WBLX-FM (92.9

MHz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), often described as being equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose formal expression in terms of SI base u ...

, "93BLX") is an American

urban contemporary Urban contemporary music, also known as urban music, 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 contemporary r ...

music-formatted

radio station Radio broadcasting is the broadcasting 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 rad ...

that serves Mobile, Lower Alabama, and

Pensacola, Florida Pensacola ( ) is a city in the Florida panhandle in the United States. It is the county seat and only incorporated city, city in Escambia County, Florida, Escambia County. The population was 54,312 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. ...

. The station has served the Gulf Coast for more than 50 years. Owned by

Cumulus Media Cumulus Media, Inc. is a broadcasting company of the United States and is the second largest owner and operator of AM and FM radio stations in the United States ahead of Audacy and behind iHeartMedia iHeartMedia, Inc., or CC Media Holdi ...

, its studios are on Dauphin Avenue in Midtown Mobile, and its transmitter is near

Robertsdale, Alabama Robertsdale is a city in Baldwin County, Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georg ...

. The station was assigned the WBLX-FM call letters by the

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on July 4,

1988 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the Morris worm, 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United State ...

. In 2006, WBLX began broadcasting in

IBOC In-band on-channel (IBOC) is a hybrid method of transmitting digital radio and analog radio broadcast signals simultaneously on the same frequency. The name refers to the new digital signals being broadcast in the same AM or FM band (in-band) ...

digital radio Digital radio is the use of digital technology to transmit or receive across the radio spectrum. Digital transmission by radio waves includes digital broadcasting, and especially digital audio radio services. This should not be confused with In ...

, using the

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

system from

iBiquity iBiquity Digital Corporation was a company formed by the merger of USA Digital Radio and Lucent Digital Radio. Based in Columbia, Maryland, with additional offices in Basking Ridge, New Jersey, Los Angeles, California, and Auburn Hills, Michigan, ...

History

WBLX began in October 1973 as FM counterpart to gospel station WMOO (1550 AM). As WBLX, with the CHUrban format and then as an Urban Contemporary format, has been one of the market's leading stations with the same calls and format for 45 years. In 1998, Cumulus acquired competitor

WDLT-FM WDLT-FM (104.1 Hertz, MHz) is an American radio station licensed to the community of Saraland, Alabama (changed from Atmore, Alabama, Atmore). The station, founded in 1966, broadcasts to the greater Mobile metropolitan area. The station is own ...

, and skewed it to being an

Urban Adult Contemporary 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 ...

. This has allowed WBLX to skew its programming towards a younger audience as a Mainstream Urban. For many years, WBLX also carried ''"The Beat of the Bay 93BLX!"'' and ''"93BLX Jamz!"'' brandnames, however in 2000 they changed their current slogan to ''"The Big Station 93BLX"''. Cumulus Broadcasting began upgrading its stations to HD Radio broadcasting in 2005. One of the first ten stations to be upgraded was WBLX-FM. WBLX is one of the most powerful radio stations in the Gulf region. It can be heard from New Orleans, Montgomery, AL, South Georgia, Panama City, Fl, and 100 miles out in the Gulf of Mexico.

References

External links

WBLX official website
* {{Cumulus Media BLX-FM Urban contemporary radio stations in the United States Radio stations established in 1973 1973 establishments in Alabama Cumulus Media radio stations