WFBE (95.1 FM "B95") is a

commercial Commercial may refer to: * (adjective for) commerce, a system of voluntary exchange of products and services ** (adjective for) trade, the trading of something of economic value such as goods, services, information or money * a dose of advertising ...

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 ...

licensed A license (American English) or licence (Commonwealth English) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit). A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another part ...

Flint, Michigan Flint is the largest city in Genesee County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. Located along the Flint River (Michigan), Flint River northwest of Detroit, it is a principal city within the Central Michigan, Mid Michigan region. Flin ...

. It is 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 ...

and it broadcasts a

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

format Format may refer to: Printing and visual media * Text formatting, the typesetting of text elements * Paper formats, or paper size standards * Newspaper format, the size of the paper page Computing * File format, particular way that informatio ...

. Its

studio A studio is a space set aside for creative work of any kind, including art, dance, music and theater. The word ''studio'' is derived from the , from , from ''studere'', meaning to study or zeal. Types Art The studio of any artist, esp ...

s are on Taylor Drive in Mundy Township, using a Flint address. In morning

drive time Drive time is the daypart in which radio broadcasters can reach the most people who listen to car radios while driving, usually to and from work, or on public transportation. Drive-time periods are when the number of radio listeners in this c ...

, B95 carries the syndicated ''Kincaid and Dallas'' show from co-owned

WKHX-FM WKHX-FM (101.5 MHz) is a commercial radio station licensed to Marietta, Georgia, featuring a country music format known as "New Country 101.5". Owned by Cumulus Media, the station serves the Atlanta metropolitan area. WKHX-FM's studios are loca ...

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

. WFBE 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 ha ...

(ERP) of 34,000

watt The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of Power (physics), power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantification (science), quantify the rate of Work ...

s. The

transmitter In electronics and telecommunications, a radio transmitter or just transmitter (often abbreviated as XMTR or TX in technical documents) is an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna (radio), antenna with the purpose of sig ...

is on East Bristol Road near South Dort Highway in Burton, co-located with the AM transmitter of sister station WTRX.

History

Flint Board of Education

The station

signed on A sign-on (or start-up in Commonwealth countries except Canada) is the beginning of operations for a radio broadcasting, radio or television station, generally at the start of each day. It is the opposite of a sign-off (or closedown in Commonw ...

the air on . WFBE was owned by the Flint Board of Education and the studios were on the campus of

Flint Central High School Flint Central High School was one of the Flint Community Schools, located in Flint, Michigan, United States. Flint Central was the city's oldest school. Its first building was built in 1875, and the school moved into the present building in 192 ...

for many years. It was a

non-commercial A non-commercial (also spelled noncommercial) activity is an activity that is not carried out in the interest of Profit (economics), profit. The opposite is Commerce, commercial, something that primarily serves profit interests and is focused on bu ...

public radio Public broadcasting (or public service broadcasting) is radio, television, and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service with a commitment to avoiding political and commercial influence. Public broadcasters receive ...

station which also offered educational programs. In 1997, The Flint Board of Education was in a serious budget shortfall. It could no longer afford to maintain the station and the board members decided the schools could use the money from a sale.

Liggett, Rainbow and Citadel ownership

Though many listeners were upset about the sale of this public outlet, 95.1 was sold to Liggett Communications of

Lansing, Michigan Lansing () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Michigan. The most populous city in Ingham County, Michigan, Ingham County, parts of the city extend into Eaton County, Michigan, Eaton County and nort ...

. Even though it was a non-commercial radio station, WFBE operated on a commercial frequency. After the sale was finalized, Liggett moved the studios to Miller Road. WFBE was later purchased by Rainbow Radio but it didn't keep the station long.

Citadel Broadcasting Citadel Broadcasting Corporation was a Las Vegas, Nevada-based broadcast holding company founded and developed by Larry Wilson. Citadel owned 243 radio stations across the United States and was the third-largest radio station owner in the count ...

purchased B95 from Rainbow Radio in February 2000. The transmitting tower was originally located on Flint Board of Education property, first on the Oak Grove Campus, then

. The station vacated the high school when new transmitting facilities became operational in 2010 at the co-owned transmitting facilities of

WTRX WTRX (1330 AM, "Sports XTRA 1330") was an American radio station broadcasting a sports format in Flint, Michigan. At closure, WTRX was the Flint affiliate for Michigan Wolverines football and men's basketball, and Infinity Sports Network. ...

. The old broadcast tower was taken down on October of that year.

Cumulus and Nash-FM

Citadel merged with

on September 16, 2011. WFBE relocated to Cumulus' Taylor Drive studios in March 2012. On February 3, 2014, WFBE and nine other Cumulus-owned country music stations made the switch to Nash-FM branding. It also added some national Nash-FM programs to its schedule. On April 1, 2021, WFBE rebranded back to "B95" after seven years.WFBE Drops Nash To Return To B95 Identity
April 1, 2021

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References

External links

* FBE Country radio stations in the United States Cumulus Media radio stations Radio stations established in 1953 {{Michigan-radio-station-stub