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| Broadcast area | Central Florida–Greater Orlando |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 94.5MHz (HD Radio) |
| Branding | Star 94.5 |
| Programming | |
| Format | Urban AC |
| Subchannels | HD2: Power Orlando (Top 40 (CHR)) |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| History | |
First air date | March 1947; 78 years ago (1947-03) |
Former call signs |
|
Call sign meaning | Central Florida's B 94.5 (former branding) |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 10343 |
| Class | C |
| ERP | 100,000watts |
| HAAT | 451 meters (1480 ft) |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | |
| Website | star945.com powerorlando.com (HD2) |
WCFB (94.5FM) is acommercialradio stationlicensed toDaytona Beach, Florida, serving theGreater Orlando area. The station is owned byCox Media Group, and airs anurban adult contemporaryradio format. Its studios and offices are located on North John Young Parkway inOrlando.[2] On weekdays, WCFB carries thesyndicatedRickey Smiley Morning Show, as well as an hour ofurban contemporary gospel music at 5 a.m., and aQuiet Storm program at night.
The station has a powerful 100,000wattClass C signal, heard fromSt. Augustine toOcala toKissimmee.[3] (The horizontal polarization in 97,500 watts, but increases to the maximum 100,000 withbeam tilt.) Thetransmitter tower is off Redlands Drive inDeLand.[4]
The station firstsigned on March 31, 1947, asWNDB-FM, the first standalone FM station in the state of Florida;[5] the next year, the newspaper launched an AM outlet,WNDB (1150 AM).[6] It was owned by the News-Journal Corporation, the publisher of theDaytona Beach News Journal. For most of its first two decades, it largelysimulcast its AM counterpart. In 1973, it changed itscall sign toWDNJ, airing abeautiful music format with someclassical music as well.
In 1978, the station switched tosoft adult contemporary asWWLV,Love 94.5. On September 25, 1992, after being purchased by New City Communications, WWLV flipped tocountry asWCFB, using the identifierYoung Country B94.5.[7][8][9] Some of B94.5 on air personalities included "Big" Steve Kelly, Ellis B Feaster (now atWPOZ inOrlando), & Buzz Jackson. On May 11, 1995, WCFB changed formats toRhythmic AC, which later evolved toUrban Adult Contemporary asStar 94.5.[10][11][12] This makes WCFB the first urban radio station in years in Orlando to challenge longtimeWJHM, which switched formats fromrhythmic contemporary tourban contemporary by that time. When WJHM returned to Rhythmic Top 40 in 2011, WCFB once again became thede facto Urban outlet in Central Florida, even though it has always stayed in its own lane with its audience rather than try to compete fiercely for listeners.
WCFB was acquired byCox Media Group in 1997.
Atornado on February 2, 2007, knocked WCFB's signal off the air for a brief period, as it destroyed the transmitter site and a nearby building, nearPine Lakes. The station returned to the air broadcasting from a temporary transmitter located at another Cox owned tower inChristmas for a short period of time before the station's temporarytransmitter site moved to high power facilities at a tower inOrange City off of Miller Rd. The replacement tower in Paisley was finished in mid-November 2007. As of October 24, 2008, WCFB has moved back to the Pine Lakes site.
On November 26, 2014, WCFB flipped from Urban AC to classic hip hop. At that time, WCFB dropped the syndicated "Tom Joyner Morning Show", and replaced it withThe Steve Harvey Morning Show.[13] However, due to negative audience feedback, in December 2014, WCFB flipped back to Urban AC, with the classic hip hop format moving to their HD3 sub-channel.[13]
WCFB-HD2 broadcasts in theHD Radio hybrid format. In 2014, the HD2 channel begansimulcasting on anFM translator at 107.3 MHz with the call signW297BB. That translator was originally home toChristian AC-formattedWREH and was simulcast oniHeartMedia'sWRUM-HD2 before Cox bought the translator in August 2013.[14]
On June 16, 2014, WCFB-HD2 (which dropped anurban gospel format) and W297BB beganstunting with a "Wheel of Formats", which consisted of aChristian Contemporary music format known asRejoice 107.3, and asoft adult contemporary format,107.3 The Dove.[15][16] This was followed by a 40-hour loop ofThe Beatles' "Revolution". On June 19 at noon, WCFB-HD2/W297BB officially flipped toalternative rock, branded as "X107.3". "X" launched with "Pompeii" byBastille.[17][18] The translator/HD2 signal also airedJacksonville Jaguars programming when sister stationWDBO was occupied byMiami Dolphins programming. (WDBO owns the affiliate rights in Orlando for both teams.)
On February 22, 2016, at midnight, after playing "Ways to Go" byGrouplove, W297BB/WCFB-HD2 began stunting with a loop ofNewcleus' "Jam On It." At noon, the frequencies flipped to Spanish Hot AC, branded as107.3 Solo Éxitos.[19]
After the "Exitos" format was tweaked to contemporary hits and moved toWOEX on June 29, 2020, WCFB-HD2 flipped toESPN Radio's national feed and was later deactivated. The HD2 signal was reactivated in March 2022, carrying a simulcast of former sister stationWPYO, pending that station’s sale toSpanish Broadcasting System and eventual format flip. On April 1, 2022, at midnight, WPYO's former CHR format without on-air staff and commercials ended up moving to WCFB-HD2 entirely under the "Power Orlando" branding. The first song on "Power Orlando" was "Heat Waves" byGlass Animals. “Power Orlando” ended up lasting longer than the remnants of “96 Rock” that continued on the HD2 sub channel ofWDBO-FM (now WOEX), which only lasted a few months.
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