WRBA

Radio station in Springfield–Panama City, Florida

WRBA

* Springfield, Florida

Broadcast area| Panama City, Florida
Frequency| 95.9 MHz
Branding| B95.9
Programming
Format| Classic rock
Ownership
Owner|

* Roberta Fagan
* (RoRo Investments, LLC)

Sister stations

| WASJ, WKNK
History

First air date

| 1986; 39 years ago (1986) (as WVBM)

Former call signs

| WVBM (1986–1987)

Call sign meaning

| We aRe BAy 96
Technical information[1]

Licensing authority

| FCC
Facility ID| 63584
Class| C2
ERP| 50,000 watts
HAAT| 86 meters (282 ft)

Transmitter coordinates

| 30°12′12.00″N 85°36′57.00″W﻿ / ﻿30.2033333°N 85.6158333°W﻿ / 30.2033333; -85.6158333
Links

Public license information

* Public file
* LMS

WRBA (95.9 FM, "B95.9") is a radio station licensed to Springfield, Florida. Owned by Roberta Fagan, through licensee RoRo Investments, LLC, it broadcasts a classic rock format serving the Panama City market.

## History

[edit]

The station began broadcast in 1986 as WVBM, which was the area's first and only African-American-owned radio station.

At noon on November 14, 1987, after the call sign was changed to WRBA, the station's format shifted to easy listening and oldies under the name "Bay 96 FM". In a News-Herald interview, then-owner Peter Michael Bardach described its format as being "halfway between WGNE (AM) and Sunny 98 (FM)" and that it was targeted toward adults between 25 and 54. Over time, the format changed to a mix of modern rock and adult contemporary.

In October 1994, WRBA did away with the adult contemporary, and "Arrow 95.9" debuted. The "Arrow" originally stood for "All Rock & Roll Oldies", and to begin with, solely played rock from the seventies. Over its 18-year history, Arrow 95.9 kept its classic rock format, but expanded it to other decades (namely the 1960s through 1990s).

In 2012, the station was renamed "Classic Rock 95.9", but kept the same format.

In the aftermath of Hurricane Michael, Powell Broadcasting announced that it would cease operation of its Panama City stations, leaving the future of its licenses in the market in limbo.[2]

On February 18, 2019, the station returned to the air under the operation of Gulf Coast Broadcasting.[3] For around two weeks, the station simulcast WCCN-FM, but soon had its own original identity starting in mid-March. Gulf Coast Broadcasting completed the acquisition of WRBA, along with sister stations WASJ and WKNK, effective April 30, 2019 at a price of $325,000.

On July 3, 2019, Gulf Coast Broadcasting sold WRBA, WASJ, and WKNK to Great American Media for $700,000.[4] The sale closed on September 26, 2019.

In June 2020, the station rebranded as B95.9, maintaining its classic rock format (despite using the branding "Classic Hits"), but dropping most music from the 1990s to focus exclusively on the 1970s and 1980s.[5]

Effective July 1, 2022, Great American Media sold WRBA, WASJ, and WKNK to Roberta Fagan's RoRo Investments for $180,000.

On August 9, 2024, WRBA is being sold to Radio Training Network for $225,000 from RoRo Investments.[6]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Facility Technical Data for WRBA". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
2. ^ "Powell Broadcasting Pulling Plug On Panama City Cluster After Storm", All Access Music Group. October 15, 2018. Retrieved October 20, 2018.
3. ^ "Powell Sells Silent Panama City Trio". RadioInsight. December 4, 2018. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
4. ^ Jacobson, Adam (July 3, 2019). "Former Powell Cluster Flipped, At A Big Premium". Radio & Television Business Report. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
5. ^ "WRBA Rebrands As B95.9". RadioInsight. June 24, 2020. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
6. ^ Station Sales Week Of 8/9

## External links

[edit]

* Facility details for Facility ID 63584 (WRBA) in the FCC Licensing and Management System
* WRBA in Nielsen Audio's FM station database

* v
* t
* e

Radio stations in Panama City, Florida (Bay County)

By AM frequency|

* 1000
* 1290
* 1430

By FM frequency|

* 89.1
* 89.9
* 90.7
* 91.7
* 92.5
* 94.5
* 95.1
* 95.9
* 97.7
* 98.5
* 99.3
* 100.1
* 100.5
* 101.1
* 102.7
* 103.5
* 104.3
* 105.1
* 105.5
* 105.9
* 107.9

| LPFM|

* 97.3

|

Translators|

* 91.1
* 93.1
* 96.3
* 96.7
* 98.1
* 101.7
* 106.1

Digital radio
by frequency & subchannel|

* 90.7-1
* 90.7-2
* 98.5-1

By call sign|

* W216BT
* W226CJ
* W242BF
* W244BM
* W251BM
* W269DR
* W291AD
* WASJ
* WBPC
* WDBW-LP
* WEBZ
* WFCT
* WFCX
* WFFL
* WFLF-FM
* WFSW
* WFSY
* WGSX
* WILN
* WJTF
* WKGC-FM
* WKNK
* WLTG
* WPAP
* WPCF
* WPFM
* WPHK
* WRBA
* WWLY
* WYBT
* WYOO
* WYYX

Defunct|

* WDIZ (590 AM)
* WKGC (1480 AM)
* WPCU-LP (106.9 FM)
* WTKP (93.5 FM)

Radio stations in the Florida panhandle
Fort Walton Beach
Panama City
Pensacola
Tallahassee

Other nearby region
Dothan

See also
List of radio stations in Florida

* v
* t
* e

Classic rock radio stations in the state of Florida

By frequency|

* 840
* 92.1
* 92.5
* 94.5
* 95.5
* 95.7
* 95.9
* 95.9
* 96.7
* 98.7
* 98.9
* 98.9
* 99.5
* 100.3
* 103.1
* 104.7
* 105.9
* 106.5
* 107.9

By callsign|

* WAIL
* WARO
* WBCG
* WFKZ
* WHOG-FM
* WMMO
* WNDD
* WOYS
* WPBB
* WPGS
* WPRY-FM
* WRBA
* WROK-FM
* WTKE-FM
* WTZB
* WWCQ
* WXOF
* WYND-FM

By city|

* Alachua
* Carrabelle
* Chiefland
* Englewood
* Holmes Beach
* Key West
* Mims
* Murdock
* Naples
* Niceville
* Ormond-By-The-Sea
* Orlando
* Perry
* Plantation Key
* Sebastian
* Silver Springs
* Springfield
* Yankeetown

See also
adult contemporary
classic hits
college
country
news/talk
NPR
oldies
religious
rock
sports
top 40
urban
other radio stations in Florida

See also
active rock
classic rock
mainstream rock
modern rock

30°12′14″N 85°36′58″W﻿ / ﻿30.204°N 85.616°W﻿ / 30.204; -85.616

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