Technical Profile: WBIB

AM Technical Profile: WBIB

Frequency:: 1110
Format:: Spanish
Transmitter Location:: [map] [street view] Visible on the western side of AL-219 (Birmingham Road), just north of Dry Hollow Road and US-82, behind the large kudzu patch.
Power (ERP):: Day: 1 kW
Antenna:: Day: 1 tower
Other Information:: 0.5 mV/m Daytime Groundwave Service Contour from the FCC's Public Files

[FCC]
[FCCdata.org]; [Radio-Locator]; [Wikipedia]
[Facebook]

Owned by International J A D E Group

// W236DX Centreville
History:: This station dates back to an original construction permit issued to Fred H. Davis, Paul Nichols and Houston L. Pearce (doing business as Voice of the Mid-South), granted in June 1964. The station signed on in the winter of 1964, operating on 1590 kHz with 1 kW, daytime only with a Gates BC-1G transmitter. The studios were originally on State Highway 1 at the Southern Belle Motel west of Centreville, while the transmitter was on State Highway 5, north of town. Less than a year later, in March 1965, the station applied to move to 1110 kHz. That move was granted early the next year and they filed a license to cover for the frequency change in March 1966.

The station most likely debuted with a Country music format, with Gospel music on the weekends.

The station license was transferred to WBIB, Inc. in 1969.

The station was set to be sold to Leigh Broadcasting, Inc. in 1978, but the deal never went through.

In 1981, the studios moved to 103 Olon Heights Shopping Center in Centreville. The station was acquired by Rigdon Broadcasting in 1983, for $175,000.

Sides-Robinson acquired the station in May 1997 for an undisclosed amount. They flipped the format to all Gospel, but eventually added some Country music back into the mix.

The station was sold to Bibb Broadcasting in 2002 for just over $146,000. In 2005, the station was sold to James Deloach for $1 plus Rigdon Broadcasting's mortgage debt.

The station was reported to be airing on a FM translator as of early 2008, on 107.3 MHz, licensed to Brent. Only a few years later, the translator would be sold off to be re-purposed on a new frequency in Tuscaloosa.

The station was knocked off the air on 27 April 2011 due to storm damage from an outbreak of tornadoes across the state. It was able to return to the air just a few days later.

In July 2018 the station acquired a new construction permit for another FM translator, W267DA, on 101.3 MHz, licensed to nearby Brent. It was put on the air in August 2021.

The station and translator were sold by James Deloach in August 2023 for $130,000 to a company called International J A D E Group. Of interest is the Group's address is that of the old WBYE studios in Calera. It's currently listed as the address for a construction company called DHG Construction. It's unclear of the two are related beyond mailing address.

The translator was granted a permit in September 2023 to move north to a site off Bishop Ridge Road, northeast of West Blocton. The move required the use of a directional antenna to protect WQEM in Columbiana, which is one channel over. A license to cover for that change was filed in late December 2023.

In January 2024, a permit was applied to move the translator to 101.1 MHz and relocate the transmit site to a rural area in far western Shelby County near the Pea Ridge community. Future plans were said to be a move to 100.9 to better serve Montevallo, Calera and Alabaster. That first move to 101.1 MHz in Shelby County was approved in late February 2024 and a license to cover for that facility was filed in early March 2024, with it being heard on air around that same part of the month. It also immediately generated a complaint from Crawford's WXJC-FM in Cullman, which is on the same frequency. The station was granted another permit to move, this time to 95.1 MHz with 40 watts, on 18 March 2024. That site was also reported on the air as soon as the permit was granted, transmitting from a site between Maylene and Montevallo west of the intersection of County Road 22 and County Road 17 in Shelby County.