Branding Bob 93.3 Frequency 93.3 (MHz) | Slogan All The Hits First air date March 31, 1980 | |
City Washington, North Carolina Broadcast area New Bern, North Carolina
Greenville, North Carolina
Jacksonville, North Carolina
Kinston, North Carolina | ||
WERO (93.3 FM, "Bob 93.3") is a contemporary hit radio music formatted radio station for Eastern North Carolina licensed to Washington, North Carolina, US, targeting the Greenville, North Carolina and Eastern North Carolina areas. It also covers Virginia and South Carolina.
History
The station began as WITN-FM, and by the late 1970s was a Top 40 station known as Rock 93, airing TM's automated "Stereo Rock" format. The station was owned by William Riley "Bill" Roberson Jr. and operated along with sister station WITN-AM as the Tar Heel Broadcasting System. Roberson also owned the local TV station, WITN- TV 7 and numerous other local properties such as the Dr. Pepper bottling plant, and Washington Square Mall. Around 1984, Roberson retired and began divesting these properties, selling some but leaving his son in law, Charles Zoph Potts and William Riley Roberson III in charge of WITN-AM and FM. Potts and Roberson took the FM station to a live format in 1985, and changed to the 93DLX moniker, also known as the Hot FM. In 1991 the station went to a soft AC format. On 2/19/96 the calls became WERO. and went to Classic Hits format as Arrow 93.3.
Also in 1996, major changes took place as Potts and Roberson sold their interest in the station to Pinnacle Broadcasting, which in 1999 became NextMedia Group.
In 1998 it dropped the Arrow and became known as WERO a 50-50 mix of the 80s and 90s, mixing in more of an AAA format, all during this time it had some association with WITN-TV. In 1999 it switched to Bob 93.3 and plays Top 40 music.
In 2004, NextMedia consolidated its radio operations to one central location in New Bern, North Carolina, as this station left behind the building just south of Washington where it had broadcast from since the 1950s.
In 2010, WERO operated on reduced power for a while as the station replaced an antenna that was 30 years old, an action which will increase the station's signal range.
NextMedia sold WERO and their 32 other radio stations to Digity, LLC for $85 million; the transaction was consummated on February 10, 2014.
Effective February 25, 2016, Digity and its 124 radio stations were acquired by Alpha Media for $264 million.
Some of the disc jockeys/ on air personalities over the course of the stations history have been Gary Jackson, Sam Reynolds, Jack Boston, Alan Handleman, Shel Bynum, Colleen Jackson, Tom the Jazz Man, Gina Gray, Gary Lee, Todd Mitchell, Chris "Hollywood" Mann, Gare "The Spyder" Stevens, Doc Brown, Charlie Byrd, J. Slater, Beth McCall, Brian Lane, Jay Stevens, Chris Kellogg, JJ, Gary O'Neal, Crystal Legends, Big Tom Lawler, Beaver (Chris Michaels Smith), Jojo, Jamie, and Flave, Jagger, and Helen Harvey, and Ace & Tj.