 | |
| Broadcast area | Birmingham metropolitan area |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 95.7MHz (HD Radio) |
| Branding | 95.7 Jamz |
| Programming | |
| Format | Mainstream Urban -Rhythmic Contemporary |
| Subchannels | HD2:WAGGsimulcast (Urban gospel) HD3:WAY-FM (Contemporary Christian) |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| WAGG,WBHK,WBPT,WENN,WZZK-FM | |
| History | |
First air date | 1958; 67 years ago (1958) (as WTBC-FM) |
Former call signs | WTBC-FM (1958–1969) WUOA (1969–1984) WFFX (1984–1996)[1] |
Call sign meaning | "BirmingHam's Jamz"[2] |
| Technical information[3] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 730 |
| Class | C2 |
| ERP | 12,000watts |
| HAAT | 306 meters (1,004 ft) |
| Translators | HD3: 89.9 W210CA (Birmingham) HD3: 99.1 W256CD (Fultondale) HD3: 106.3 W292EI (Warrior) |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen live |
| Website | 957jamz.com |
WBHJ (95.7FM) is acommercialradio stationlicensed toMidfield, Alabama, and serving theBirmingham metropolitan area. It airs anurban-leaningrhythmic contemporaryradio format and is owned bySummitMedia, Inc. It shares studios in the Cahaba neighborhood in far southeast Birmingham with SummitMedia's six other stations.[4]
WBHJ is aClass C2 FM station. It has aneffective radiated power (ERP) of 12,000watts. Thetransmitter is off Industrial Drive, among thetowers for other Birmingham FM and TV stations onRed Mountain.[5] In 2005, it also began broadcasting inIBOCdigital radio, using theHD Radio system fromiBiquity. Its HD2subchannel rebroadcasts co-ownedWAGG'surban gospel format. Its HD3 subchannel is leased to theWAY-FM Network. That feeds threeFM translators with itsContemporary Christian music.
The stationsigned on the air in 1958; 67 years ago (1958).[6] Its originalcall sign was WTBC-FM. Itscity of license wasTuscaloosa and it was thesister station toWTBC (1230 AM). The two stations were owned by the Tuscaloosa Broadcasting Company and werenetwork affiliates of theMutual Broadcasting System.
WTBC-FM's transmitter was on 15th Street. WTBC-FM mostlysimulcast the AM station, playing a stack ofmiddle of the road (MOR)albums on a turntable. A contributor who worked at WTBC said that when the stack of records was finished, it just started playing over. The program director would go live for a few hours each night and was probably the only live person on the air daily.
In 1969, it changed its call letters to WUOA, standing for theUniversity of Alabama. It playedadult contemporary music and was owned by the university. Another change occurred in 1984 with the call letters switching to WFFX. The moniker became "95.7 the Fox" and the station playedmodern rock.[1]
The station moved its studios into the Birminghamradio market in the 1990s. During that period the transmitter moved to a taller tower nearVance. On July 15, 1996, the call letters were changed to WBHJ becoming "95.7 Jamz." The format switched tourban contemporary. The first Jamz program director was Mickey Johnson. Since that time, the station has been one of Birmingham's top rated radio stations.
WBHJ tower was roughly halfway between Tuscaloosa and Birmingham. This gave it an inadequate signal into its primary listening area of Birmingham. In November 2004, the station applied for aconstruction permit from theFederal Communications Commission (FCC) to move its transmitter from Vance toRed Mountain. In June 2005, the station completed a move to boost its signal. It changed itscity of license to the Birmingham suburb ofMidfield. Its transmitter site was relocated from ruralBibb County (near Vance) to Red Mountain, where the other high-power Birmingham stations are located. Although the move required a reduction in power from 100,000 watts to 12,200 watts, the increased antenna height and proximity to the population center of Birmingham provided a stronger signal to listeners.
For much of the early 2000s, WBHJ was owned byAtlanta-basedCox Radio, Inc. On July 20, 2012, Cox Radio announced the sale of WBHJ and 22 other stations to SummitMedia LLC for $66.25 million. The sale was consummated on May 3, 2013.[7][8]
WBHJ is arhythmic contemporary reporter onMediabase and anurban reporter perNielsen BDS. It carries thenationally syndicated wake-up show,The Morning Hustle, based atWGCI-FMChicago. It is hosted by Kyle Santillian and Lore'l.
33°27′36″N86°51′07″W / 33.460°N 86.852°W /33.460; -86.852