WBPT (106.9FM, "Classic Rock 106.9") is acommercialradio stationlicensed toHomewood, Alabama, and servingGreater Birmingham andCentral Alabama. It airs aclassic rockformat and is owned bySummitMedia, along with six other stations in the cluster. The stations share studios in the Cahaba neighborhood in southeast Birmingham. WBPT also airsUniversity of AlabamaCrimson Tide football.

WBPT is aClass C0 station. It has aneffective radiated power (ERP) of 100,000watts, the maximum for most FM stations. Thetransmitter is atopRed Mountain, amid thetowers for many Birmingham-area FM and TV stations. WBPT broadcasts usingHD Radio technology. Its HD2subchannel playsalternative rock. That feedsFM translator W261BX at 100.1MHz, calling itself "X100.1."

The stationsigned on the air on June 1959; 66 years ago (1959-06). The originalcall sign was WBRC-FM thesister station to WBRC 960 AM (nowWERC. This was the second attempt at an FM station from WBRC. It previously ran an FM station from 1948 to December 3, 1949, at 102.5 MHz, broadcasting with 546,000 watts.^[3][4]

Through the 1960s, WBRC and WBRC-FMsimulcast most of the same programming. By 1971, WBRC-FM had its own format. It playedTop 40 hits usingautomation with nodisc jockeys. But it was not successful in competing against the AM Top 40 powerhouses 610WSGN or 690WVOK. In 1972, both the AM and FM radio stations were sold by Taft Broadcasting to Mooney Broadcasting. As a result, the call signs of the radio stations were changed to WERC and WERC-FM. The AM station dropped itsmiddle of the road (MOR) music format in favor ofTop 40. The FM station repeated the AM station's daytime programming, while at night it featured a separatealbum-oriented rock (AOR) sound.

In 1977, the broadcast facilities of WERC-FM were upgraded, and in July of that year the call sign was changed to WKXX. After several weeks ofstunting, WKXX debuted a new format as "Kix 106." On August 5, 1977, it became the onlyTop 40 station on the FM dial in Birmingham. By this time, more people owned FM radios and the next year, "Kicks 106" had become the top-rated radio station in Birmingham. It dethroned the longstanding ratings leader, WSGN "the Big 610" (nowWAGG). The success of "Kicks 106" eventually forced both WSGN and WKXX's own AM sister station, branded "96-ERC", to abandon their Top 40 formats.^[5]

Throughout the late 1970s and early 1980s, WKXX was the dominant FM Top 40 station in Birmingham.^[6] As late as 1984, "Kicks 106" held the top spot in ratings among Birmingham stations.^[6] But in 1985,WAPI-FM (branded "I-95") became the second station in the market to employ the format and surpassed WKXX in the local ratings. In addition, Top 40 stations fromTuscaloosa, 102.5WDXB, andGadsden, Alabama, 103.7WQEN, could be picked up in most of the Birmingham area. By between 1987 and 1988, "Kicks 106" modified its format, playing a hybrid of Top 40 andrhythmic crossover music, positioning itself somewhat between I-95 and urban stationWENN. Initially, the altered format was successful. However, in 1989, the station returned to a straight Top 40 format, with a new branding, "X-106". The new format and nickname were not well-received, however, and in 1990, the station reverted to branding itself as "Kicks 106", and returned to the Top 40/rhythmic hybrid.^[5]

In June 1991, WKXX finally abandoned its Top 40 format and became acountry music outlet, "Real Country 106.9 WBMH." Some six months later, the call sign was changed to WIKX and the "Kicks 106" name reappeared. (In fact, many of the old Top 40-era "Kicks"jingles were used.) The station retained its country format. But it was less successful playing country music than it had been in the last days as a Top 40 station.^[6]

In October 1992, 106.9 took on its next call sign and format, becoming WODL, "Oldies 106.9". The station continued in this format until October 2001, when the oldies format moved from 106.9 to97.3, which was co-owned byCox Radio.^[5] TheWKXX call sign is now used inGadsden for aclassic country station at 102.9 FM.

After the move, "106-9 the Point" debuted, playing an all-1980s music format. The station was assigned the WBPT call letters by theFederal Communications Commission on October 17,2001.^[1] The B stands for Birmingham and the PT stood for "The Point". The station was usually ranked low in the BirminghamArbitron ratings.

In October 2005, WBPT added a broader rotation of rockclassic hits. It began using the branding "106.9 the Eagle".^[7] WBPT played hits from the 1970s through the 1990s from artists generally associated with rock music as opposed to pop and dance.

In mid-2014, the station adjusted its format from classic hits toclassic rock. On December 20, 2022, WBPT rebranded as "Classic Rock 106.9".^[8] "The Eagle" moniker was dropped. The new slogan was "The Only Classic Rock Station". Much of theplaylist kept the "Rock Hits of the 1970s-1990s" repertoire previously heard on the station with some new harder rock titles.

On July 20, 2012,Cox Radio announced the sale of WBPT and 22 other stations to SummitMedia LLC for $66.25 million. The sale was consummated on May 3, 2013.^[9][10]

On January 15, 2024, WBPT launched analternative rock format on its HD2digital subchannel. It is branded as "X100.1" and issimulcast onFM translator W261BX at 100.1 FM in Birmingham.^[11]

On July 11, 2025, the "Birmingham Mountain Radio" adult album alternative format moved fromWPYA's HD2 subchannel to WBPT's HD3 subchannel.^[12]

• Classic Rock 106.9 WBPT official website
• Facility details for Facility ID 5355 (WBPT) in theFCC Licensing and Management System
• WBPT inNielsen Audio's FM station database
• Facility details for Facility ID 156366 (W297BF) in theFCC Licensing and Management System
• W297BF at FCCdata.org

• HD Radio stations
• Radio stations in Birmingham, Alabama
• Classic rock radio stations in the United States
• Radio stations established in 1957
• 1957 establishments in Alabama
• Taft Broadcasting

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