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WVCW (FM)

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Coordinates: 39°50′02″N 75°31′26″W / 39.8340°N 75.5238°W / 39.8340; -75.5238
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WJBR-FM
Broadcast areaWilmington, Delaware
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Frequency99.5 MHz (HD Radio)
BrandingMix 99.5 WJBR
Programming
FormatAdult Contemporary
Christmas music (Nov.-Dec.)
HD2: WJBR-FM Simulcast (Delayed)
HD3: Spanish Tropical ("Ritmo 96.9 & 105.7 FM")
Ownership
Owner
History
First air date
January 31, 1957
Call sign meaning
W John B. Reynolds (founder)
Technical information
Facility ID14374
ClassB
ERP50,000 watts (analog)
2,000 watts (digital)[1]
HAAT152 meters (499 ft)
Translator(s)See § Translators
Links
WebcastListen live
WebsiteMix995wjbr.com

WJBR-FM (99.5 FM, "Mix 99.5 WJBR") is a commercial FM radio station licensed to serve Wilmington, Delaware. The station is owned by Beasley Broadcast Group and broadcasts an Adult contemporary music format. Between mid-November and December 25th, the station switches to all-Christmas music.

WJBR-FM carries the nationally syndicated Delilah radio show in the evening.[2] The official mascot for the station is "J. Bear." Studios and offices are on Philadelphia Pike in Wilmington.[3]

WJBR-FM's broadcast tower is located north of Downtown Wilmington, on Bellows Drive, at (39°50′2.7″N 75°31′25.3″W / 39.834083°N 75.523694°W / 39.834083; -75.523694).[4] The station's service contour covers the entire city of Philadelphia, as well as sections of Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Maryland.[5]

WJBR-FM broadcasts using HD Radio. Its HD2 subchannel rebroadcasts WJBR-FM And The HD3 subchannel broadcasts a Spanish Tropical format branded as "Ritmo 96.9 FM", which is simulcast on translator W245CJ at 96.9 MHz in Wilmington[6] and translator W289BY at 105.7 MHz in Millville, New Jersey.[7]

History

On January 31, 1956, the station signed on as a stand-alone FM station, with no AM counterpart.[8] It was founded by a father and son team, John B. Reynolds, Sr. and John B. Reynolds, Jr.[9] The call sign was based on the founders' initials. John Sr. began the radio station because his son was "a strong believer in the future of FM."[9] The station originally broadcast a classical and light music format.[10] WJBR-FM's format eventually evolved into beautiful music and the station was branded as JBR 100.[10] It used the slogan "Just Beautiful Radio."

In 1976, the Reynolds Family acquired another Wilmington radio station, AM 1290 WTUX, to combine with WJBR-FM.[11] WTUX was a 1,000 watt daytimer, carrying a middle of the road music format. In 1978, WTUX's call sign was switched to WJBR, and the format flipped to beautiful music, to give WJBR listeners the choice of hearing the station on AM or FM. Over time, the station's power was increased to 2,500 watts in the daytime and nighttime service was added at 32 watts. It is now a Fox Sports Radio station, WWTX, owned by iHeartMedia, Inc.

In the early 1980s, as the mostly-instrumental easy listening format was aging, WJBR-AM-FM added more soft vocals to attract a younger audience. John B Reynolds, Jr. sold WJBR-AM-FM in 1985 to CRB Broadcasting, which completed the transition from easy listening to an all-vocal soft adult contemporary sound. CRB changed its name to Commodore Media and was eventually purchased by Capstar Broadcasting.

In March 2000, Capstar sold WJBR-FM to the NextMedia Group for $32.4 million.[12] (Capstar retained WJBR AM 1290. Capstar later merged into Clear Channel Communications, which was renamed iHeartMedia.)

In February 2007, Beasley Broadcast Group acquired WJBR-FM from NextMedia for a reported $42 million.[13]

Christmas Music

For many years WJBR-FM has been known as "Delaware's Christmas Station." The station switches to an all-Christmas format just before Thanksgiving.

On November 19, 2012 at 10am, WJBR-FM switched over to its all Christmas format. The radio station started the Christmas season with "Do They Know It's Christmas" by Band Aid. Often WJBR-FM and 101.1 More FM (Philadelphia's WBEB) switch on the same day.

WJBR-FM announced on November 21, 2013 that the all Christmas format would begin on November 22, 2013 at noon. The radio station started the 2013 Christmas season with "It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas" by Bing Crosby. WBEB started its Christmas music November 21, 2013 at 3pm and WJBR-FM made its announcement on Facebook a short time later.

On November 20, 2014 at 9am, WJBR-FM switched to all Christmas. WJBR-FM switched back to its regular format at Midnight on December 29.

On November 19, 2015 at 2pm, WJBR-FM switched to all Christmas once again. WBEB switched to all Christmas music at about the same time. WJBR-FM switched back to its regular format on Monday, December 28 at midnight.

On November 18, 2016 WJBR-FM switched to all Christmas once again. WBEB switched the day before, November 17, 2016 at 2pm. WJBR-FM played Christmas music during the day on Monday, December 26 and switched back to the regular format later in the evening.

On Tuesday, November 14, 2017 at 12am, WJBR-FM switched to all Christmas once again. WBEB made the switch to all Christmas on Friday, November 17 at 9am. After playing "Christmas Wrapping" by The Waitresses, on December 26, 2017, at 7 a.m., WJBR-FM switched back to its regular format. It rebranded as "Mix 99.5," starting with "I Gotta Feeling" by Black Eyed Peas while also playing occasional Christmas songs throughout the day.

Translators

WJBR-HD3 programming is simulcast on the following translators, owned by Ritmo Broadcasting, LLC:

Call sign Frequency City of license FID ERP (W) HAAT Class FCC info
W245CJ 96.9 FM Wilmington, Delaware 175 182.3 m (598 ft) D
W289BY 105.7 FM Millville, New Jersey 55 51 m (167 ft) D

References

  1. ^ "FCC 335-FM Digital Notification [WJBR-FM]". fcc.gov. Federal Communications Commission. September 4, 2011. Retrieved 2018-05-01.
  2. ^ "Delilah - 99.5 WJBR". wjbr.com. Retrieved 2016-05-12.
  3. ^ Mix995wjbr.com/faq
  4. ^ "FM Query Results for WJBR". fcc.gov. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved 2016-05-12.
  5. ^ "54 dBu Service Contour for WJBR-FM, Wilmington, DE, 99.5 MHz BMLH-20080516AAX". fcc.gov. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved 2018-05-01.
  6. ^ Ritmo96FM.com
  7. ^ Radio-Locator.com/W289BY
  8. ^ Broadcasting Yearbook 1958 page A-258
  9. ^ a b "History of WJBR". wjbr.com. Retrieved 2016-05-12.
  10. ^ a b "BROADCASTING Scrapbook Blog". racampbell.tripod.com. Retrieved 2016-05-12.
  11. ^ Broadcasting Yearbook 1977 page C-38
  12. ^ Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 2001 page D-82
  13. ^ "Beasley Broadcast Group (BBGI) to Acquire NextMedia Group". streetinsider.com. 2006-10-03. Retrieved 2016-05-12.

39°50′02″N 75°31′26″W / 39.8340°N 75.5238°W / 39.8340; -75.5238

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