WBFX
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| City | Grand Rapids, Michigan |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Grand Rapids, Michigan |
| Branding | 101.3 The Brew |
| Slogan | The Brew Rocks |
| Frequency | 101.3 MHz(also on HD Radio) |
| First air date | 1965 (as WMAX-FM) |
| Format | Classic rock |
| ERP | 50,000 watts |
| HAAT | 128 meters |
| Class | B |
| Facility ID | 51727 |
| Callsign meaning | W Brew (current branding) The FoX (former branding) |
| Former callsigns | WCUZ-FM (7/9/80-9/27/00) WFFX (1978-7/9/80) WMLW (1976-1978) WYON (?-1976) WMAX-FM (1965-?) |
| Affiliations | Western Michigan Broncos Radio Network |
| Owner |
iHeartMedia, Inc. (CC Licenses, LLC) |
| Sister stations | WBCT, WMAX-FM, WOOD, WSNX-FM, WSRW-FM, WTKG |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | 1013thebrew.com |
WBFX (101.3 FM, "The Brew") is a radio station broadcasting a classic rock format, serving the Grand Rapids, Michigan market and owned and operated by iHeartMedia. Its signal is heard as far east as Owosso, Michigan, as far north as Reed City, Michigan, and as far south as Portage, Michigan. WBFX is also an affiliate of the Western Michigan Broncos Radio Network.
The station first began broadcasting in 1965 as WMAX-FM, then later became WYON as a sister station to WION in Ionia, Michigan around 1965. In 1976, the station was purchased by the owners of WCUZ 1230 and became WMLW ("Mellow 101"), a soft rock/adult contemporary station. WMLW switched to album oriented rock as WFFX "The Fox" in 1978, and then to country music in 1980 as WCUZ-FM ('CUZ-FM 101.3...more of the music you like... on CUZ-FM." For most of the 1980s, country WCUZ was a market leader in Grand Rapids, but the station saw its market share erode after the 1992 debut of "B93," WBCT-FM, on 93.7.
By 1998, WCUZ was co-owned with its rival station, WBCT, under the Clear Channel umbrella, and had moved to a classic country format, identifying as "Country Gold WCUZ." Clear Channel (which would become iHeartMedia in 2014) dropped the "Country Gold" format on September 24, 2000, and debuted classic rock "101.3 The Fox" that afternoon following coverage of the MBNA.com 400 NASCAR Winston Cup event. They changed call letters to the current WBFX on September 27, 2000.
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Wikipedia