WJBT (93.3 FM "93.3 The Beat") is a

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radio station Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radio ...

licensed to

Callahan, Florida Callahan is a town in Nassau County, Florida, United States, adjacent to Duval County. The population was 1,123 at the 2010 census. It is one location of the Northeast Florida Fair. The Battle of Alligator Bridge took place around Callahan on J ...

, and serving the

Jacksonville metropolitan area The Jacksonville Metropolitan Area, also called the First Coast, Metro Jacksonville, or Northeast Florida, is the metropolitan area centered on the principal city of Jacksonville, Florida and including the First Coast of North Florida. According ...

. It airs an

urban contemporary Urban contemporary music, also known as urban music, hip hop, urban pop, or just simply urban, is a music radio format. The term was coined by New York radio DJ Frankie Crocker in the early to mid-1970s as a synonym for Black music. Urban conte ...

radio format A radio format or programming format (not to be confused with broadcast programming) describes the overall content broadcast on a radio station. The radio format emerged mainly in the United States in the 1950s, at a time when radio was compelle ...

and is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. The

studio A studio is an artist or worker's workroom. This can be for the purpose of acting, architecture, painting, pottery (ceramics), sculpture, origami, woodworking, scrapbooking, photography, graphic design, filmmaking, animation, industrial design ...

s and offices are on Central Parkway in the Southside neighborhood. WJBT has an

effective radiated power Effective radiated power (ERP), synonymous with equivalent radiated power, is an IEEE standardized definition of directional radio frequency (RF) power, such as that emitted by a radio transmitter. It is the total power in watts that would h ...

of 100,000

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s, the highest permitted for non- grandfathered FM stations. The

transmitter In electronics and telecommunications, a radio transmitter or just transmitter is an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna. The transmitter itself generates a radio frequency alternating current, which is applied to the ...

is off Hogan Road in the Arlington neighborhood. WJBT broadcasts using

HD Radio HD Radio (HDR) is a trademark for an in-band on-channel (IBOC) digital radio broadcast technology. It generally simulcasts an existing analog radio station in digital format with less noise and with additional text information. HD Radio is used ...

technology. The HD2

digital subchannel In broadcasting, digital subchannels are a method of transmitting more than one independent program stream simultaneously from the same digital radio or television station on the same radio frequency channel. This is done by using data compres ...

carries iHeart's

Black Information Network Black Information Network (BIN) is a radio network and content brand owned by iHeartMedia. Launched on June 30, 2020, it is an all-news radio network of stations targeting the African American community, carrying mostly important national news hea ...

, which feeds

FM translator A broadcast relay station, also known as a satellite station, relay transmitter, broadcast translator (U.S.), re-broadcaster (Canada), repeater (two-way radio) or complementary station (Mexico), is a broadcast transmitter which repeats (or tra ...

W281AM at 104.1 in Macclenny. The HD3 subchannel airs a simulcast of

WSOS-FM WSOS-FM (94.1 MHz) is commercial radio station that broadcasts to the Jacksonville, Florida area. The station is licensed in Fruit Cove to Chesapeake-Portsmouth Broadcasting Corporation. It is branded as Jax Country and broadcasts a classic cou ...

, which airs a

classic country Classic country is a music radio format that specializes in playing mainstream country and western music hits from past decades. Repertoire The radio format specializes in hits from the 1950s through the early 1980s, and focus primarily on inn ...

format.

History of the 93.3 frequency

In 1995, WAIA switched from Triple-A to

modern rock Modern rock is an umbrella term used to describe rock music that is found on college rock radio stations. Some radio stations use this term to distinguish themselves from classic rock, which is based in 1960s–1980s rock music. Radio format Mod ...

, becoming "Planet Radio 93.3".

Station history

WJBT has been in its current format since 1992 (when it was at 92.7), playing Hip Hop and R&B music. It was home to the nationally syndicated Doug Banks Morning Show (who was replaced with Steve Harvey after its move to 93.3, and later,

The Breakfast Club ''The Breakfast Club'' is a 1985 American teen coming-of-age comedy-drama film written, produced, and directed by John Hughes. It stars Emilio Estevez, Paul Gleason, Anthony Michael Hall, Judd Nelson, Molly Ringwald, and Ally Sheedy. The ...

). Its only other competitor is its own sister station,

Urban AC Urban adult contemporary, often abbreviated as urban AC or UAC, (also known as adult R&B,) is the name for a format of radio music, similar to an urban contemporary format. Radio stations using this format usually would not have hip hop music on ...

-formatted WSOL-FM. WJBT was the second urban radio station to adopt "The Beat" branding after

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' KKBT. When it was at 92.7, it served the Jacksonville area, but it did not have enough power to serve the northernmost and westernmost portions of the metro because its frequency was licensed to

Green Cove Springs, Florida Green Cove Springs is a city in and the county seat of Clay County, Florida, United States. The population was 5,378 at the 2000 census. As of 2010, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau was 6,908. The city is named after the portio ...

. However, it had no effect on the

Arbitron Nielsen Audio (formerly Arbitron) is a consumer research company in the United States that collects listener data on radio broadcasting audiences. It was founded as the American Research Bureau by Jim Seiler in 1949 and became national by merging ...

ratings as it is still among the Top 5 (sometimes 10) most listened to stations in the city. On November 2, 2007, Clear Channel spun off the 92.7 frequency to a private company (which moved the signal to the Palm Coast area as

WBHQ WBHQ (92.7 MHz) is a commercial FM radio station licensed to Beverly Beach, Florida, and serving Flagler County. It is owned by Flagler County Broadcasting and broadcasts an adult hits radio format known as "Beach 92.7." Unlike other adult ...

) and on the evening of December 25 of that same year, moved the station and its format to the more powerful 93.3 signal (formerly the home of Country outlet WROO). The reason for this was to comply with FCC ownership rules, since WJBT was in a waiver status in which Clear Channel was allowed to own six FMs and one AM in the market. But because of Clear Channel Communications being sold to a private investment group, WJBT's current frequency had to be divested. After Christmas Day 2007, 92.7 and 93.3 were simulcasting. However, on January 11, 2008, a new urban gospel station debuted on the 92.7 frequency named "Hallelujah FM", which is a moniker currently used for many Clear Channel-owned gospel stations nationwide. Also, the call letters were switched, with 92.7 becoming WROO and 93.3 becoming WJBT.http://www.radioinsight.com With the move to a more powerful signal, WJBT also received an upgrade in power as well, going from 50 kW to 100 kW, thus covering most of Jacksonville and Northeastern Florida.

On-air personalities

* Uptown Angela * T-Roy * Easy E * DJ Q45 * DJ Ian * Big Sue * Lil Tree Hugger

Mixers

* DJ Q45 * DJ Dr. Doom

Station management

* Program Director G-Wiz

References

External links

93.3 The Beat Facebook93.3 The Beat
* {{coord, 30.2811, N, 81.5701, W, type:landmark_region:US_source:FCC, display=title Urban contemporary radio stations in the United States JBT Radio stations established in 1983 IHeartMedia radio stations