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| |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Greater Orlando |
| Frequency | 580kHz |
| Branding | WDBO |
| Programming | |
| Format | News/talk |
| Network | ABC News Radio |
| Affiliations | |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
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| History | |
First air date | May 24, 1924; 101 years ago (1924-05-24) |
Former frequencies |
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Call sign meaning | "Daytona Beach-Orlando"[1] |
| Technical information[2] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 48726 |
| Class | B |
| Power | 5,000 watts |
Transmitter coordinates | 28°37′12″N81°24′34.3″W / 28.62000°N 81.409528°W /28.62000; -81.409528 |
| Translator | 107.3 W297BB (Orlando) |
| Repeater | 96.5 WOEX-HD2 (Orlando) |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | |
| Website | www |
WDBO (580AM) is acommercial radio station broadcasting anews/talkradio format.Licensed toOrlando, Florida, the station is owned byCox Media Group. The studios and offices are located on North John Young Parkway in Orlando.
WDBO is powered at 5,000 watts. By day, its signal isnon-directional. At night, to protect other stations onAM 580, it uses adirectional antenna with a two-tower array. Thetransmitter is off West Kennedy Boulevard inMaitland.[3] Programming is also heard on 250-wattFM translatorW297BB at 107.3MHz.[4]
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WDBO is Orlando's oldest radio station,signing on the air on May 24, 1924. It was first licensed toRollins College inWinter Park. In its early years, it used a number of frequencies, but by 1933, it settled on 580 kHz.[5] In 1935, it got a boost in power from 250 watts to 1,000 watts. It was owned by the Orlando Broadcasting Company, and was anetwork affiliate ofCBS Radio. WDBO carried the CBS line up of dramas, comedies, news, sports, soap operas, game shows, andbig band broadcasts during the "Golden Age of Radio".
In 1949,WDBO-FM (92.3 FM) was put on the air as asimulcast of WDBO. Five years later, WDBO-TV came on the air, the first television station inCentral Florida, matching its radio cousin as a primaryCBS television affiliate. In 1982, the firm that owned WDBO-AM-FM-TV,The Outlet Company, sold the radio stations to Katz Broadcasting. (The TV station became WCPX in 1982, and has beenWKMG-TV since 1998.) When the stations were sold, WDBO-FM was re-formatted as acountry music station, "K92FM", with thecall signWWKA.
As network programming moved from radio to television in the 1950s, WDBO switched to afull-servicemiddle of the road format of popular adult music, news, and sports. The station also joinedABC News Radio and slowly added moretalk radio programs. By the 1980s, "58 WDBO" began to scale back on MOR music, and in 1984, the station dropped MOR entirely, switching toadult contemporary music, along with news, information and sports. The change in music came shortly afterLeesburg'sWHLY switched from its adult contemporary format toTop 40.
When the 1990s began, WDBO was airing a mix of news, talk and adult contemporary music. In March 1991, the station dropped music entirely and it became "NewsTalk 580 WDBO". For years, it wasGreater Orlando's highest-rated AM news/talk station. In 1997, WDBO and WWKA were acquired byCox Radio.[6] In August 2011, Cox ended theclassic rock format on WHTQ (96.5 FM), and gave it the call sign WDBO-FM, becoming asimulcast of WDBO. (WDBO's talk programming was initially heard on that station'sHD-2 subchannel beginning in late February 2008.) The news/talk station eventually re-branded, using the FM frequency exclusively as "NewsTalk 96-5 WDBO".
On November 12, 2012, the simulcast ended when WDBO re-launched as asports radio station affiliated withESPN Radio, while WDBO-FM continued the news/talk programming on its own. ESPN Radio had been dropped previously byWHOO (1080 AM), which switched its affiliation toNBC Sports Radio.
WDBO carried the full ESPN Radio schedule, except for a local program on weekday afternoons hosted by Scott Anez.[7] WDBO remained theflagship radio station of theOrlando Magicbasketball team untiliHeartMedia'sWYGM (740 AM) became the home of the Magic at the start of the 2018–2019 season.
On June 24, 2020, Cox Radio announced that WDBO-FM would flip to aSpanish-languagehot adult contemporary hits format asWOEX, "Exitos 96.5". WDBO's news/talk programming concurrently moved back to 580 AM, replacing the sports format. To give listeners in Orlando and its adjacent communities the option to hear WDBO programming on FM, Cox added a simulcast viaFM translator W297BB (107.3 FM) on June 29.[8] With the addition of the translator, the station rebranded as "WDBO 107.3 FM and 580 AM".
In September 2021, Cox Media announced reductions to WDBO's staff. Morning anchor Ray Caputo, evening anchor Tony Marino and late morning talk host Darrell Moody were released. The noon news hour was also replaced with talk programming.[9]
Weekdays begin with a local information and interview show,Orlando's Morning News, hosted by Scott Anez and anchored by Greg Rhodes, with reporting from Emily Ching, Jeremy Goldman, Michelle Wargo, and Hayden Wiggs. The rest of the weekday schedule is made up ofnationally syndicated talk programs:The Sean Hannity Show,Brian Kilmeade and Friends,The Erik Erickson Show,Markley, Van Camp & Robbins andFox Across America with Jimmy Failla. WDBO reporter Laurel Lee hosts the evening newscasts.
Weekends include shows on money, health, law, pets, home improvement, gardening, cars and food. A technology show withKim Komando is heard Sunday evenings. Some weekend hours are paidbrokered programming. Most hours begin with world and national news fromABC News Radio.
There had been a two-hour-long local news block at 5 p.m. until 2024. A local sports show aired in the evening until 2022,Live, Local and Loud, with Nick Gryniewicz and Jerry Daniels. Both were replaced with syndicated talk programs.