WLRB (102.7 FM) is a non-commercial

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 ...

located in the

Atlantic City Atlantic City, sometimes referred to by its initials A.C., is a Jersey Shore seaside resort city in Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Atlantic City comprises the second half of the Atlantic City- Hammonton metropolitan sta ...

area on 102.7 FM. The station serves Atlantic, Cape May, Cumberland and Southern Ocean Counties in New Jersey. The transmitter is located on the roof of the Ocean Club Condominium Complex in Atlantic City.

History

Early years

The station began broadcasting on June 28, 1991 as WSKR with a locally produced sports format. "Score 102–7" eventually simulcasted Philadelphia's sports WIP(AM) from 6AM to 6PM weekdays. The station changed its call letters to WJSE in November 1994, broadcasting various versions of a

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

format. From November 1999 until December 16, 2005, WJSE was the South Jersey home of the syndicated

Howard Stern Show ''The Howard Stern Show'' is an American radio show hosted by Howard Stern that gained wide recognition when it was radio syndication, nationally syndicated on terrestrial radio from WINS-FM, WXRK in New York City, between 1986 and 2005. The sho ...

. On January 8, 2006, the Scotty and Alex Show replaced Stern after he moved his radio show to

Sirius Satellite Radio Sirius Satellite Radio was a satellite radio ( SDARS) service that operated in the United States and Canada. Sirius launched in 2002, and primarily competed with XM Satellite Radio, until the two services merged in 2008 to form Sirius XM. Li ...

and in February 2007, the syndicated Mancow Show replaced Scotty and Alex after the duo moved their show over to

Free FM Free FM was a short-lived, mostly-talk-radio format and brand name for eleven FM CBS Radio stations in the United States, and was created because of Howard Stern's departure to Sirius Satellite Radio in January 2006. Free FM was given its na ...

formatted WYSP in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

. On December 16, 2005 (the last day of Howard Stern's

terrestrial radio 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 radio ...

show), WJSE along with many of the other soon to be former Stern affiliates including flagship station WXRK in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

broadcast Stern's last show live over the Internet, which until then was strictly forbidden under the syndication agreement between Stern, his production company One-Twelve, Inc., his employer CBS Radio, the syndicator

Westwood One Westwood One, Inc. is an American radio network owned by Cumulus Media. The company syndicates talk, music, and sports programming. The company takes its name from an earlier network also named Westwood One, a company founded in 1976. The co ...

and the affiliates that broadcast The Howard Stern Show. The station was a finalist for

Radio and Records ''Radio & Records'' (''R&R'') was a trade publication providing news and airplay information for the radio and music industries. It started as an independent trade from 1973 to 2006 until VNU Media took over in 2006 and became a relaunched sister ...

magazine's 2007 Industry Achievement Award for best Alternative Station for markets 100 and up. Other finalists include

WKZQ-FM WKZQ-FM (96.1 MHz, "96.1 KZQ") is an alternative rock radio station licensed to Forestbrook, South Carolina and serves the Grand Strand area. The station is licensed by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to broadcast with an effective ...

KQXR KQXR (100.3 Hertz, MHz) is a commercial radio, commercial radio station city of license, licensed to Payette, Idaho, and broadcasting to the Boise metropolitan area. It airs an active rock radio format, format and is owned by Lotus Communicati ...

WBTZ WBTZ (99.9 MHz "99.9 The Buzz") is a commercial FM radio station in Plattsburgh, New York, and serving the Plattsburgh area, the Burlington, Vermont metropolitan area and Greater Montreal. The station is owned by Hall Communications, and airs ...

KXNA KXNA (104.9 FM) is a radio station broadcasting an alternative format. Licensed to Springdale, Arkansas, United States, it serves the Fayetteville (North West Arkansas) area. The station is currently owned by John Lykins, through licensee Rox ...

, and WSFM. By

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

, WJSE shifted from

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

as Digital 102.7 to

active rock Active rock is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations across the United States and Canada. Active rock stations play a balance of new hard rock songs with valued classic rock favorites, normally with an emphasis on the harder edge o ...

as 102.7 The Ace. In late July 2008, it became 102.7 JSE Rocks. The

format shifted to

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

Wild 102.7

In May 2010, speculation began swirling around a format flip for WJSE. It was speculated that WJSE was to flip to a simulcast of WPTY

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

. The rumors became reality on July 1, 2010, when it was confirmed that WJSE would indeed flip to a

rhythmic top 40 The Rhythmic chart (also called Rhythmic Airplay, and previously named Rhythmic Songs, Rhythmic Top 40 and CHR/Rhythmic) is an airplay chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. The chart tracks and measures the airplay of songs played on ...

dance Dance is an The arts, art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often Symbol, symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

format, and adopt the revamped moniker "Wild 102–7, Atlantic City's Party Station." It even got the new calls WWAC and a change of COL to Ocean City, all to improve signal coverage. The station was launched on July 2, 2010 at 9:55 P.M. after a 1–2 minute stunt of a patriotic marching song. As of

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

, WWAC's playlist shifted more toward a

CHR CHR or chr may refer to: Organisations * Canadians for Health Research, a national not-for-profit organisation * Centre for Human Rights, an organisation promoting human rights in Africa * Christ Church Secondary School, a government-aided school ...

format.

AC 102.7

On September 19, 2011, the station changed its name to AC 102.7, retaining the

contemporary hit radio Contemporary hit radio (CHR, also known as contemporary hits, hit list, current hits, hit music, top 40, or pop radio) is a radio format common in many countries that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by the Top ...

format.

Sale to EMF

On June 20, 2018, Longport Media sold WWAC to the

Educational Media Foundation Educational Media Foundation (formerly EMF Broadcasting, abbreviated EMF) is an American nonprofit Christian media ministry based in Franklin, a suburb of Nashville. EMF is the parent company of K-LOVE and Air1—the world's largest contempor ...

for $570,000. The sale was consummated on July 10, 2019, at which point the station changed its call sign to WLRB. On July 11, 2019, the station went dark and returned to the air the following day, switching to the national

K-Love K-Love (stylized as K-LOVE) is an American Christian radio network. Owned by the Educational Media Foundation (EMF), a non-profit Christian ministry, it primarily broadcasts contemporary Christian music. As of June 2019, the network's progr ...

feed.Air 1 Preparing For New York Launch
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Logo history

Image: AC 102.7 logo.png, Logo for AC 102.7 (2011-2019)

References

External links

* {{K-LOVE LRB (FM) K-Love radio stations HD Radio stations Radio stations established in 1992 1992 establishments in New Jersey LRB (FM) Educational Media Foundation radio stations Ocean City, New Jersey Contemporary Christian radio stations in the United States