WABB SOLD!

[Time Traveler]

I heard WABB-FM briefly in early 1974. At the time....they were doing AOR in the evening and apparently simulcasting Top 40 with 1480 during the day. Does anybody else recall this? Were they ever a full time AOR station?

[Zach]

Forgot about WBHY.  Sorry about that!  In that case, you have your choice, and you should make it accordingly.  If you don't like the way EMF does business, their programming, etc., listen to the competition and don't support them in any way.  Problem solved!

WBHY-FM is at a slight coverage disadvantage to WABB-FM, since it only runs 33 kW at 623 feet, versus WABB's 100 kW @ 1552 feet. 

WBHY still covers all of Mobile but it falls short of being a local signal in Pensacola.  WKFP Navarre's 60 dBu cuts the middle of Pensacola and is the only existing K-Love in the area so when WABB flips there will be a ton of overlap east of Pensacola.  WABB's 60 dBu is huge, encompassing all of Pensacola and Gulf Breeze, Pace and Milton, and even Pascagoula and Ocean Springs in Mississippi.  With this move, K-Love will be the only CCM choice that covers such a large area.

[oldiesstation]

http://www.rbr.com/features/viewpoints/remembering-bernie-dittman.html

Nice article on Mr.Dittman..

[secondchoice]

I heard WABB-FM briefly in early 1974. At the time....they were doing AOR in the evening and apparently simulcasting Top 40 with 1480 during the day. Does anybody else recall this? Were they ever a full time AOR station?

IIRC when I was station at Keesler AFB, at that time we got them on the 2nd floor in the triangle.  I think they were only simulcasting AM drive with 1480.  I do know a guy across the hall heard about the Jethro Tull concert in Mobile and scored a ticket.

[poledo]

I heard WABB-FM briefly in early 1974. At the time....they were doing AOR in the evening and apparently simulcasting Top 40 with 1480 during the day. Does anybody else recall this? Were they ever a full time AOR station?

Yeah, WABB FM was pretty much an AOR for a few years in the mid-late 70's, while not simulcasting the AM.  I think they were Top 40 all through the 80's.  In the early 90's they mixed in a little alternative/modern rock (ala Beck, Goo Goo Dolls) before going back to full CHR by 1995.

[jpbowler]

When I came to Mobile in the fall of 1977 as a Spring Hill student, WABB AM was Top 40 and the FM was AOR.  The FM simulcast the AM format 6am-9am with Ron Fraiser.  In the fall of 1978, they briefly broke the simulcast as WABB FM transitioned to 97 Rock, a hits/aor hybrid with Scott O' Brien handling mornings on 97.5.  The simulcast returned in the spring of 1979.  Ron had moved to Indianpolis, so Gary Mitchell simulcast  on AM & FM through his leaving to devote full time to his Soundworks studio in the fall of 1982.

[Kent]

WBHY-FM is at a slight coverage disadvantage to WABB-FM, since it only runs 33 kW at 623 feet, versus WABB's 100 kW @ 1552 feet. 

WBHY still covers all of Mobile but it falls short of being a local signal in Pensacola.  WKFP Navarre's 60 dBu cuts the middle of Pensacola and is the only existing K-Love in the area so when WABB flips there will be a ton of overlap east of Pensacola.  WABB's 60 dBu is huge, encompassing all of Pensacola and Gulf Breeze, Pace and Milton, and even Pascagoula and Ocean Springs in Mississippi.  With this move, K-Love will be the only CCM choice that covers such a large area.

You're correct that WBHY is at a slight signal disadvantage compared to WABB.  WBHY is a class C1, and I believe it's maxed out in terms of power versus antenna height while WABB is a full class C.  However, with respect to the Mobile market, it won't matter much.  Both should have full coverage over the market.  You're correct that WABB will put a better signal into Pensacola, but people have always listened to the Mobile stations in Mobile and the Pensacola stations in Pensacola.  The big exception to that was about 20 years ago when WAVH was on 96.1 and pulled decent numbers in both markets. 

[poledo]

WBHY is in now way maxed out and they don't just have a "slight disadvantage" to WABB.    WBHY 88.5 is only 33 kW at 623 feet... that's almost a C2 signal.  They have stated in the past that they were working on a fund to upgrade the 88.5 signal, but I suspect EMF on 97.5 is going to really hurt them.

TK101 has been getting good numbers in Mobile for a long time.  WBLX is sometimes the #1 station in Pensacola.  The Rocket also does well in Pensacola.  It's AC and Country that don't do well in the wrong town.

[Zach]

I'm pretty sure that WABB-FM has outperformed WRGV in Pensacola as well.  There aren't complete ratings for the Fall 2011 book but the Spring 2011 book shows WABB more than doubling WRGV's ratings.  I have a feeling, however, that the two are at parity or WRGV even slightly ahead judging by their 3.0 in the Fall book and WABB's point-by-point slide each book.

[rubberchicken]

Someone mentioned that WABB hadn't seen double digits shares since the 80's. That's not true. I don't recall the exact time, but late 90's and early 2000's, WABB was consistently in the high 8's, 9's and hit the low 10's a few times.

Last day looks to feature blasts from the past:
http://www.wabb.com/EndofanEraParty.aspx