WDBO (AM)
- This article is for the AM radio station. For the FM station which currently carries its previous news/talk format, see WDBO-FM.
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| City | Orlando, Florida |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Greater Orlando |
| Branding | ESPN 580 Orlando |
| Frequency | 580 kHz |
| First air date | 1924 |
| Format | Sports |
| Power |
5,000 watts day 5,000 watts night |
| Class | B |
| Facility ID | 48726 |
| Transmitter coordinates | 28°37′11.00″N 81°24′35.00″W / 28.6197222°N 81.4097222°W |
| Callsign meaning | Way Down By Orlando |
| Affiliations |
ESPN Radio Orlando Magic Florida State Seminoles Tampa Bay Lightning Miami Dolphins Jacksonville Jaguars. |
| Owner |
Cox Communications (Cox Radio, Inc.) |
| Sister stations |
WCFB, WDBO-FM, WMMO, WPYO, WWKA part of Cox cluster with TV station WFTV |
| Webcast |
Listen Live Listen Live (via TuneIn) |
| Website | ESPN Orlando |
WDBO (580 AM) is a radio station broadcasting a sports radio format. Licensed to Orlando, Florida, USA, the station is owned by Cox Radio. Its studios are located in Orlando and the transmitter tower is in Lockhart.
History
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WDBO was originally part of a cluster of AM, FM and TV stations all with the same callsign. In 1982, the company that owned all three at the time, The Outlet Company, sold the radio stations to Katz Broadcasting. The TV station eventually became WKMG-TV. When the stations were sold, WDBO-FM was re-formatted as a country music station, K92FM, with the callsign WWKA.
WDBO, at the time 58 WDBO, strayed from its original middle-of-the-road music format, joining ABC News Radio, and slowly adding more and more talk radio programs. By the 1990s, it had become NewsTalk 580 WDBO, which for years has been Greater Orlando's highest-rated AM news/talk station. In August 2011, Cox Communications took down its rock station, WHTQ, and gave it the callsign WDBO-FM, and became a simulcast of WDBO. WDBO was initially simulcast on that station's HD2 channel beginning in late February 2008. The news/talk station eventually re-branded with the FM frequency, NewsTalk 96-5 WDBO.
On November 12, 2012, WDBO ceased airing what had become the WDBO-FM feed, and re-launched as a sports talk radio station affiliated with ESPN Radio. That network had been dropped previously by WHOO, which chose to affiliate with NBC Sports Radio. It carries the full ESPN Radio schedule, save for a local program weekdays from 4-6pm hosted by Scott Anez.[1]
WDBO has remained the radio home of the Orlando Magic even with the format change.
References
External links
- ESPN Orlando
- WDBO history
- Query the FCC's AM station database for WDBO
- Radio-Locator Information on WDBO
- Query Nielsen Audio's AM station database for WDBO
- FCC History Cards for WDBO