WGBL
| City | Gulfport, Mississippi |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Biloxi-Gulfport, Mississippi |
| Branding | G96-7 |
| Slogan | The Throwback Station |
| Frequency | 96.7 MHz |
| First air date | 1977 |
| Format | Classic hip-hop |
| ERP | 4,300 watts |
| HAAT | 119 meters |
| Class | A |
| Facility ID | 61305 |
| Callsign meaning | W Gulfport Biloxi Long Beach |
| Former callsigns |
WQFX (1985-1986) WQFX-FM (1986-1993) WXRG (1993-1997) WLRK (1997-1999) WUJM (1999-2014) |
| Owner |
Alpha Media (Alpha Media Licensee LLC) |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | G96-7 Online |
WGBL (96.7 FM, "G96-7"), is a radio station based in Gulfport–Biloxi, Mississippi broadcasting a Classic hip-hop format. The station is owned by Alpha Media, and broadcasts their format with an ERP of 4.3 kW. WGBL broadcasts from the same transmitter tower as sister station, 107-1 The Monkey, in Orange Grove.
History
Mix 96/Rock 96.7 WXRG
Not a whole lot is known about 96.7 FM until 1985, when the station flipped to an Adult Contemporary format as "Mix 96" and then later "Mix 96.7". This lasted until March 1993, when the station flipped to classic rock as "Rock 96.7 WXRG".
Lite Rock 96.7/Jammin Oldies 96-7
On February 14, 1997, WXRG dropped its Classic Rock format for its Soft Adult Contemporary as "Lite Rock 96.7" WLRK. The format proved to be unsuccessful and in September 1999, the station flipped to the popular Urban Oldies format as "Jammin Oldies 96.7".
Molly @ 96.7/Hank-FM
In 2001, the Urban Oldies format was dropped and the station flipped once again, this time to a Hot Adult Contemporary format as "Molly @ 96.7". The station proved to be quite successful for a few years until March 2005 when the station dropped the format for Classic Country as "96.7 Hank-FM" with the popular John Boy & Billy show in mornings.
96.7 The Champ
On August 27, 2011, WUJM dumped its classic country programming and began stunting with a loop of Gary Glitter's Rock and Roll, Part 2. On August 29, 2011, the station flipped to Sports Talk as "96-7 The Champ" with most of its programming coming from ESPN Radio.
In July 2014, station owner, Triad Broadcasting was sold to Alpha Media along with sister stations, WCPR, WXYK, WQBB and WTNI
96-7 The Bull
The Champ never really seemed to catch on in the ratings, so on September 3, 2014, The Champ moved exclusively to former simulcasters WXBD and WTNI as 96.7 began stunting with a robotic voice similar to the one used by WQBB in 2011 counting down to September 5 at 5pm.
At that time, 96.7 flipped to Country as "96-7 The Bull". The station launched with 10,000 songs in a row commercial free with the first song being American Kids by Kenny Chesney. It was also announced that radio vet, Mark "Tic Tak" Allen would program the station. On September 10, 2014, the station changed its call letters to WGBL to match The Bull branding.
On January 5, 2015, The Bull added popular syndicated show Rick & Bubba for mornings.
G96-7
On February 13, 2016, at 9 p.m., WGBL unexpectedly dropped the Country format during the syndicated Buckwild Saturday Night show and began stunting with a simulcast of sister station, 107-1 The Monkey.
The following afternoon at 5, the station flipped to Classic hip-hop as G96-7 with the first song being "Nuthin' but a "G" Thang" by Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg. The station is being programmed by radio vet Mark "Tic Tak" Allen.[1]
References
External links
- Query the FCC's FM station database for WGBL
- Radio-Locator information on WGBL
- Query Nielsen Audio's FM station database for WGBL
Coordinates: 30°27′32″N 89°04′44″W / 30.459°N 89.079°W