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| Broadcast area | Greater Philadelphia (Delaware Valley) |
| Frequency | 100.3MHz (HD Radio) |
| Branding | 100.3 RNB |
| Programming | |
| Language | English |
| Format | Urban adult contemporary |
| Subchannels |
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| Ownership | |
| Owner |
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| WPPZ-FM | |
| History | |
First air date | 1942; 83 years ago (1942) |
Former call signs |
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Call sign meaning | "Rhythm and blues" |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 25079 |
| Class | B |
| ERP |
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| HAAT | 259 meters (850 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 40°2′36.4″N75°14′31.6″W / 40.043444°N 75.242111°W /40.043444; -75.242111 (WRNB) |
| Translator(s) | 100.7 W264BH (Mount Holly, New Jersey) |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast |
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| Website |
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WRNB (100.3FM) is acommercial radio stationlicensed toMedia, Pennsylvania in thePhiladelphia–Delaware Valleyradio market. It is owned byRadio One and airs anurban adult contemporaryradio format. In afternoondrive time, WRNB carries thesyndicatedD. L. Hughley Show. WRNB's studios and offices are in the Two Bala Plaza– building on City Line Avenue inBala Cynwyd.
WRNB has aneffective radiated power (ERP) of 17,000 watts. Thetransmitter is located in theRoxborough neighborhood ofPhiladelphia at (40°2′36.0″N75°14′32.0″W / 40.043333°N 75.242222°W /40.043333; -75.242222).[3] The station is short-spaced with two other co-channel FM stations (seeSee § Signal note below). WRNB broadcasts in theHD Radio hybrid format, with its HD-2 subchannel airing theurban contemporary format that moved from its main signal, and the HD-3 subchannel airing anurban contemporary gospel format.
In 1942, a station broadcasting on 100.3 FM firstsigned on as KYW-FM, which was licensed to Philadelphia. It was thesister station toKYW, owned by theWestinghouse Electric Corporation. By the late 1940s, KYW-FM moved to 92.5 MHz.[4] The 100.3 frequency remaineddark for a decade and a half.
In 1962, WXUR-FM began broadcasting, licensed to the suburban community of Media.[5] Its effective radiated power was 4,200 watts,simulcasting theChristian programming of its AM sister station 690 WXUR (nowWPHE inPhoenixville, Pennsylvania). WXUR-AM-FM were owned byCarl McIntire, aBible Presbyterian minister.
In 1973, theFederal Communications Commission (FCC) revoked the licenses for both stations, with the FCC ruling that WXUR-AM-FM violated theFairness Doctrine, refusing to air competing viewpoints. The 100.3 frequency then went silent again for eight years.
In 1981, after a seven-yearcomparative hearing, the FCC awarded the license to the Greater Media Radio Company, owned by Daniel Lerner. The name referred to the station's city of license, Media, and was not associated with the largerGreater Media, Inc., which locally ownedWMGK,WPEN and other stations around the U.S. On November 8, 1982, 100.3 FM returned to the air, this time as WKSZ, "Kiss 100," with asoft adult contemporary format.[6] By 1987, Kiss 100 was the No. 1Arbitron-ranked station among women ages 25 to 54.
In the early 1990s, however, the battle for AC listeners heated up, with WEAZ (nowWBEB) becoming the dominant station for soft music in Philadelphia. WKSZ lost ground in the ratings, falling to 17th place in 1992. To improve ratings, WKSZ tried to combine AC andoldies with what the station called the "50/50 Mix"; however, this failed to turn ratings around, and in 1993, WKSZ returned to aplaylist of AC love songs.
On March 15, 1993, at 6 am, with the station still struggling, WKSZ became "Z100", switching to aadult top 40 format. The flip came three days afterEagle 106 gave up Top 40 and switched tosmooth jazz, creating an opening which WKSZ hoped to fill.[7] New York'sWHTZ, located on the same frequency of 100.3 MHz, and calling itself "Z100" since 1983, demanded that WKSZ drop the name to avoid listener confusion. After a brief legal battle, the call sign and name were changed to WPLY, "Y100".
The station initially had a slightalternative rock lean, but still played other Top 40 hits, including pop and dance. By early 1995, WPLY evolved into a full-timealternative rock format, which lasted nearly ten years.[8][9] Through the late 1990s, WPLY leaned towardsModern AC, and would shift towards anactive rock lean in 2000.
In 2000, the station was bought byRadio One for $80 million.[10] Radio One focuses mostly on urban music and didn't plan to program an alternative rock station. The company tried to make a deal to swap formats withGreater Media's WEJM (nowWBEN-FM), which at the time, ran arhythmic oldies format called "Jammin Gold," which would have better fit into Radio One's portfolio. The deal fell through, and Radio One continued to run WPLY as an alternative rock station for nearly five years. While ratings had gone down, the station still was moderately successful.
On February 24,2005, at 11:50 pm, WPLY ended its alternative rock format with "Alive" byPearl Jam (which was also the first and last song onWDRE).[11][12] WPHI, anurban contemporary station at 103.9 MHz, also owned by Radio One and known as "103.9 The Beat," moved to 100.3 FM. The station at 103.9, in turn, flipped tourban gospel asWPPZ-FM, "Praise 103.9."[13] By2006,Nielsen BDS/Radio & Records moved WPHI to theurban contemporary panel.Mediabase followed suit in2011. WPHI-FM's chief rival wasWUSL, which had been Philadelphia's long-time Urban Contemporary leader.
In fall 2005, former rival personality Colby Colb was hired as the Program Director and afternoon host. For the next few years, 100.3 The Beat enjoyed high ratings, helped by Miss Jones in the morning and Colby Colb in the afternoon. Monie Love and Pooch took over mornings in 2005, with other disc jockeys on the station including Micheal Shawn, DJ Touchtone, DJ Jay Ski, Megatron, DJ Bent Rock, Moshay, Toshamakia, DJ JDS, Laiya and Hansoul. In late 2010, WPHI-FM became the Philadelphia home of the Star and Buc Wild Morning Show,syndicated from New York City. The show had actually been heard in Philadelphia in early 2006 on WUSL but had drawn some controversy and was dropped.
On August 27,2011, WPHI dropped the "Beat" moniker for "100.3 Philly." Radio One was preparing to make another frequency switch, this time moving WRNB'surban AC format and branding from 107.9 MHz to 100.3 MHz on September 1.[14][15] WRNB was simulcast on both 100.3 and 107.9 until September 2, when the WPHI call sign moved to 107.9, adopted the former "Beat" format and rebranded as "Hot 107.9."
On March 29, 2013, WRNB went jockless and began promoting a "big announcement" at 5 p.m. on April 1. At that time, after playing "Keep Your Head to the Sky" byEarth, Wind, & Fire, WRNB flipped tourban oldies as "Old School 100.3." The first song on "Old School" was "Atomic Dog" byGeorge Clinton.[16][17]
The format playedMotown,disco,funk,new jack swing,freestyle, and earlyhip hop from the 1960s to the early 2000s. The new format was designed to better compete with the dominant Urban AC station in Philadelphia,WDAS-FM.
In November 2014, sister stationWPHI-FM moved to aclassic hip-hop format. In response, WRNB re-added some current music, although the station continued to focus on older urban hits.
On October 6, 2016, WRNB returned tourban adult contemporary music, once more calling itself "100.3 WRNB," and dropping the "Old School" branding.[18]
On November 16, 2020, at 10 am, WRNB absorbed sister station WPHI's urban contemporary format into its own and was rebranded as "100.3 R&B & Hip Hop" (subsequently, WRNB's urban adult contemporary format would move full-time to its HD2 sub-channel). This was a result of Urban One selling said station to Entercom; the two stations simulcasted for a week, as it had been previously announced that WPHI would begin simulcastingKYW ahead of the sale's closure, on November 23.[19]
With the combined R&B/hip hop format failing to catch on in the market - bottoming out with a 1.0 share in the July 2022 Nielsen Audio ratings (well behind WUSL's 3.6 share), the station ultimately reverted to its previous urban AC format and "100.3 RNB" branding on August 25, 2022. With the shift, Program Director/afternoon host Paris Nicole exited the station after twelve years; Nicole previously served in the same position at WPHI and moved over at WRNB with the previous format shift.[20]
WRNB is short-spaced to two other co-channel Class B stations:WHTZZ100 (licensed to serveNewark, New Jersey) andWBIG-FMBig 100 (licensed to serve Washington, D.C.). The cities WRNB and WHTZ are licensed to serve are only 86 miles apart,[21] while the cities WRNB and WBIG-FM are licensed to serve are only 112 miles apart.[22] The minimum distance between two Class B stations operating on the same channel according to currentFCC rules is 150 miles.[23]
Beginning in the 1950s, the call sign WRNB was licensed toNorth Carolina's first full-timerock 'n roll radio station, a 1000-watt outlet inNew Bern located atAM 1490 (nowsports radioWWNB). WRNB 1490 was also famous for being one of the first radio stations to playCarolina Beach Music.[citation needed]