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WOEX (96.5  FM, "Hits 96.5") 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 in
Orlando, Florida Orlando ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Orange County, Florida, United States. The city proper had a population of 307,573 at the 2020 census, making it the fourth-most populous city in Florida behind Jacksonville, Florida, Jacksonville ...
. It is owned by
Cox Media Group CMG Media Corporation (doing business as Cox Media Group) is an American media conglomerate principally owned by Apollo Global Management in conjunction with Cox Enterprises, which maintains a 29% minority stake in the company. The company p ...
and airs an
bilingual Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. When the languages are just two, it is usually called bilingualism. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolin ...
adult contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul ...
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 broadcasting, ...
. WOEX's studios and offices are located in Orlando on North John Young Parkway (Route 423). WOEX 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 99,000 watts (100,000 watts with
beam tilt Beam tilt is used in radio to aim the main lobe of the vertical plane radiation pattern of an antenna below (or above) the horizontal plane. The simplest way is mechanical beam tilt, where the antenna is physically mounted in such a manner a ...
). 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 ...
tower is in Bithlo, off Fort Christmas Road (Route 420). WOEX broadcasts in 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 ...
format; the HD2 subchannel carries the
news/talk Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues and consisting entirely or almost entirely of original spoken word content rather than outside music. They may feature monologues, dialogues between the hosts, interviews ...
format found on co-owned WDBO.


History


Early years

The station first signed on in 1952 as WHOO-FM, the FM counterpart to WHOO (now WTLN). The stations were owned by WHOO, Inc., and had their studios in the Fort Gatlin Hotel. WHOO-AM-FM
simulcast Simulcast (a portmanteau of "simultaneous broadcast") is the broadcasting of programs or events across more than one resolution, bitrate or medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at exactly the same time (that is, simultaneously) ...
their programming and were network affiliates of ABC Radio.


Beautiful music

By the 1960s, WHOO-FM was airing a beautiful music format, no longer simulcast with its parent AM station. WHOO-FM also carried a commercial-free background music service for stores and restaurants, not available to regular FM listeners, but picked up by using special receivers, through a
subsidiary communications authority Subsidiary Communications Authorization (SCA) in the United States, and Subsidiary Communications Multiplex Operation (SCMO) in Canada, is a subcarrier on a radio station, allowing the station to broadcast additional services as part of its signa ...
(SCA) subscription service. WHOO-FM was originally powered at 59,000 watts, using a
tower A tower is a tall Nonbuilding structure, structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant factor. Towers are distinguished from guyed mast, masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting ...
at 1,000 feet, with a signal that extensively covered
Central Florida Central Florida is a Regions of the United States#Florida, region of the U.S. state of Florida. Different sources give different definitions for the region, but as its name implies it is usually said to comprise the central part of the state, in ...
, from
Tampa Bay Tampa Bay is a large natural harbor and shallow estuary connected to the Gulf of Mexico on the west-central coast of Florida, comprising Hillsborough Bay, McKay Bay, Old Tampa Bay, Middle Tampa Bay, and Lower Tampa Bay. The largest freshwater i ...
to
Daytona Beach Daytona Beach is a coastal resort city in Volusia County, Florida, United States. Located on the East Coast of the United States, its population was 72,647 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Deltona–Daytona Beach–Ormond Beach metropo ...
. WHOO-FM was one of the first stations in Central Florida to be heard in
FM stereo FM broadcasting is a method of radio broadcasting that uses frequency modulation (FM) of the radio broadcast carrier wave. Invented in 1933 by American engineer Edwin Armstrong, wide-band FM is used worldwide to transmit high-fidelity sound ...
full-time.


From country to rock

In the 1980s, the subscription music service was sold. With WHOO airing a personality and information-oriented
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, management decided to flip WHOO-FM to a music intensive country format as "96 Country" in 1984. In 1987, WHOO-AM-FM were bought by TK Communications, Inc. The AM station remained country, but on March 1, at midnight, WHOO-FM began stunting with non-stop songs from
The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...
. (That same day, the first Beatles CDs were released.) When the all-Beatles stunt ended, the new owners switched the format to adult-oriented
album rock Album-oriented rock (AOR, originally called album-oriented radio) is an FM broadcasting, FM radio format created in the United States in the late 1960s that focuses on the full repertoire of Rock music, rock albums and is currently associated ...
. The station's call sign were changed to WHTQ, and it began calling itself "Q 96." In the next couple of years, WHTQ moved to a
classic rock Classic rock is a radio format that developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, it comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the early-1990s, primarily focusing on comm ...
format.


Cox ownership

TK Communications was sold to Granum Communications in 1995 for $12 million. In turn, Granum was acquired by
Infinity Broadcasting Infinity Broadcasting Corporation was a radio company that existed from 1972 until 2005. It was founded by Michael A. Wiener and Gerald Carrus. It became associated with popular radio personalities like Howard Stern, Opie and Anthony, Don Im ...
(which was later renamed CBS Radio, now part of
Entercom Audacy, Inc. is an American broadcasting company based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1968 as Entercom Communications Corp., it is the second largest radio company in the United States, owning over 220 radio stations across 47 media ...
). Infinity quickly spun off WHOO, WMMO and WHTQ to
Cox Radio CMG Media Corporation (doing business as Cox Media Group) is an American media conglomerate principally owned by Apollo Global Management in conjunction with Cox Enterprises, which maintains a 29% minority stake in the company. The company p ...
, in order for Infinity to acquire WCKG in Chicago. The classic rock format lasted 23 years. On February 18, 2011, at 5 p.m., after playing "
Pride (In The Name Of Love) "Pride (In the Name of Love)" is a song by Irish rock band U2. It is the second track on the band's 1984 album, ''The Unforgettable Fire'', and was released as its lead single in September 1984. The song was produced by Brian Eno and Daniel ...
" by U2 and after a commercial set, Cox Radio announced that WHTQ would begin adding new rock songs and recent titles, and modify its moniker to "96 Rock." It began the new format with " Alive" by
Pearl Jam Pearl Jam is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. One of the key bands in the grunge, grunge movement of the early 1990s, Pearl Jam has outsold and outlasted many of its contemporaries from the early 1990s, ...
. In addition to WHTQ tweaking the classic rock format, WJRR switched back 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 ...
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 ...
.


Switch to news/talk

Just 6 months after the launch of "96 Rock", on August 19, 2011, at 5 a.m., after playing " Sad but True" by
Metallica Metallica is an American heavy metal band. It was formed in Los Angeles in 1981 by vocalist and guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...
, WHTQ flipped to a
simulcast Simulcast (a portmanteau of "simultaneous broadcast") is the broadcasting of programs or events across more than one resolution, bitrate or medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at exactly the same time (that is, simultaneously) ...
of co-owned
news/talk Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues and consisting entirely or almost entirely of original spoken word content rather than outside music. They may feature monologues, dialogues between the hosts, interviews ...
-formatted WDBO. The change followed a decrease in WHTQ's ratings, and a decision to give WDBO's talk format a wider audience by putting it on the powerful 100,000 watt FM signal, which switched its call sign to WDBO-FM. The rock format at first continued on the station's
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 ...
signal, 96.5-HD2, for a few months after the switch before being discontinued altogether. WDBO-AM-FM branded itself as "FM-96.5 News-Talk WDBO" for much of 2012, to emphasize its new availability on FM radio. Programming changes occurred in October 2012, when
Clark Howard Clark Brian Howard (born June 20, 1955) is an American author and radio/podcast host, focused primarily on personal finance, consumer protection, and related topics. He has hosted ''The Clark Howard Show,'' which began in 1989 and has lasted ov ...
rejoined the station's lineup after an absence of several years. ''The
Neal Boortz Neal A Boortz Jr. (born April 6, 1945) is an American author, former attorney, and former libertarian radio host. His nationally syndicated talk show, ''The Neal Boortz Show'', which ended in 2013, was carried throughout the United States. The ...
Show'' was shortened to two hours and aired from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., which pushed up the local ''
Mel Robbins Melanie Lee Robbins (née Schneeberger; born October 6, 1968) is an American author, podcast host, and lawyer. She is known for her TEDxSF talk and other works such as ''How to Stop Screwing Yourself Over'', her books ''The 5 Second Rule'' ...
Show'' to the 11 a.m.-1 p.m. timeslot. These moves coincided with a change in branding to ''NewsTalk 96.5 WDBO''. Shortly afterward, on November 12, 2012, the news/talk format became FM-only, as WDBO relaunched as a
sports radio Sports radio (or sports talk radio) is a radio format devoted entirely to discussion and broadcasting of sport, sporting events. A widespread programming genre that has a narrow audience appeal, sports radio is characterized by an often-low comed ...
station affiliated with
ESPN Radio ESPN Radio, which is alternatively branded platform-agnostically as ESPN Audio, is an American sports radio network and extension of the ESPN television network. It was launched on January 1, 1992, under the banner "SportsRadio ESPN". The netw ...
. WDBO became the
flagship station In broadcasting, a flagship (also known as a flagship station or key station) is the broadcast station which originates a television network, or a particular radio or television program that plays a key role in the branding of and consumer loyal ...
for the
Orlando Magic The Orlando Magic are an American professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. The Magic compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NB ...
Radio Network, with WDBO-FM also simulcasting the games. On April 29, 2013, sweeping changes were made to the station as it was rebranded ''News 96.5'': "Orlando′s New 24-Hour News, Weather and Traffic." From then until 2015, all on-air references to the call sign WDBO were dropped, aside from hourly IDs. The call letters were slowly re-integrated into the branding over the months of October and November 2015. A weekday segment known as "The Three Big Things You Need to Know" was introduced at approximately :15 and :45 past the hour. In addition,
Orlando Magic The Orlando Magic are an American professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. The Magic compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NB ...
games were heard on the AM station only, and news hours were added at noon and 6 p.m. In 2015, the station added
Dana Loesch Dana Lynn Loesch ( ; ; born September 28, 1978) is an American radio and television host, TV host. She is a former spokesperson for the National Rifle Association and a former writer and editor for ''Breitbart News''. Loesch was the television ho ...
's syndicated talk show to the lineup.


Spanish contemporary

On June 24, 2020, Cox Radio announced that WDBO-FM's news/talk programming would relocate back to WDBO-AM. An
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 tr ...
, 107.3 W297BB, would begin simulcasting WDBO. Five days later, WDBO-FM would switch to
Spanish-language Spanish () or Castilian () is a Romance languages, Romance language of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family that evolved from the Vulgar Latin spoken on the Iberian Peninsula of Europe. Today, it is a world language, gl ...
contemporary hits as "Éxitos 96.5" (the "Éxitos" branding was previously on W297BB, which was used for a Spanish hot adult contemporary format). The first song on "Éxitos" was " Vivir Mi Vida" by
Marc Anthony Marco Antonio Muñiz (born September 16, 1968), known professionally as Marc Anthony, is an American singer and actor. He is the top selling salsa artist of all time. A four-time Grammy Award, eight-time Latin Grammy Award and twenty-nine-tim ...
. On July 14, 2020, WDBO-FM changed its call sign to WOEX to match the "Éxitos" branding.


Bilingual AC

On October 17, 2024, at 4pm, after playing "Tu Amor Me Hace Bien" by Marc Anthony, WOEX changed their format from Spanish contemporary hits to bilingual adult contemporary, branded as "Hits 96.5". The first song on "Hits" was "
Bella Bella is a feminine given name. It is a diminutive form of names ending in -bella. ''Bella'' is related to the Italian, Spanish, Greek, Portuguese and Latin words for beautiful, and to the name Belle (given name), Belle, meaning ''beautiful'' in F ...
" by
Ricky Martin Enrique Martin Morales (born December 24, 1971), known professionally as Ricky Martin, is a Puerto Rican singer, songwriter and actor. He is known for his musical versatility, with his Ricky Martin albums discography, discography incorporati ...
.


References


External links

* * {{Coord, 28.5891, -81.4180, display=title OEX OEX Cox Media Group Radio stations established in 1948 1948 establishments in Florida Adult contemporary radio stations in the United States