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WDAE-FM

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Coordinates: 27°52′01″N 82°37′26″W / 27.867°N 82.624°W / 27.867; -82.624
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WDAE-FM
Simulcast of WDAE, St. Petersburg, Florida
Rumba logo that's used in WDAE-HD3, W237CW, W275AZ and W244BE.
Broadcast areaTampa Bay area
Frequency95.7 MHz (HD Radio)
Branding95.7 WDAE & AM 620
Programming
FormatSports radio
Subchannels
Affiliations
Ownership
Owner
History
First air date
August 19, 1963 (1963-08-19)
Former call signs
  • WTAN-FM (1963–1976)
  • WOKF (1976–1980)
  • WCKX (1980–1982)
  • WMGG (1982–1985)
  • WNLT (1985–1990)
  • WMTX (1990–1998)
  • WSSR (1998–2003)
  • WBTP (2003–2024)
  • WRUB (2024–2026)
Call sign meaning
Taken from station's simulcast of WDAE
Technical information[1]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID41382
ClassC1
ERP100,000 watts
HAAT185 meters (607 ft)
Links
Public license information
Webcast
Website

WDAE-FM (95.7 FM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Clearwater, Florida, United States, and serves the Tampa Bay area with a sports radio format as a simulcast of WDAE (620 AM). Owned by iHeartMedia, WDAE-FM's studios are located on Ulmerton Road in Clearwater, and the transmitter is in Gandy, Florida.

This station began broadcasting August 19, 1963, as WTAN-FM and historically regularly changed formats and call signs. Between 1976 and 1990, it changed call signs on five occasions. Its longest-lived format was urban contemporary as WBTP "95.7 The Beat" from 2003 to 2024. After less than two years with a Spanish-language format, it flipped to sports talk in January 2026.

History

[edit]

This station signed on August 19, 1963, as WTAN-FM,[2] simulcasting sister station WTAN (AM 1340) with a beautiful music format.[3] The WTAN stations were sold in 1976 to Broadcast Enterprises, Inc., a company controlled by Ragan Henry, and relaunched. This included a new format for the FM station, which ceased simulcasting WTAN, changed call signs to WOKF, and began airing an adult contemporary format.[4]

WOKF later became a disco station under the name 96 Fever before switching back to a hot adult contemporary sound as WCKX "96 Kx" in 1980, under the new ownership of Metroplex.[5][6] Two years later, the station rebranded as Magic and adopted the call sign WMGG, shifting away from a rock lean.[7][8] So frequent were its changes that a 1982 article in the St. Petersburg Times called it "the champion of the format changers".[9]

In 1984, WMGG hired Cleveland disc jockey John Lanigan to host mornings. However, ratings continued to slide. In 1985, the station retooled again to a music-intensive adult contemporary station as WNLT "Lite 95.7". The change in format sidelined Lanigan.[10] The revamped station also promoted itself as "W-Lite", which earned it a lawsuit from CBS, which argued that the use of "95" in identification was too close to its WYNF (94.9 FM).[11]

WNLT rebranded as WMTX "Mix 96" in 1990 but retained the format.[12] Radio & Records reported that the change was preemptive amid rumors that WRBQ-FM would begin going by "Mix 104.7".[13] The station shifted from hot adult contemporary to an alternative rock and pop music format as WSSR "Star 95.7" on August 4, 1997.[14][15]

On October 27, 2003, WSSR adopted an urban contemporary format as WBTP (“95.7 The Beat”), getting out of the more crowded adult contemporary format market in Tampa Bay.[16]

Former "95.7 The Beat" logo from 2019-2021.
Previous "Rumba 95.7" logo from 2024-2026.

On July 17, 2024, the urban format moved to sister station WRUB at 106.5 FM, which had been broadcasting a Spanish-language contemporary hits format as “Rumba 106.5". The Rumba format was moved to the 95.7 frequency. The two stations swapped call signs on July 29.[17]

On February 13, 2026, iHeartMedia announced that "Rumba" would move to translators W237CW (95.3 FM) and W275AZ (102.9 FM) on February 23. The FM simulcast of WDAE's sports radio programming, in turn, moved from W237CW to WRUB's 100,000-watt signal at 95.7 FM, and WRUB changed call signs to WDAE-FM.[18] The WDAE-FM call sign had previously been held by WMTX (100.7 FM) from 1947 to 1966 and 1969 to 1975.[19][20]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Facility Technical Data for WDAE-FM". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  2. ^ "Commission Discord? Not In Clearwater". St. Petersburg Times. August 21, 1963. p. 1-B. Retrieved February 25, 2026.
  3. ^ Schlaughenhoupt, G. J. (December 3, 1976). "Now HE'S Got Ratings Troubles". The Tampa Tribune. p. Currents 5. Retrieved February 28, 2026.
  4. ^ Albury, Chuck (October 13, 1976). "Does your radio station sound different lately?". St. Petersburg Times. p. Pinellas 3. Retrieved February 28, 2026.
  5. ^ Scott, Kelly (August 22, 1980). "The Kinks will perform at Curtis Hixon Sunday". St. Petersburg Times. p. 14D. Retrieved February 28, 2026.
  6. ^ Kilgore, Michael (October 17, 1980). "96 Fever Joins Metroplex Chain, Becomes 96 Kx". The Tampa Tribune. p. 2-D. Retrieved February 28, 2026.
  7. ^ Hill, Steve (June 3, 1982). "96KX Looks For Magic". The Tampa Tribune. p. 2-D. Retrieved February 28, 2026.
  8. ^ Hill, Steve (July 15, 1982). "WNSI Talk Show Host Leaves Station". The Tampa Tribune. p. 6-D. Retrieved February 28, 2026.
  9. ^ Harper, James (December 29, 1982). "Evolving, revolving radio stations fickle with fans". St. Petersburg Times. pp. 1D, 2D. Retrieved February 28, 2026.
  10. ^ Andelman, Bob (August 2, 1985). "Where has the Magic gone? Format change at FM station may include a disappearing act by John Lanigan". St. Petersburg Times. p. 2D. Retrieved February 28, 2026.
  11. ^ Okamoto, David (October 25, 1985). "CBS doesn't take station's slogan lightly, files lawsuit". The Tampa Tribune. p. 11-B. Retrieved February 28, 2026.
  12. ^ Moore, Jay (December 7, 1990). "Stations show restraint with Middle East issue". The Tampa Tribune. p. Times 9. Retrieved February 28, 2026.
  13. ^ Ross, Sean (November 17, 1990). "Top 40: It's Fall—And It Can't Get Up; More Slogan Wars: KIKK, WBBE, Mix?" (PDF). Radio & Records. p. 11.
  14. ^ "Street Talk" (PDF). Radio & Records. August 8, 1997. p. 24.
  15. ^ Fischer, Roger (August 8, 1997). "New Star rises from ashes of Mix 96". St. Petersburg Times. p. Weekend 27. Retrieved February 28, 2026.
  16. ^ Sasso, Michael (October 28, 2003). "WSSR-FM Changes Format To Hip-Hop, R&B: Clear Channel Switches 'Star' to 'The Beat'". The Tampa Tribune. p. MoneySense 2. Retrieved February 28, 2026.
  17. ^ Venta, Lance (July 18, 2024). "iHeartMedia Launches Rumba 95.7 & 106.5/102.9 The Beat Tampa". RadioInsight.
  18. ^ Taylor, Tom (February 13, 2026). "WDAE Tampa Bay Gets 100,000-Watt FM Boost; 'Rumba' Shifts Signals". Inside Radio.
  19. ^ "WDAE To Begin FM Broadcasts: Times Radio Again Pioneer For Florida West Coast". The Tampa Daily Times. November 15, 1947. p. 1. Retrieved February 28, 2026.
  20. ^ "History Cards for WMTX". Federal Communications Commission.
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27°52′01″N 82°37′26″W / 27.867°N 82.624°W / 27.867; -82.624

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