""O-Rock" 105.9 WOCL Orlando Becomes "Sunny 105.9" - Format Change Archive". Formatchange.com. Retrieved 2017-03-13.
  20. ^ CBS Radio to Merge with Entercom
  21. ^ "Entercom Receives FCC Approval for Merger with CBS Radio". Entercom. November 9, 2017. Retrieved November 17, 2017.
  22. ^ Venta, Lance (November 17, 2017). "Entercom Completes CBS Radio Merger". Radio Insight. Retrieved November 17, 2017.
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