WERO

WERO

Washington, North Carolina
Broadcast area	New Bern, North Carolina Greenville, North Carolina Jacksonville, North Carolina Kinston, North Carolina
Frequency	93.3 MHz
Branding	Bob 93-3
Programming
Format	Top 40 (CHR)
Affiliations	Compass Media Networks Premiere Networks
Ownership
Owner	Dick Broadcasting (Dick Broadcasting Company, Inc. of Tennessee)
Sister stations	WWNG, WQSL, WQZL, WXQR-FM, WRNS, WRNS-FM
History
Former call signs	WBOB-FM (until 04/23/2004) WERO (until 04/15/2004) WDLX (until 02/19/1996) WITN-FM (until 06/01/1985) [1]
Technical information
Facility ID	64609
Class	C
ERP	100,000 watts
HAAT	543 meters (1781 feet)
Links
Webcast	Listen Live
Website	bob933.com

WERO (93.3 FM, "Bob 93-3") is a contemporary hit radio music formatted radio station for Eastern North Carolina licensed to Washington, North Carolina, US, targeting the Greenville, North Carolina and Eastern North Carolina areas.

History

The station began as WITN-FM, and by the late 1970s was a Top 40 station known as Rock 93, airing TM's automated "Stereo Rock" format. The station was owned by William Riley "Bill" Roberson Jr. and operated along with sister station WITN (AM) as the Tar Heel Broadcasting System. Roberson also owned the local TV station, WITN-TV 7 and numerous other local properties such as the Dr. Pepper bottling plant, and Washington Square Mall. Around 1984, Roberson retired and began divesting these properties, selling some but leaving his son in law, Charles Zoph Potts and William Riley Roberson III in charge of WITN-AM and FM. Potts and Roberson took the FM station to a live format in 1985, and changed to the 93DLX moniker, also known as the Hot FM. In 1991 the station went to a soft AC format. On 2/19/96 the calls became WERO.^[1] and went to Classic Hits format as Arrow 93.3.

Also in 1996, major changes took place as Potts and Roberson sold their interest in the station to Pinnacle Broadcasting, which in 1999 became NextMedia Group.

In 1998, it dropped the Arrow and became known as WERO a 50/50 mix of the 80s and 90s, mixing in more of an AAA format, all during this time it had some association with WITN-TV. The following year in 1999, it changed its branding to Bob 93.3 and flipped back to Top 40 music.^[2]

In 2004, NextMedia consolidated its radio operations to one central location in New Bern, North Carolina, as this station left behind the building just south of Washington where it had broadcast from since the 1950s.

In 2010, WERO operated on reduced power for a while as the station replaced an antenna that was 30 years old, an action which will increase the station's signal range.^[3]

NextMedia sold WERO and their 32 other radio stations to Digity, LLC for $85 million; the transaction was consummated on February 10, 2014.

Effective February 25, 2016, Digity and its 124 radio stations were acquired by Alpha Media for $264 million.

Some of the disc jockeys/on air personalities over the course of the stations history have been Gary Jackson, Sam Reynolds, Jack Boston, Alan Handelman, Shel Bynum, Bob Brannigan, George Micheals, Doug Moreland, Gary Lee, Charlie Byrd, Colleen Jackson, Tom the Jazz Man, Gina Gray, Todd Mitchell, Chris "Hollywood" Mann, Gare "The Spyder" Stevens, Doc Brown, J. Slater, Beth McCall, Brian Lane, Jay Stevens, Chris Kellogg, JJ, Gary O'Neal, Crystal Legends, Big Tom Lawler, Beaver (Chris Michaels Smith), Jojo, Jamie, Bill O'Brien, Penny, Flave, Jagger, Helen Harvey, Harry Palm, "Swingin" Dick Richards, Austin (Moore) at Night.

In September 2017, Dick Broadcasting announced the purchase of Alpha Media stations in three markets — 18 stations and two translators in total, at a purchase price of $19.5 million.^[4] The acquisition of WERO by Dick Broadcasting was consummated on December 20, 2017.

References

External links

• Official website
• WERO in the FCC FM station database
• WERO in Nielsen Audio's FM station database

35°21′56″N 77°23′35″W / 35.3656°N 77.3930°W / 35.3656; -77.3930

This page was last edited on 7 December 2023, at 14:50