WWKA

WWKA (92.3 MHz "K92-3") is a commercial FM radio station in Orlando, Florida. The station is owned by Cox Radio and has a country music radio format. The studios and offices are located in Orlando on North John Young Parkway (Route 423).[1]

WWKA
CityOrlando, Florida
Broadcast areaCentral Florida
Frequency92.3 MHz (HD Radio)
BrandingK92-3
SloganOrlando's #1 For New Country
Programming
FormatCountry
Ownership
OwnerCox Media Group
(Cox Radio, LLC)
WCFB, WDBO, WOEX, WMMO, WPYO, part of Cox cluster with TV station WFTV
History
First air date
1949 (as WDBO-FM)
Former call signs
WDBO-FM (1952-1983)
Technical information
Facility ID48716
ClassC
ERP99,000 watts
(100,000 with beam tilt)
HAAT454 meters (1490 ft)
Links
WebcastListen Live
Websitek923Orlando.com

The transmitter tower is in Bithlo, off Fort Christmas Road (Route 420).[2] The station has an effective radiated power of 100,000 watts with beam tilt. It covers much of Central Florida from Daytona Beach to Palm Bay to Lakeland. WWKA broadcasts in the HD radio format.[3]

History

WDBO-FM

The station signed on in 1949 as WDBO-FM.[4] It was a sister station to AM 580 WDBO and was owned by the Orlando Broadcasting Company. The two stations simulcast and were affiliates of the CBS Radio Network, airing its schedule of dramas, comedies, news, sports, soap operas and game shows during the "Golden Age of Radio." An advertisement in the 1950 edition of Broadcasting Yearbook said that in the competitive Orlando radio market, WDBO-AM-FM had "more listeners than the next three network stations combined."

In July 1954, the Orlando Broadcasting Company added Channel 6 WDBO-TV.[5] As network programming was moving to television, WDBO-AM-FM shifted to a local full service middle of the road format of music, news, sports and talk.

In the late 1960s, the simulcast ended and WDBO-FM switched to an easy listening format, which the Orlando Broadcasting Company described as "good music."

Country Music WWKA
Former logo used until 1997

When Katz Broadcasting bought the radio stations in 1982, 92.3 WDBO-FM switched to country music, and changed its call letters to WWKA, using the moniker "K92FM." The WDBO-FM call sign came back to Orlando in 2011 on 96.5 MHz. WDBO-TV changed its call letters to WCPX, and is now WKMG-TV, owned by the Graham Media Group.

There was some initial resistance to the country music format. Three broadcasters locked themselves in the studio on December 21, 1982, in protest. The situation was resolved peacefully within a few hours.[6]

Ownership Changes
Former logo used from 1997 through December 2011

In August 1986, WWKA and WDBO were sold to the Newhouse Corporation.[7] Newhouse increased WDBO's talk programming and eventually stopped playing music on AM 580, but continued WWKA's country music sound.

WWKA and WDBO were acquired by Cox Communications in 1997.[8] Cox already owned ABC TV-affiliate WFTV Channel 9. In 2012, WWKA tweaked its branding, dropping the FM from its brand name.

References
  1. K923orlando.com/contact-us
  2. Radio-Locator.com/WWKA
  3. http://hdradio.com/station_guides/widget.php?id=39 HD Radio Guide for Orlando
  4. Broadcasting Yearbook 1950 page 113
  5. Telecasting Yearbook 1956 page 86
  6. http://www.cflradio.net/92.3_WDBO_FM.htm
  7. Broadcasting Yearbook 1990 page B-71
  8. Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 1999 page D-97

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