WBBL-FM
 |
|
| City | Greenville, Michigan |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Grand Rapids, Michigan |
| Branding | Sports 107.3 FM WBBL |
| Slogan | "West Michigan's Sports Leader" |
| Frequency | 107.3 MHz |
| First air date | 1979 |
| Format | Sports |
| ERP | 50,000 watts |
| HAAT | 150 meters |
| Class | B |
| Facility ID | 24639 |
| Callsign meaning | The BaL L |
| Former callsigns | WPLB-FM (1979-1989) WODJ (1989-2004) WKLQ (2004-2009) |
| Affiliations | CBS Sports Radio |
| Owner |
Cumulus Media (Radio License Holding CBC, LLC) |
| Sister stations | WHTS, WJRW, WLAV-FM, WLAW, WTNR |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | wbbl.com |
WBBL-FM (107.3 FM, "The Ball") is a radio station broadcasting an all-sports format in Grand Rapids, Michigan. WBBL is sometimes received on the east side of the state during certain atmospheric conditions and during the spring and summer months, the signal tends to trickle into East Michigan. It first began broadcasting in 1979 under the call sign WPLB-FM. The station is currently owned by Cumulus Media. WBBL-FM is currently the Grand Rapids affiliate of CBS Sports Radio. The station has been touted as the area's first FM sports station. The format originated on the 1340 AM frequency, but after many years, was moved over to 107.3 FM during May 2009. Three months later, the AM frequency was changed to a talk radio format and the call sign was changed to WJRW.
The station was first assigned the call sign WPLB-FM in 1962 and was originally licensed to Greenville, Michigan. It was sister station to WPLB (AM) (1060 and later 1380). The station became oldies-formatted on November 15, 1989 and the call sign was changed to WODJ. The WPLB-FM call sign was subsequently moved to 106.3 FM in Lakeview, Michigan (the AM and FM are now known as WGLM).
WPLB-FM became WODJ, an oldies station targeting the Grand Rapids market, in 1989, and was an immediate success, reaching number one in the 12+ Arbitron ratings for Grand Rapids the following year. The station's success was built on its visibility at community events, such as the Grand Center Boat Show, which took place at the Grand Center in downtown Grand Rapids. By 2000, however, the station was struggling to make the top ten in 12+ ratings. Oldies 107.3 also featured the syndicated Dick Clark documentary series entitled "Dick Clark's Rock, Roll & Remember", which aired on Sunday afternoons.
On October 11, 2004, WODJ and the oldies format was replaced by Active rock station WKLQ, which had been replaced by country music station WTNR after 20 years on 94.5 FM. The WODJ calls were most recently used by Citadel Broadcasting on talk-radio station 1490 AM in Whitehall, Michigan which was also replaced by the WKLQ call sign in 2009. The call sign is now held by Mentor Partners of Big Rapids, Michigan, on a construction permit for a new AM station for 1590 kHz.
...
Wikipedia