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|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Tampa Bay area |
| Frequency | 101.5MHz (HD Radio) |
| Branding | 101.5 The Vibe |
| Programming | |
| Format | Urban adult contemporary |
| Subchannels | HD2:Alternative rock "97X" |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
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| History | |
First air date | July 1, 1961; 64 years ago (1961-07-01) |
Former call signs |
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Call sign meaning | Tampa Bay's Vibe |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 66013 |
| Class | C |
| ERP | 100,000 watts |
| HAAT | 470 meters (1,540 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 27°49′12″N82°15′39.6″W / 27.82000°N 82.261000°W /27.82000; -82.261000 |
| Translator | HD2: 97.5 W248CA (St. Petersburg) |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | |
| Website | |
WTBV (101.5FM, "101.5 The Vibe") is acommercial radio station licensed toSt. Petersburg, Florida, and serving theTampa Bay area. It is owned by theCox Media Group and broadcasts anurban adult contemporaryformat. The studios are on 4th Street North in St. Petersburg. WTBV carries thesyndicatedRickey Smiley Morning Show indrive time.
WTBV has aneffective radiated power (ERP) of 100,000 watts.[2] Thetransmitter site is on Colonnade Vista Drive inRiverview.[3] WTBV broadcasts usingHD Radio technology. The HD2digital subchannel carries analternative rock format, known as 97X.[4]
The stationsigned on the air on July 1, 1961. Its originalcall sign was WGNB. It was thesister station to WGNP1520 AM (nowWXYB). The stations were owned by the World Christian Radio Foundation.[5]
In 1974, the FM station was acquired by theChicago-basedMoody Bible Institute. It becameWKES, airing a newChristian radio format from studios at the Moody-affiliatedKeswick Christian School inSeminole.
In 1997, in a three way swap,Paxson Broadcasting acquired Christian station WCIE 91.1 inLakeland from the Carpenter's Home Church, which in turn swapped the station with Moody's WKES. WKES programming moved to 91.1 FM.
After a briefsimulcast period, the WKES call sign moved to 91.1, while 101.5 became WILV. It began broadcasting a "Love Songs"soft adult contemporary format branded as "Love 101.5", on July 25 of that year.
WILV was not successful. In 1998, Paxson Communications' radio stations were bought out byClear Channel Communications. With Clear Channel taking control, on September 19, 1998, the format changed torhythmic oldies. The new call sign was WFJO, "Jo 101.5". In 1999,Cox Radio purchased WFJO along with several other Clear Channel stations.
On December 15, 2001, the station flipped to anall '80s format, branded as "The New 101-5 The Point". The first song as "The Point" was "Don't You (Forget About Me)" bySimple Minds.[6] The station was modeled afterKHPT inHouston that had launched the previous year. The call sign became WPOI on January 14, 2002, with the station known as "The Point." The original slogan was "The Best of the '80s and More", which included some late-1970s and early-1990s tracks, along with 1980s songs.
In 2006, "The Point" started adding more 1990s songs to theplaylist. In 2009, the station added songs as late as 2000. "The Point" also removed all pre-1980s music from the station. In September 2010, the station adopted "The Best Music of the '80s and '90s" slogan.
In May 2011, the "New" was finally dropped from the station's name. Around the same time, the "New" was also dropped from the name of sister stationsWWRM andWXGL.
On July 1, 2011, at 10 a.m., after playingJon Bon Jovi's"Blaze of Glory", WPOI beganstunting with random song clips. One hour later, the station flipped tocontemporary hit radio as "Hot 101-5". The first (and ultimately, last) song as "Hot" wasLMFAO's "Party Rock Anthem" featuringLauren Bennett andGoonRock.[7][8]
The station took direct aim atWFLZ, and targeted an 18–49 year old audience (particularly, the 18–34 age bracket). It aired a music-intensive current-based playlist that bordered towards dance-pop tracks, with less talk and commercials than its competitors.[9] By the end of the format's run, the station would also augment the pop music with more classic pop hits from the 1990s onwards, mirroring a recent trend with other Top 40 stations nationwide.
At noon on September 6, 2023, after playing "Bye Bye Bye" byNSYNC and "Party Rock Anthem" (a bookend to the 'Hot' branding's launch), WPOI beganstunting with a loop of "Just Fine" byMary J. Blige, promoting a change to come at noon the following day.[10]
At the promised time, following a single playing of the "Treat 'em Right" remix of "Just Fine" by Blige,Lil Wayne andSwizz Beatz, WPOI flipped tourban adult contemporary as "101.5 The Vibe." The first song on "The Vibe" was "Return of the Mack" byMark Morrison. Concurrent with the change, Cox applied for a new WTBV call sign for the station, which took effect on September 11.[11][12]