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[Article] NBC 13 story on Alabama's first "FM" Regional Mexican station
Owned by Riviera Communications
// W252BE Tarrant, AL (STA)
// W226CT Leeds, AL
:PS-La Jefa
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PTY-Top 40
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Came on the air in 1949 as WEDR by J. L. Doss (of WJLD fame), as the second all-black staffed station in the country. The KKK blew up the tower shortly after the station came on the air. Locally famous personality Shelly "The Playboy" Stewart got his start here thanks to help from blues legend Little Walter, who hosted a blues show here in the early 60s.
In June 2021, the station applied to move the transmitter site from the Mims Avenue site in Birmingham, to be diplexed with WJLD's tower on Pearson Avenue, a few miles to the west. That permit was granted in October 2021.
The station was hopped into the Birmingham market and in 2013, a licensed to cover for a facility atop Red Mountain was granted; with it the power was raised to 250 watts, the city of license was changed to Tarrant City, and the antenna employed used a strong directional pattern pointed north. The parent station at this time switched to Birmingham Gospel station WAGG. In 2014 the station changed to a different antenna pattern, with 150 watts and a more omnidirectional pattern. It was at this time that the station switched to relaying WAYE. At this point, the translator became the first FM outlet for a Spanish-language format not just in Birmingham but apparently anywhere in the state of Alabama.
The license was transferred to Valleydale Broadcasting (an offshoot of Reynolds Technical Associates, who have made owned several other full power stations and translators across the state), in the summer of 2014. In November 2015, Valleydale filed an STA (Special Temporary Authority) to operate at variance with the license, citing a cut transmission line as the reason. This resulted in a lower antenna height but with more power. An issue arose in late 2016 when Marble City Media's WFXO, licensed to Stewartville, southeast of Birmingham, signed on with an improved facility. After it commenced broadcasting, it began receiving interference from W252BE, which kicked off a round of back-and-forth filings with the FCC between Marble City Media and Valleydale Broadcasting to try and deal with the situation. Valleydale Broadcasting transferred the licensed to another Reynolds sub-company, Shelby Broadcast Associates, in 2017; that spring they also were granted an application with modified parameters to try to mitigate the interference. Despite that, complaints from WFXO continued and the FCC took the unusual step of rescinding the grant they'd previously issues.
Shelby Broadcast Associates again filed to modify the facility with an even more aggressive directional antenna in June 2017. While waiting for that application to be granted, however, they filed another STA citing the cut transmission cable and asked to operate at lower power again. Shelby filed a license to cover for the previous modification in October 2018, and Marble City Media's WFXO once again filed objections based on various reasons to try to deny the grant.
In June 2020 it was announced that Riviera Communications, owners of WAYE and other stations in the state, agreed to purchase the translator for $184,000. That transfer was put on hold while the FCC investigated the issued raised by Marble City Media's various objections to the translator's existence.
At the end of September 2022, the FCC dismissed the last objections filed by Marble City Media against the translator.
The FCC issued a Notice of Apparent Liability (NAL) to Shelby Broadcast Associates in February 2024 for $16,500 for various issues, including operating the translator at variance from licensed parameters and failure to note character issues in applications related to the translator. As part of the proposal, they also rejected some of Marble City Media's claims against the translator. For the full investigatory story from the FCC, see this link, which recounts the entire history between Marble City Media and Shelby Broadcast Associates/Valleydale Broadcasting. In April 2024 the FCC upheld the fine. Shelby claimed inability to pay, but the FCC countered that the pending sale to Riviera amounts to "substantial economic gain" which merits the upholding of the fine.
Translator W226CT history:
Glen Iris Baptist School was granted an original construction permit for a 10 watt translator on 92.7 MHz, licensed to and located in the city of Leeds, in November of 2013. A license to cover was filed for this facility in October 2016, and the station was reported on-air relaying Glen Iris' Religious noncommercial WGIB out of Birmingham.
A construction permit to relocate the translator to an area just east of Leeds was granted in October 2020; one month later Avondale Metal Works filed to purchase the translator for $10,000. That same month they filed a Silent STA in preparation for taking control of the translator. In December 2020 they were granted a permit to change the transmitter's location to a site southeast of Leeds, with 99 watts and a directional antenna pointed southwest towards Shelby County, along with a change to 93.1 MHz. A license to cover for that change was filed in January 2021 and at that point the translator was reported to be rebroadcasting WAYE. That same month they were granted another permit to move the station again, this time to its current location atop Double Oak Mountain in Shelby County, overlooking the rapidly-growing US-280 corridor. They took the translator silent again in February 2021 citing the move; the STA was extended in September 2021. A license to cover for this move was filed in December 2021. With 99 watts from the mountaintop the translator's coverage area now includes parts of Hoover and Chelsea.
The FCC granted the license transfer of the translator from Avondale Metal Works to Riviera Communications, owners of WAYE, in March 2022, for a price of $110,000.