City Daphne, Alabama Branding FM Talk 106-5 First air date 1993 | Broadcast area Mobile, Alabama Frequency 106.5 MHz | |
Slogan "Turning up your voice!" | ||
WAVH (106.5 FM, "FM Talk 106-5") is a radio station licensed to serve Daphne, Alabama, USA. The station is owned by Bigler Broadcasting, LLC. Its studios are located at the Executive Plaza building at the Interstate 65/Airport Boulevard interchange in Mobile, and the transmitter tower is in Prichard.
Contents
Programming
WAVH broadcasts a talk radio format serving the greater Mobile, Alabama, area. The station airs a mix of local and syndicated programs. Notable syndicated talk programming on WAVH includes shows hosted by Neal Boortz, Michael Savage, Todd Schnitt, Clark Howard, Rusty Humphries, Monica Crowley, and Phil Hendrie. The talk format, branded as "FM Talk 106-5", launched on May 1, 2009.
History
This station received its original construction permit from the Federal Communications Commission on March 5, 1990, for a new FM station serving Bay Minette, Alabama. The new station was assigned the call letters WUIF by the FCC on May 3, 1990. Just over a month later, on June 4, 1990, the station was assigned new call sign WFMI. The new station began broadcasting a light adult contemporary music format in mid-1993 under program test authority.
After several extensions, renewals, and changes, WFMI received its license to cover from the FCC on August 25, 1993. The station was assigned the current WAVH call sign on October 14, 1994. The FCC authorized WAVH to change its community of license to Daphne, Alabama, on November 29, 1996.
In June 1997, the Baldwin Broadcasting Company reached an agreement to sell this station to American General Media through their AGM-Nevada, LLC, subsidiary. The deal was approved by the FCC on August 5, 1997, but the transaction was never consummated and control of the station remained with Baldwin Broadcasting.
In November 2000, the Baldwin Broadcasting Company faced financial difficulties and an application was made to transfer control of WAVH to Baldwin Broadcasting Company, Debtor-In-Possession. The transfer was approved by the FCC on December 8, 2000, and the transaction was consummated on December 12, 2000.
In May 2002, Baldwin Broadcasting Company, Debtor-In-Possession, reached an agreement to sell this station to Cumulus Media through their Cumulus Licensing Corporation subsidiary for a reported $5.11 million. The deal was never gained FCC approval and the application was dismissed at the request of both parties to the transaction on November 15, 2004. At the time of the announcement, WAVH broadcast an oldies music format.
In March 2007, Baldwin Broadcasting Company, Debtor-In-Possession, reached an agreement to transfer the broadcast license for this station to Barry Wood, doing business as the Baldwin Broadcasting Company. The deal was approved by the FCC on May 15, 2007, and the transaction was consummated on May 23, 2007. Just a few months later, in October 2007, Barry Wood reached an agreement to sell this station to Donald Bigler's Bigler Broadcasting, LLC, for a reported $3.6 million. The deal was approved by the FCC on November 27, 2007, and the transaction was consummated on January 31, 2008.
The station operated as an oldies station called "Oldies 106" until August 2006. The switch was noted by a constant play of Jimmy Buffett songs. From August 2006 through April 2009, WAVH was an adult hits music formatted station branded as "106.5 The Pirate" with the slogan "70s, 80s, and Whatever We Want!" In May 2009, the format flipped to talk radio as "FM Talk 106-5".