WLRB (102.7 FM) is a non-commercial

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 radi ...

located in the Atlantic City 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 Wales ...

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 nationally syndicated on terrestrial radio from WXRK in New York City, between 1986 and 2005. The show has aired on Howard 100 ...

. 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) and online radio service operating in North America, owned by Sirius XM Holdings. Headquartered in New York City, with smaller studios in Los Angeles and Memphis, Tennessee, Memphis, Sirius ...

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 name ...

formatted WYSP in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

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

terrestrial radio Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio signal, 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-b ...

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 or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

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 CBS Radio was a radio broadcasting company and radio network operator owned by CBS Corporation and founded in 1928, with consolidated radio station groups owned by CBS and Westinghouse Broadcasting/Group W since the 1920s, and Infinity Broa ...

, the syndicator

Westwood One Westwood One 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 1978. The company w ...

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,

KQXR KQXR is a commercial radio station licensed in Payette, Idaho, broadcasting to the Boise, Idaho metro area on 100.3 FM. The station is owned by Lotus Communications with studios located at 5257 Fairview Avenue #260, Boise, Idaho 83706. "The X ...

WBTZ WBTZ (99.9 MHz "99.9 The Buzz") is a commercial FM radio station in Plattsburgh, New York, broadcasting to the Burlington, Vermont–Plattsburgh radio market, heard around the Champlain Valley and into Montreal. The station is owned by Hall ...

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 Elizabeth Marquis. The station wa ...

, and WSFM. By 2006, 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 ...

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

format shifted to

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

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 WPTY (105.3 FM, "Party 105") is a rhythmic hot AC formatted station licensed to Calverton- Roanoke, New York and serving eastern Long Island. The station is owned by JVC Media LLC with studios located in Ronkonkoma, New York and transmitte ...

Long Island. 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 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, WWAC's playlist shifted more toward a CHR 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 (also known as CHR, contemporary hits, hit list, current hits, hit music, top 40, or pop radio) is a radio format that is common in many countries that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by ...

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, Tennessee, a suburb of Nashville. EMF is the parent company of K-LOVE and Air1—the world's large ...

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 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