WBFX

Infobox Radio station
name = WBFX


city = Grand Rapids, Michigan
area = [http://www.radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/pat?call=WBFX&service=FM&status=L&hours=U]
branding = 101.3 The Fox
slogan = The Fox Rocks
airdate = circa 1964/1965
frequency = 101.3 MHz
format = Classic rock
power = 50,000 watts
erp = 50 kw
haat = 128 meters
class = B
facility_id = 51727
callsign_meaning = The Fox
former_callsigns = WCUZ-FM (7/9/80-9/27/00) WFFX (?-7/9/80) WMLW (?-?) WYON (?-?)
owner = Clear Channel Communications
sister_stations = WBCT, WMAX-FM, WOOD, WOOD-FM, WSNX-FM, WTKG
webcast = [http://www.101thefoxrocks.com/cc-common/streaming_new/index.html?refreshed=yes Listen Live]
website = [http://www.101thefoxrocks.com/ www.101thefoxrocks.com]
affiliations =

WBFX (101.3 FM, "The Fox") is a radio station broadcasting a classic rock format, serving the Grand Rapids, Michigan market.

The station first began broadcasting around 1964 under the WYON call sign. In the 1970s, the station was WMLW "Mellow 101," an adult contemporary station. WMLW switched to album oriented rock as WFFX "The Fox" in 1978, and then to country music in 1980 as WCUZ. For most of the 1980s, country WCUZ was a market leader in Grand Rapids, but the station saw its market share erode after the 1992 debut of "B93," WBCT, on 93.7.

By 1998, WCUZ was co-owned with its rival station, WBCT, under the Clear Channel umbrella, and had moved to a classic country format, identifying as "Country Gold WCUZ." Clear Channel dropped the "Country Gold" format on September 24, 2000, and debuted "The Fox" that afternoon. Meanwhile, WBCT attempted to appease fans of the classic country format by adding more classic country to its playlist along with a Sunday-night oldies show, "The Beehive Archives." It is believed that Clear Channel's motive for changing WCUZ to WBFX was to take listeners away from Citadel Broadcasting-owned competitor WLAV and augment WBCT's audience with former WCUZ listeners, allowing WBCT to become number one 12+ in the market. [http://www.michiguide.com/archives2004/2000/09/ 1] WLAV, however, is still a top-ten performer in Grand Rapids and has significantly higher ratings than WBFX [http://www.radioandrecords.com/RRRatings/DetailsPage.aspx?MID=105&RY=2007&RQ=1&MP=2&OTHER=2&MN=Grand%20Rapids&MS=MI&MR=67&12P=708400&UP=4/12/2007%2012:00:00%20AM&SU=CM&BPER=&HPER=&OPER=&NSD=5/10/2007%2012:00:00%20AM&CE=0 2] .

WBFX is currently Grand Rapids' outlet for the syndicated Bob and Tom morning show. Aside from Bob and Tom, the current airstaff includes Matt Hendricks (late mornings and early afternoons), Joe Daugherty (afternoon drive), and Alice Cooper's syndicated evening show, along with weekenders Steve Labenz and Ryan Adams.

Sources

* [http://www.michiguide.com/dials/rad-a/wbfx.html Michiguide.com - WBFX History]

External links

*FMQ|WBFX
*FML|WBFX
*FMARB|WBFX