 | |
| Broadcast area | Greater Orlando–Central Florida |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 105.9MHz (HD Radio) |
| Branding | 105-9 Sunny FM |
| Programming | |
| Language | English |
| Format | Classic hits[1] |
| Subchannels | |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| History | |
First air date | July 10, 1967; 58 years ago (1967-07-10) |
Former call signs |
|
Call sign meaning | "Orlando's Class" (former format) |
| Technical information[2] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 10138 |
| Class | C |
| ERP | 100,000 watts |
| HAAT | 484 meters (1,588 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 28°55′12″N81°19′08″W / 28.920°N 81.319°W /28.920; -81.319 |
| Translator | HD3: 93.5 W228DF (Orlando) |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen live (via Audacy) |
| Website | audacy |
WOCL (105.9FM "Sunny FM") is acommercial radio station,licensed toDeLand, Florida, and servingGreater Orlando andCentral Florida. It is owned byAudacy, Inc., and airs aclassic hitsradio format, focusing on the hits from the 1980s but with some 90s and 2000s titles as well.[1] The station's studios and offices are on Pembrook Drive inMaitland.[3]
WOCL has aneffective radiated power (ERP) of 100,000 watts, the maximum fornon-grandfathered FM stations. Thetransmitter is on Miller Road inOrange City, Florida.[4]
On July 10, 1967, the stationsigned on the air.[5]It was acountry music station with a limited signal. The originalcall sign was WOOO-FM, which changed to WDLF three years later.[6][7] It was sold in 1977 and re-branded as WELE-FM as asister station ofWELE (1590 AM) inSouth Daytona, Florida.[8]
In 1986, the format was shifted tooldies and the call sign changed to WOCL.[9] Initially called "Class 105.9", it was renamed "Cool 105.9" in February 1988.[10][11]
On April 8, 1999, at 6 p.m., the oldies format was moved to WSHE at 100.3 and calledCool 100. (That station has since been reformatted toLatin pop and becomeRumba 100.3 with new call lettersWRUM.) 105.9, meanwhile, was changed toJammin' Oldies, a fad format at the time, and re-brandedPower 105.9.[12][13][14]
In September 2000, as part of AMFM Media's merger withClear Channel, WOCL was sold off toInfinity Broadcasting (renamedCBS Radio in 2005).[15] By this time, the Jammin' Oldies format had entered a period of decline.
Between October 31, 2000, and January 4, 2008, the station playedalternative rock, known asO-Rock 105.9.[16] Following Clear Channel droppingThe Howard Stern Show from its stations across the country (includingWTKS-FM in Orlando, WOCL began airing the show in morning drive.[17][18][19]
Two talk shows,The Morning After Show andThe Jody & Scott Show were turned into music-only shows in mid-2007.[20]
Without warning, at 9:00 a.m. on January 4, 2008, after playing"Down" by311, WOCL dismissed its on-air staff and beganstunting withBill Drake'sThe History of Rock & Roll program. During this time, WOCL's webpage displayed a banner with pictures revolving between country music stars, classical figures such asBeethoven,smooth jazz icons such asKenny G, and sports icons.
At 12:40 p.m. on January 10, 2008, the station began playing a year-by-yearmontage of snippets of popular culture (including movies, commercials, and of course, hit music) and news stories covering the years from 1965 to 1989. This montage was similar to the one played byWCBS-FM in New York City when that station relaunched its oldies/classic hits format in July 2007, and almost exactly the same one that would be used by classic hits convertWJMK in Chicago in March 2011. At 1:05:09 pm, WOCL re-launched with aClassic hits format, branded asSunny 105-9.[21] It features a playlist and imaging that closely resembles that ofWCBS-FM in New York City. The first song played on "Sunny 105.9" was "That's The Way I Like It" by the Florida-based groupKC and the Sunshine Band.[22]
The shift leftWJRR as Orlando's onlyalternative rock station, although WJRR transitioned back toactive rock in2011 because of panel changes onNielsen BDS. (Alternative would make two subsequent comebacks on analog Orlando Radio - first at107.3 FM from June 2014 to February 2016, then on sister station101.9 WQMP from November 2017 to August 2024.)O-Rock 105.9 returned as an HD2 channel in April 2008, restoring its modern rock format.
In February2010, WOCL modified its moniker to105-9 Sunny FM, focusing on music from 1970 (with a few songs per day from the 1960s) to 1989, with the core being the late 1970s and 1980s, with even some 1990s.
On February 2, 2017, CBS Radio announced it would merge withEntercom.[23] The merger was approved on November 9, 2017, and was consummated on November 17.[24][25]
In 2018, the station changed its slogan to "We Own the 80s", and also updated its logo. The station tweaked its format, dropping all 1960s music, and most music before 1975. The station's playlist is mostly 1980s music with some 1970s and 1990s songs. In 2020, WOCL adopted the slogan "Nobody Plays More 80s".
On March 30, 2021, Entercom rebranded as Audacy, Inc.
Sometime in the fall of 2022, the station increased its 70s and 90s output and added some early 2000s music, which was very limited back in the 2010s. By that time, the station quietly tweaked its slogan from "Your Home of the 80s" to "Your Home of the 70s, 80s, and 90s".
Ratings would severely take a downturn quickly with the playlist adjustment. As a result, in early 2023, the station reorganized and tweaked its playlist once more to heavily feature 1980s hits, but still included some 1990s and 2000s hits while phasing out all 1970s hits, with a new slogan, "Orlando's Hottest Classic Hits". This bolstered the station's Nielsen ratings and landed it back in the top two stations in Orlando.
WOCL's formermodern rock format "O-Rock" aired on WOCL'sHD2 subchannel from 2008 until 2019. That format stayed in place even after sister station WQMP switched to alternative rock in November 2017. A simulcast of New Yorksports radio stationWFAN moved from 105.9 HD3 to 105.9 HD2 to accommodate the playlist overlap with WQMP and move of regional Mexican-formatted "Ok 93.5" fromWOTW-HD3. In early 2020, Entercom switched the feed of 105.9 HD2 from the WFAN simulcast to the nationalCBS Sports Radio (now Infinity Sports Network) feed.
WOCL is the current originating station ofHaitian Creole-formatted "RTVEO", moving from WQMP-HD3. RTVEO is rebroadcast ontoFM translatorW228DF, heard on 93.5 MHz.
| Call sign | Frequency | City of license | FID | ERP (W) | HAAT | Class | Transmitter coordinates | FCC info |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W228DF | 93.5 FM | Orlando, Florida | 156373 | 240 | 121 m (397 ft) | D | 28°32′29″N81°30′39″W / 28.54139°N 81.51083°W /28.54139; -81.51083 | LMS |