WBWD (AM)
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| Simulcast with WXMC, Parsippany, NJ | |
|---|---|
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Broadcast area | Long Island |
| [[Frequency|FrequencTemplate:Pluralize from text]] | 540 kHz |
| Branding | Radio Zindagi |
| Programming | |
| LanguageTemplate:Pluralize from text | English and Hindi |
| Format | South Asian talk radio and Bollywood music |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Om Sai Broadcasting, LLC |
| History | |
First air date | Script error: No such module "Date time". |
Former call signs | Page Template:Plainlist/styles.css has no content.
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Call sign meaning | Bollywood |
| Technical information[2] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| 37805 | |
| Class | B |
| Power | Page Template:Plainlist/styles.css has no content.
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Transmitter coordinates | Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found. |
| [[Repeater|RepeaterTemplate:Pluralize from text]] | Page Template:Plainlist/styles.css has no content. |
| Links | |
Public license information | Template:FCC Licensing and Management System facility |
| Webcast | Listen live |
| Website | radiozindagi |
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WBWD (540 AM, Radio Zindagi) is a commercial radio station licensed to Islip, New York, and serving Long Island. It is owned by Om Sai Broadcasting and airs a South Asian radio format. Programming is in English and Hindi, with Bollywood music and talk radio, simulcast with 1310 WXMC in Parsippany-Troy Hills, New Jersey. WBWD's studios are located in Edison, New Jersey, while its transmitter is in Islip.
History
WBIC (1959-1967)
The station, originally owned by South Shore Broadcasting, signed on the air on October 16, 1959, as WBIC, with studios on Main Street in Bay Shore. It was a daytimer station, powered at 250 watts.[3]
Since the station occupied a Canadian-Mexican clear-channel frequency, it was required to go off the air at sundown. Bob 'Bobaloo' Lewis, who would later gain fame as one of the "All American" disc jockeys on WABC 770 AM in New York City, was one of the original DJs on WBIC.[4]
WLIX (1967–1980s)
In June 1967, the station was purchased by Long Island Broadcasting Corporation. It was owned by former Mutual Broadcasting System chairman and political leader Malcolm E. Smith Jr. The call letters were changed to WLIX, effective June 26, 1967.[5] By the early 1970s, it broadcast an automated Beautiful Music format. On Sunday mornings, it had an Italian-American music program hosted by Joe Rotolo.
In the mid-1970s, it changed to brokered Christian talk and teaching programming, still as WLIX. In 1981, this station was featured on the NBC series Real People.
In 1983, authority was granted for nighttime operation at reduced power, using a directional antenna.
WLUX (1990s)
In the mid-1990s, the call sign switched to WLUX. It began playing an adult standards and soft oldies format. Some programming came from the "Music of Your Life" syndicated service.
The station was co-owned with a weekly Long Island newspaper and it had its studios in the newspaper's printing plant in East Farmingdale.
WLIE (2000s)
In September 2002, the station changed call letters to WLIE and flipped formats. It became a talk radio station.[6][7] Most programming was locally produced.
Mornings were hosted by David Weiss, Tracy Burgess, and later with Weiss and Amanda Clarke; and Steve Reggie with Traffic. Ed Tyll hosted middays, and Mike Seigel hosted afternoon drive time with Matt Bartlett on Traffic. Evenings featured a rotating schedule of paid brokered programming. Overnights featured Jim Bohannon from Westwood One. Weekends featured Lynn Samuels. The Program Director of IslandTalk 540 was John McDermott, a long time producer at WOR.
Later the talk format was dropped for a business talk format.[8] The WLIE call letters referred to the Long Island Expressway. Beginning in 2008, the station started airing Spanish language religious shows. It broadcast a variety format, including leased air-time and news/talk programs.
WBWD (2018–present)
On November 9, 2018, the station's call sign was changed to WBWD.[1] On December 3, 2018, WBWD changed its format to Bollywood music, branded as "Bolly 540 AM".[9] DJs were heard speaking a mix of English and Hindi.
In October 2020, the station was sold to Metro Mex USA LLC, and the station's format was changed to Spanish language Christian radio.[10] The sale was consummated on December 1, 2020, at a price of $700,000.
On December 10, 2020, the station was sold for $1.3 million to Yash Pandya's Om Sai Broadcasting. The station's format reverted to the previous Indian and South Asian format, Radio Zindagi.[11]
References
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- ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Call Sign History". CDBS Public Access Database. FCC Media Bureau. Retrieved August 16, 2020.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Facility Technical Data for WBWD". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
- ^ Template:Cite periodical
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Station WBIC Now On Air" (PDF). The Suffolk County News. Sayville New York. October 29, 1959. Retrieved October 7, 2015.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."New Radio Station" (PDF). The Babylon Beacon. Babylon New York. June 29, 1967. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Hinckley, David (September 4, 2002). "Stern: Ousted Rivals Had It Coming". Daily News. New York.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Hinckley, David (November 20, 2002). "WLIE Boosts Signal and Island Focus". Daily News. New York.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Solnik, Claude (August 1, 2003). "Island Talk WLIE cuts staff to lower expenses". Long Island Business News. Archived from the original on May 22, 2011.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Venta, Lance (December 5, 2018). "Bollywood Comes To Long Island". radioINSIGHT. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Venta, Lance (October 2, 2020). "Station Sales Week Of 10/2: Radio Zindagi Departs Long Island". radioINSIGHT. Retrieved October 3, 2020.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Venta, Lance (December 15, 2020). "WBWD Sold For Second Time In Three Months Returning Radio Zindagi". radioinsight.com. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
External links
- Template:FCC Licensing and Management System facility
- WBWD in Nielsen Audio's AM station database
- Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."History Cards for WBWD". Federal Communications Commission. (Guide to reading History Cards)
- Christian 54 Online WLIX— online radio station named after the former WLIX
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