WBEB
Encyclopedia
WBEB is a radio station
broadcasting a Soft Rock
/Adult Contemporary format. Licensed to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
, it serves the Greater Philadelphia (Delaware Valley)
metropolitan area. It first began broadcasting in 1963
under the call sign WDVR. The station is currently owned by Jerry Lee. The station has been a top ranking station in the Philadelphia Arbitron
ratings since the early 1990s, and is the only independently owned station in the Philadelphia radio market. Its transmitter is located in the Roxborough section of the city.
format beginning in 1963.
Original staff included Rich Franklin and Dave Shayer, both broadcast veterans, and were two of the original air staff hired by WDVR/WEAZ/WBEB 101.1 FM when they first went on the air May 13, 1963. Both, later, were Music Directors at 101.1 FM, and are still active in broadcasting today. Also part of the first air staff were Lou Klawansky (air name: Lee Kramer), Frank Goshy (air name: Frank Edwards), and Joaquin Bowman. Working with Jerry Lee, Marlin Taylor, Phil Stout (later Programmer of SRP), Dave Kurtz, Alan Campbell and others, WDVR skyrocketed to phenomenal success and became a broadcasting legend. 101.1 FM was, and is, one of the most successful independent FM stations in the country.
The station was known for playing Beautiful Music featuring pop tunes reworked in the form of instrumentals. They played two vocalists per hour, as the instrumentals would be based on the works of such artists as Frank Sinatra
, Tony Bennett
, Nat King Cole
, Neil Diamond
and The Carpenters
. By the 1980s, the station increased the amount of music with vocalists to four per hour as they also added more artists suited to an adult contemporary format. Also in 1980, WDVR changed its call letters to WEAZ, and began using the slogan EAZY 101 with Patrick O'Neal (later Robert Urich) as its spokesperson. By 1984, EAZY 101 became the #1 rated station in Philadelphia.
In 1988, the station dropped Beautiful Music for a soft adult contemporary format. This format change came after research tests showed that people who grew up after the advent of rock and roll did not like instrumental music. With the format change, the station was satellite-delivered, but by the next year, some of the airstaff returned. By 1990, the station's name was shortened to "EZ 101." The station would shift to a mainstream adult contemporary format in 1993, and its call letters would eventually change to WBEB (B101).
Over the years, many stations have attempted to program AC formats in the same city as the firmly-entrenched B101. None has ever been as successful. The list of Adult Contemporary stations that have come and gone during B101's era include Magic 102.9, Kiss 100, Star 104.5, Sunny 104.5, and Now 97.5. There have also been variations of Adult Contemporary like Max 95.7 and Mix 95.7 (Modern AC), Jammin' Gold 95.7 (Rhythmic AC), 96.5 The Point ('80s AC, then Modern AC), and Alice 104.5 (Rock-based AC). 95.7 BEN-FM (Mainstream AC) and Mix 106.1 (Rhythmic AC) are currently still competing in the AC space.
, especially along Interstate 287
south of Morristown
, and in northwestern New Jersey. In those areas WBEB interferes with WCBS-FM
, an Oldies
station in New York City
, which also broadcasts on 101.1, and in some spots, WBEB's signal actually seems stronger. This is because both stations are full, non-directional Class B operations that are severely short-spaced under a grandfathered FCC rule.
(Sunny 104.5) began an annual tradition of flipping to an all-Christmas music
format as early as the first weekend in November. In previous years, B101 had gone all-Christmas for only 36 hours—from noon Christmas Eve to midnight on December 25—but the extended all-Christmas format proved very successful for Sunny 104.5, which prompted B101 to do the same. Thus for several years Philadelphia had two stations playing nothing but Christmas music for more than a month.
Sunny 104.5 changed formats in August 2006 and the all-Christmas stunt was dumped along with it. With no pressure to compete, B101 did not go all-Christmas until November 18. At 12:01 a.m. on December 26, after "Christmas Cannon" by The Trans-Siberian Orchestra, there was a brief silence followed by a commercial break and the legal ID ("B101, WBEB Philadelphia"): An unceremonious end to 38 days of continuous Christmas music.
For 2007, B101 announced that they'd be conducting an electronic survey on their website, alleging the results would be used to make up the holiday playlist and to decide when the station would flip to all-Christmas. Although ratings have consistently shown that Philadelphians are huge fans of the all-Christmas format, B101 did not make the switch until 3:00 p.m. on November 21, 2007 (the day before Thanksgiving). There was also no noticeable change in the playlist versus 2006. B101 stopped playing all Christmas music at 5:00 a.m. on December 26. Starting that year, Christmas music was sprinkled in with the regular format for the next few days. With the all-Christmas format all to themselves, B101 enjoyed a 17-share in the 6+ Arbitron ratings. (Double-digit shares, let alone a few ticks shy of a 20 share, are somewhat unprecedented in the modern era of major-market radio).
In August 2008, a new Adult Contemporary station (WNUW/Now 97.5) launched in Philadelphia with sights set squarely on B101. To draw attention to themselves and to take B101 down a peg, Now 97.5 flipped to all-Christmas at 5:00 p.m. on October 31. Shortly thereafter, B101 announced they'd be sprinkling in Christmas tunes during the weekend of November 8–9. This was the earliest they had ever played Christmas music and it was obviously in response to Now 97.5. On November 13, B101 flipped to all-Christmas. Shortly thereafter, 1340 WHAT-AM also went all-Christmas. On November 26, 98.1 WOGL
made the surprise move of abandoning its format for the first time ever to flip to all-Christmas. Considering Wilmington's 99.5 WJBR is crystal clear all over the city, Philadelphians found themselves with five all-Christmas stations in 2008. B101 still saw a holiday ratings spike, but ended up more than five points off from the previous year. WNUW has since flipped to an all-sports format.
At 3:00 p.m. on November 19, 2009, B101 flipped to all-Christmas and, having the market to themselves once again, achieved a 16.7 share (6+ persons) in the holiday book.
At 3:00 p.m on November 18, 2010, B101 switched to all-Christmas, starting with a medley of Christmas greetings from various songs and movies before playing "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" by Andy Williams. Also in 2010, B101 introduced an updated holiday jingle package after having used the same imaging for seven consecutive years.
At 6:07 a.m. on November 17, 2011, B101 switched to all-Christmas. This started with "It's the Most Wonderful time of the Year" by Andy Williams.
In recent years, B101 has announced what date and time they'd make the switch to all-Christmas and 99.5 WJBR has flipped right around the same time. The stations (one in Philadelphia and the other in Wilmington) obviously don't compete for the same listeners but both can be heard clearly in the others metro area.
in Providence, Rhode Island
also positioned as "B101" (but located at 101.5 FM). The confusion lies in the fact that the "b101.com" website is owned by WWBB and Clear Channel, not WBEB. WBEB listeners sometimes log on to "b101.com", assume they are on the correct website, find the phone number, and end up calling WWBB. Both stations also used a bumblebee
logo, which could add to the confusion (WWBB dropped the bumblebee from their logo a few years ago). Jerry Lee, the owner of WBEB, has made offers to Clear Channel for the "b101.com" domain name. All offers have been rejected. Thus, WBEB uses "b101radio.com". Coincidentally, WBEB's current morning show co-host, Tiffany Hill, was also once the morning co-host at WWBB.
At 2 pm, the station was relaunched using the "Fresh" concept, becoming the second outlet to add this concept following the launch of WWFS, Fresh 102.7, in New York City
by CBS Radio
in January 2007 (although their ads use the same exact "cartoon office figures" as WLTW
in New York
).
This make WBEB one of the largest stations in the USA to not have an online stream. For more on this, see here.
Sundays:
Fill-ins:
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
broadcasting a Soft Rock
Soft rock
Soft rock is a style of music which uses the techniques of rock music to compose a softer, more toned-down sound. Soft rock songs generally tend to focus on themes like love, everyday life and relationships. The genre tends to make heavy use of acoustic guitars, pianos, synthesizers and sometimes...
/Adult Contemporary format. Licensed to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
, it serves the Greater Philadelphia (Delaware Valley)
Delaware Valley
The Delaware Valley is a term used to refer to the valley where the Delaware River flows, along with the surrounding communities. This includes the metropolitan area centered on the city of Philadelphia. Such educational institutions as Delaware Valley Regional High School in Alexandria Township...
metropolitan area. It first began broadcasting in 1963
1963 in radio
The year 1963 in radio involved some significant events, including the addition of FM-compatible radios in cars made by major American automobile companies, and the birth of future radio personality Doctor Dré-Events:...
under the call sign WDVR. The station is currently owned by Jerry Lee. The station has been a top ranking station in the Philadelphia Arbitron
Arbitron
Arbitron is a consumer research company in the United States that collects listener data on radio audiences. It was founded as American Research Bureau by Jim Seiler in 1949 and became national by merging with L.A. based Coffin, Cooper and Clay in the early 1950s...
ratings since the early 1990s, and is the only independently owned station in the Philadelphia radio market. Its transmitter is located in the Roxborough section of the city.
WDVR-FM
Previously called WDVR (Delaware Valley Radio) and WEAZ, the station pioneered the Beautiful MusicBeautiful music
Beautiful music is a mostly instrumental music format that was prominent in American radio from the 1960s through the 1980s...
format beginning in 1963.
Original staff included Rich Franklin and Dave Shayer, both broadcast veterans, and were two of the original air staff hired by WDVR/WEAZ/WBEB 101.1 FM when they first went on the air May 13, 1963. Both, later, were Music Directors at 101.1 FM, and are still active in broadcasting today. Also part of the first air staff were Lou Klawansky (air name: Lee Kramer), Frank Goshy (air name: Frank Edwards), and Joaquin Bowman. Working with Jerry Lee, Marlin Taylor, Phil Stout (later Programmer of SRP), Dave Kurtz, Alan Campbell and others, WDVR skyrocketed to phenomenal success and became a broadcasting legend. 101.1 FM was, and is, one of the most successful independent FM stations in the country.
The station was known for playing Beautiful Music featuring pop tunes reworked in the form of instrumentals. They played two vocalists per hour, as the instrumentals would be based on the works of such artists as Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
, Tony Bennett
Tony Bennett
Tony Bennett is an American singer of popular music, standards, show tunes, and jazz....
, Nat King Cole
Nat King Cole
Nathaniel Adams Coles , known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American musician who first came to prominence as a leading jazz pianist. Although an accomplished pianist, he owes most of his popular musical fame to his soft baritone voice, which he used to perform in big band and jazz genres...
, Neil Diamond
Neil Diamond
Neil Leslie Diamond is an American singer-songwriter with a career spanning over five decades from the 1960s until the present....
and The Carpenters
The Carpenters
Carpenters were an American vocal and instrumental duo, consisting of sister Karen and brother Richard Carpenter. The Carpenters were the #1 selling American music act of the 1970s. Though often referred to by the public as "The Carpenters", the duo's official name on authorized recordings and...
. By the 1980s, the station increased the amount of music with vocalists to four per hour as they also added more artists suited to an adult contemporary format. Also in 1980, WDVR changed its call letters to WEAZ, and began using the slogan EAZY 101 with Patrick O'Neal (later Robert Urich) as its spokesperson. By 1984, EAZY 101 became the #1 rated station in Philadelphia.
In 1988, the station dropped Beautiful Music for a soft adult contemporary format. This format change came after research tests showed that people who grew up after the advent of rock and roll did not like instrumental music. With the format change, the station was satellite-delivered, but by the next year, some of the airstaff returned. By 1990, the station's name was shortened to "EZ 101." The station would shift to a mainstream adult contemporary format in 1993, and its call letters would eventually change to WBEB (B101).
Over the years, many stations have attempted to program AC formats in the same city as the firmly-entrenched B101. None has ever been as successful. The list of Adult Contemporary stations that have come and gone during B101's era include Magic 102.9, Kiss 100, Star 104.5, Sunny 104.5, and Now 97.5. There have also been variations of Adult Contemporary like Max 95.7 and Mix 95.7 (Modern AC), Jammin' Gold 95.7 (Rhythmic AC), 96.5 The Point ('80s AC, then Modern AC), and Alice 104.5 (Rock-based AC). 95.7 BEN-FM (Mainstream AC) and Mix 106.1 (Rhythmic AC) are currently still competing in the AC space.
Signal strength
WBEB's signal reaches north into New JerseyNew Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, especially along Interstate 287
Interstate 287
Interstate 287 is an auxiliary Interstate Highway in the U.S. states of New Jersey and New York. It is a partial beltway around New York City, serving the northern half of New Jersey and the counties of Rockland and Westchester in New York...
south of Morristown
Morristown, New Jersey
Morristown is a town in Morris County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the town population was 18,411. It is the county seat of Morris County. Morristown became characterized as "the military capital of the American Revolution" because of its strategic role in the...
, and in northwestern New Jersey. In those areas WBEB interferes with WCBS-FM
WCBS-FM
WCBS-FM is a CBS-owned radio station in New York City. The station's studios are in the combined CBS Radio facility at 345 Hudson Street in Manhattan, and its transmitter is located on the Empire State Building....
, an Oldies
Oldies
Oldies is a term commonly used to describe a radio format that concentrates on music from a period of about 15 to 55 years before the present day....
station in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, which also broadcasts on 101.1, and in some spots, WBEB's signal actually seems stronger. This is because both stations are full, non-directional Class B operations that are severely short-spaced under a grandfathered FCC rule.
Philadelphia's Christmas Station
In 2002, competing Adult Contemporary station WSNIWSNI
WSNI is a radio station licensed to serve Keene, New Hampshire. The station is owned by Monadnock Radio Group, a division of Saga Communications, and licensed to Saga Communications of New England, LLC...
(Sunny 104.5) began an annual tradition of flipping to an all-Christmas music
Christmas music
Christmas music comprises a variety of genres of music normally performed or heard around the Christmas season, which tends to begin in the months leading up the actual holiday and end in the weeks shortly thereafter.-Early:...
format as early as the first weekend in November. In previous years, B101 had gone all-Christmas for only 36 hours—from noon Christmas Eve to midnight on December 25—but the extended all-Christmas format proved very successful for Sunny 104.5, which prompted B101 to do the same. Thus for several years Philadelphia had two stations playing nothing but Christmas music for more than a month.
Sunny 104.5 changed formats in August 2006 and the all-Christmas stunt was dumped along with it. With no pressure to compete, B101 did not go all-Christmas until November 18. At 12:01 a.m. on December 26, after "Christmas Cannon" by The Trans-Siberian Orchestra, there was a brief silence followed by a commercial break and the legal ID ("B101, WBEB Philadelphia"): An unceremonious end to 38 days of continuous Christmas music.
For 2007, B101 announced that they'd be conducting an electronic survey on their website, alleging the results would be used to make up the holiday playlist and to decide when the station would flip to all-Christmas. Although ratings have consistently shown that Philadelphians are huge fans of the all-Christmas format, B101 did not make the switch until 3:00 p.m. on November 21, 2007 (the day before Thanksgiving). There was also no noticeable change in the playlist versus 2006. B101 stopped playing all Christmas music at 5:00 a.m. on December 26. Starting that year, Christmas music was sprinkled in with the regular format for the next few days. With the all-Christmas format all to themselves, B101 enjoyed a 17-share in the 6+ Arbitron ratings. (Double-digit shares, let alone a few ticks shy of a 20 share, are somewhat unprecedented in the modern era of major-market radio).
In August 2008, a new Adult Contemporary station (WNUW/Now 97.5) launched in Philadelphia with sights set squarely on B101. To draw attention to themselves and to take B101 down a peg, Now 97.5 flipped to all-Christmas at 5:00 p.m. on October 31. Shortly thereafter, B101 announced they'd be sprinkling in Christmas tunes during the weekend of November 8–9. This was the earliest they had ever played Christmas music and it was obviously in response to Now 97.5. On November 13, B101 flipped to all-Christmas. Shortly thereafter, 1340 WHAT-AM also went all-Christmas. On November 26, 98.1 WOGL
WOGL
WOGL is an FM radio station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.The station plays mostly post 1964 pop leaning Oldies positioned Classic Hits music, including Motown, soul and rock and roll spanning roughly 1964–1985. An occasional pre-1964 song is played. WOGL is owned by CBS Radio...
made the surprise move of abandoning its format for the first time ever to flip to all-Christmas. Considering Wilmington's 99.5 WJBR is crystal clear all over the city, Philadelphians found themselves with five all-Christmas stations in 2008. B101 still saw a holiday ratings spike, but ended up more than five points off from the previous year. WNUW has since flipped to an all-sports format.
At 3:00 p.m. on November 19, 2009, B101 flipped to all-Christmas and, having the market to themselves once again, achieved a 16.7 share (6+ persons) in the holiday book.
At 3:00 p.m on November 18, 2010, B101 switched to all-Christmas, starting with a medley of Christmas greetings from various songs and movies before playing "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" by Andy Williams. Also in 2010, B101 introduced an updated holiday jingle package after having used the same imaging for seven consecutive years.
At 6:07 a.m. on November 17, 2011, B101 switched to all-Christmas. This started with "It's the Most Wonderful time of the Year" by Andy Williams.
In recent years, B101 has announced what date and time they'd make the switch to all-Christmas and 99.5 WJBR has flipped right around the same time. The stations (one in Philadelphia and the other in Wilmington) obviously don't compete for the same listeners but both can be heard clearly in the others metro area.
Listener confusion with Providence's WWBB
In the last 10 years, many B101 listeners have mistakenly called the request lines of WWBBWWBB
WWBB is a radio station in Providence, Rhode Island. The station mainly plays classic hits and oldies from the 1960s, 1970s, and early 1980s. The station is also carried as background music on several Public-access television cable TV in southeastern Massachusetts...
in Providence, Rhode Island
Providence, Rhode Island
Providence is the capital and most populous city of Rhode Island and was one of the first cities established in the United States. Located in Providence County, it is the third largest city in the New England region...
also positioned as "B101" (but located at 101.5 FM). The confusion lies in the fact that the "b101.com" website is owned by WWBB and Clear Channel, not WBEB. WBEB listeners sometimes log on to "b101.com", assume they are on the correct website, find the phone number, and end up calling WWBB. Both stations also used a bumblebee
Bumblebee
A bumble bee is any member of the bee genus Bombus, in the family Apidae. There are over 250 known species, existing primarily in the Northern Hemisphere although they are common in New Zealand and in the Australian state of Tasmania.Bumble bees are social insects that are characterised by black...
logo, which could add to the confusion (WWBB dropped the bumblebee from their logo a few years ago). Jerry Lee, the owner of WBEB, has made offers to Clear Channel for the "b101.com" domain name. All offers have been rejected. Thus, WBEB uses "b101radio.com". Coincidentally, WBEB's current morning show co-host, Tiffany Hill, was also once the morning co-host at WWBB.
Relaunching as "Fresh"
On September 18, 2007 at 12:00pm, WBEB conducted a special poll, which was broadcast both on-air and online via their website. The poll was 700 songs long and the station would play a 5 to 7 second clip of a song. Liners would encourage listeners to go to the station's website. Once there, a user would then click if they wanted to hear the song often, sometimes, or not at all.At 2 pm, the station was relaunched using the "Fresh" concept, becoming the second outlet to add this concept following the launch of WWFS, Fresh 102.7, in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
by CBS Radio
CBS Radio
CBS Radio, Inc., formerly known as Infinity Broadcasting Corporation, is one of the largest owners and operators of radio stations in the United States, third behind main rival Clear Channel Communications and Cumulus Media. CBS Radio owns around 130 radio stations across the country...
in January 2007 (although their ads use the same exact "cartoon office figures" as WLTW
WLTW
WLTW is a radio station with an Adult Contemporary format in New York City.The station is often number one or close to it in Arbitron ratings for New York City. From 2002 to 2004, the station generated more revenue than any other radio station in the New York market...
in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
).
Awards
The station has won many radio industry awards including most recently the following National Association of Broadcasters awards:- 2009 Major Market Station of the Year
- 2009 Adult Contemporary Station of the Year
- 2007 Adult Contemporary Station of the Year
- 2006 Legendary Station of the Year
- 2005 Adult Contemporary Station of the Year
- 2004 Major Market Station of the Year
Listening live
As of Sunday, March 15, 2009 B-101 stopped providing a live Internet stream. The statement from WBEB reads as follows:- Dear B101 Listener,
- Sorry, B101 is not streaming our radio signal on the Internet at this time.
- A new SoundExchange music licensing agreement has jeopardized your ability to listen to all kinds of music on the internet. Excessive music royalty rates, which have nearly doubled in the last three years and continue to increase to unprecedented levels, no longer make streaming a viable option.
- Please tune to B101 on your radio dial at 101.1 FM. If you’re having trouble getting our signal to come in clearly, try moving around the power cord, as on most radios, it also acts as the antenna. In the event you’re looking for a quality, dependable radio for your office or home, click here for one we recommend.
- Sincerely,
- B101
This make WBEB one of the largest stations in the USA to not have an online stream. For more on this, see here.
Current weekday DJ lineup
- B101 Morning Show: 5 am-9 am
- Tiffany Hill (Co-host)
- Michael Chew (Co-host)
- Bill Tafrow (News/Weather/Traffic)
- Blaire Galaton (Producer)
- Jenn Ryan: 9 am-2 pm
- Dave Moore: 2 pm-7 pm
- Charlie Maxx: 7 pm-12 midnight
Current weekend DJs
Saturdays:- 6 am-9 am: (voicetrack) Jenn Ryan/Dan Blackman (every other)
- 9 am-2 pm: Jenn Ryan/Dave(every other)
- 2 pm-7 pm: Brian Murphy
- 7 pm-midnight: Angel Donato (8-12 Saturday night '80s)
Sundays:
- 5 am-6 am: Emily Schievert (Women's File)
- 6 am-10 am: Sean Kohn
- 10 am-3 pm: Brian Murphy
- 3 pm-7 pm: Angel Donato
- 7 pm-midnight: Jessie Jordan
Fill-ins:
- Anne Evans
- Margo Marano
- Danny Ocean