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|---|---|
| Broadcast area | |
| Frequency | 93.3MHz (HD Radio) |
| Branding | 93.3 The Planet Rocks |
| Programming | |
| Language | English |
| Format | Active rock |
| Subchannels |
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| Affiliations | United Stations Radio Networks |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
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| History | |
First air date | September 10, 1947 (1947-09-10) (as WBBO-FM) |
Former call signs |
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Call sign meaning | "The Planet" |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 4677 |
| Class | C |
| ERP | |
| HAAT | 619 meters (2,031 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 35°16′19.4″N82°13′59.4″W / 35.272056°N 82.233167°W /35.272056; -82.233167 (WTPT) |
| Translator | See§ Translator |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast |
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| Website | www |
WTPT (93.3FM) is anactive rock station licensed toForest City, North Carolina, and serving theUpstate South Carolina andWestern North Carolina regions, includingGreenville, South Carolina, andAsheville, North Carolina. TheAudacy, Inc. outlet is licensed by theFederal Communications Commission (FCC) to broadcast with an ERP of 93 kW. The station goes by the name93.3 The Planet Rocks and is the home station of the nationally syndicatedThe Rise Guys Morning Show with Matthew "Mattman" Harris, James "Nine" MacDonell, Jeremy "Fat Boy" Ellenburg.
The station broadcasts from nearColumbus, North Carolina,[3] with studios in Greenville, South Carolina. However, it is licensed toForest City, North Carolina.
The station, then known as WBBO-FM andWBBO (780 AM) ("We Build Business Opportunities"), signed on September 10, 1947, inForest City, North Carolina. The station was owned by the Anderson family, which also owned the "Forest City Courier" newspaper and WPNF in nearbyBrevard, North Carolina. Both stations simulcasted with each other on a full-time basis until the late 60s. WBBO-FM featured a variety of formats throughout the next decade, includingcountry andadult contemporary.[citation needed] On January 1, 1988, after building a tower on Tryon Peak nearColumbus, North Carolina, to improve its signal range, WBBO-FM switched to a satellitesmooth jazz format, distributed fromSt. Paul, Minnesota, and began calling itself "The Breeze". artists includedJames Taylor,Sade,[4]Sting,Stevie Wonder,Ramsey Lewis, as well asWindham Hill performers, and artists playing the music ofCole Porter. Listeners tended to be very educated and also enjoyedclassical music andsoft rock. WBBO-FM planned to move to Greenville, South Carolina in 1989. One listener described the music as "lasting quality ... not something that will be a big hit for six months and then fade away."[5]
On February 14, 1991 (Valentines Day), WBBO-FM flipped tocontemporary hit radio (CHR) as "Power 93". This move brought back the format to the nearby Greenville-Spartanburg market that the former WANS (nowWJMZ) had before they abandoned it for adult contemporary. Initially, ratings were very good, but quickly fizzled out to 9th place, where it stayed throughout much of its existence. In August of next year, the Power 93 moniker was dropped for "93.3 WBBO" as the station became more Dance-oriented. Again, ratings had shown little improvement and was re-adjusted toward Mainstream CHR within a year.
In mid-1994, the station was re-branded as "Q-93" and adopted a more uptempo-ed CHR format sprinkled with plenty ofalternative rock. Ratings started to slowly tick upward, but the station was sold to Benchmark Communications (then-owners ofWESC andWESC-FM) and the format was dropped altogether on January 1, 1995, for a younger-skewingcountry format as "93-Q Country" under the WFNQ call letters. The station began the format with 19,095 songs in a row commercial-free, the most ever on a commercial radio station up to that time. The idea was to use WFNQ as a flanker against then-rival country outletWSSL-FM so that WESC-FM could be the #1 station in the market. This strategy failed miserablely as WFNQ went to the bottom of the ratings within several months.
Programming also included theChristian music programFace to Face from Right Turn Radio.[6]
On September 13, 1996, WFNQ dropped Young Country foractive rock as "93.3 The Planet".[7] The call letters of WTPT were adopted by the end of the year. After being acquired byClear Channel Communications in the late 1990s, Barnstable Broadcasting purchased the station in 1999, along withWROQ. The company sold WTPT as well as WROQ andWGVC toEntercom Communications in 2005.
WTPT-HD2 carries a simulcast ofWHQA'ssouthern gospel format, known asThe Life FM, and is simulcast on the followingtranslator:
| Call sign | Frequency | City of license | FID | ERP (W) | HAAT | Class | Transmitter coordinates | FCC info |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W290BW | 105.9 FM | Greenville, South Carolina | 156090 | 99 | 299 m (981 ft) | D | 34°56′5″N82°24′15″W / 34.93472°N 82.40417°W /34.93472; -82.40417 (W290BW) | LMS |
WTPT-HD3 carries Audacy'sBetQL Network, which was added on February 23, 2022.[8]