 | |
| Broadcast area | Grand Rapids metropolitan area |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 101.3MHz (HD Radio) |
| Branding | 101.3 Big FM |
| Programming | |
| Format | Oldies |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| WBCT,WMAX-FM,WOOD,WSNX-FM,WSRW-FM,WTKG | |
| History | |
First air date | 1962; 63 years ago (1962) (as WMAX-FM) |
Former call signs | WMAX-FM (1962–1965) WYON (1965–1977) WMLW (1977–1978) WFFX (1978–1980) WCUZ-FM (1980–2000) |
Call sign meaning | W Brew, or TheFoX (both former brandings) |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 51727 |
| Class | B |
| ERP | 50,000watts |
| HAAT | 128 meters (420 ft) |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen live (viaiHeartRadio) HD2:Listen live (viaiHeartRadio) |
| Website | 1013big.iheart.com |
WBFX (101.3FM, "Big FM") is acommercialradio station inGrand Rapids, Michigan. It airs anoldiesradio format and is owned and operated byiHeartMedia, Inc. Most songs are from the 1960s and 70s, with a few 80s titles. Key artists includeThe Beatles,The Supremes,Elton John,Stevie Wonder andThe Eagles.WOOD-TV 8, theNBCNetwork affiliate for Grand Rapids, supplies some news and weather updates. It also serves as the local affiliate forDetroit Lions football andMichigan State Spartans athletics. WBFX's studios and offices are at 77 Monroe Center in downtown Grand Rapids.
WBFX has aneffective radiated power (ERP) of 50,000watts, the maximum for most stations in Southern Michigan. Thetransmitter is near 5 Mile Rd and Lincoln Lake Ave inLowell.[2]
The stationsigned on the air in 1962; 63 years ago (1962).[3] Its originalcall sign was WMAX-FM. It then became WYON as asister station toWION inIonia, Michigan, in 1965.
In 1976, the station was purchased by the owners ofWCUZ1230 AM and became WMLW ("Mellow 101"), asoft adult contemporary station. WMLW switched toalbum oriented rock as WFFX "The Fox" in1978, and then tocountry music in1980 as WCUZ-FM. It used the slogan 'CUZ-FM 101.3...more of the music you like...on CUZ-FM." For most of the 1980s, country WCUZ was among the ratings leaders in Grand Rapids. But the station saw its ratings erode after the1992 debut of "B93,"WBCT-FM, a rival country station on 93.7.
By1998, WCUZ was co-owned with its country competitor, WBCT. Both stations came under the umbrella ofClear Channel Communications (a forerunner of today's iHeartMedia). Clear Channel decided to keep WBCT as the contemporary country outlet, so WCUZ moved to aclassic country format, identifying as "Country Gold WCUZ."
Clear Channel dropped the "Country Gold" format on September 24, 2000. It debutedclassic rock "101.3 The Fox" that afternoon, following coverage of the MBNA.com 400NASCAR Winston Cup event. The station changed its call letters to the current WBFX on September 27, 2000.
The lineup at the debut wasThe Bob & Tom Show,syndicated fromIndianapolis for morningdrive time. The rest of the day had localDJs, including Ranger Bob, Aris Hampers, Otto Mation and Alison Harte. Others jocks over the decade would include Matt Hendricks (AKA Big Richard), Jack Lawson, Mark Fuerie, Andy O'Riley, Shafee and Joe Daugherty. The station also featured the syndicatedNights with Alice Cooper for evenings.
Since its inception, WBFX has changed its music style multiple times, although all remained loosely in the rock genre. In late June2009, the station adjusted its format towardsmainstream rock, with a mix of harder classic rock songs as well as recent rock music from the 1990s and 2000s. This adjustment was in response to the localactive rock station WKLQ changing formats tosports talk. By 2010, however,Townsquare Media'sWGRD-FM adjusted its format toactive rock fromalternative rock, and saw a decent rise in the ratings. Meanwhile, WBFX remained roughly the same. After this, WBFX rebranded as "The Next Generation of Classic Rock", and moved itsplaylist back towards having a classic rock feel, but with a stronger emphasis on 1980s and 1990s era, taking onWLAV-FM.
On February 20, 2013, WBFX began running liners advising listeners that "The Fox Dies Friday". At noon the next day, after playing "The Breakup Song" byThe Greg Kihn Band and "The Final Countdown" byEurope, the station rebranded. It became "101.3 The Brew". The moniker acknowledged Grand Rapids being voted as 2012's "Beer City USA" according to a poll conducted on Examiner.com and the noteworthy rise of the popularity and economic impact ofmicrobreweries in the region.
The station launched with "Enter Sandman" byMetallica. Musically, the station was tweaked with more rock titles from the 1980s and 1990s added into the playlist. The presentation and formatics became similar to other stations called "The Brew" that Clear Channel has deployed in places such asPortland, OR,Columbus, OH andWichita, KS. With sister stationWMAX-FM having taken theESPN Radioaffiliation in recent years, WBFX continues to airNASCAR Sprint Cup Series races, as it has for over a decade.
On July 6, 2015, WBFX tweaked its format towards anactive rock-leaningmainstream rock presentation. While titles going back to the 1960s were occasionally played, the emphasis was strongly on rock music of the 1990s and 2000s.
The ratings slid a few months after this tweak in the format took place. On February 16, 2016, WBFX shifted the format back toclassic rock, with emphasis on 1970s and 1980s rock music. The station also changed the lineup of DJs to prefer locally-based hosts instead of syndicated ones.[4]
On January 23, 2017, the station addedRover's Morning Glory, ahot talk show fromCleveland, during morning drive time.[5] On March 21, 2019, the station tweaked the playlist once again, eliminating much of the pre-1980s rock music and adding many well-known 1990s rock songs.[6]
On October 23, 2020, at 5 a.m., after playing "Cumbersome" bySeven Mary Three, WBFX beganstunting. It played a loop of the fight songs ofMichigan State University,Florida State University, and "Anchors Aweigh", the fight song for theUnited States Naval Academy. At noon the following day, the stunt shifted to the broadcast of that day'sMichigan State Spartans football season opener. The team lost to theRutgers Scarlet Knights, 38-27.
Following the football game, the station debuted a 1960s and 70s-focusedoldies format. The moniker became "101.3 Big FM". The first song on "Big" was "A Little Less Conversation" byElvis Presley. Positioned as "Grand Rapids' Fun Hits You Know", the new format puts WBFX in competition withTownsquare Media'sclassic hits stationWFGR. The only oldies station in the market had beenGrand Valley State University'snon-commercialWGVU. The change came after WBFX's classic rock format had a 1.9 share in the September 2020Nielsen ratings.[7]
WBFX is licensed forHD Radio operations. It previously featurediHeartRadio's "Full Metal Jackie" programming on its HD2digital subchannel.[8] In the show, Jackie Kajzer interviews musical guests and plays hard-edged rock. As of late 2022, this broadcast was eliminated and only the primary HD1 subchannel remains.
43°02′28″N85°21′29″W / 43.041°N 85.358°W /43.041; -85.358