WERO

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.

This article is about the radio station. For the Maori term, see Wero. For the Spanish word sometimes spelled "wero", see Güero.
WERO
CityWashington, North Carolina
Broadcast areaNew Bern, North Carolina
Greenville, North Carolina
Jacksonville, North Carolina
Kinston, North Carolina
Frequency93.3 MHz
BrandingBob 93-3
SloganCarolina's #1 Hit Music Station
Programming
FormatTop 40 (CHR)
Ownership
OwnerDick Broadcasting
(Dick Broadcasting Company, Inc. of Tennessee)
Sister stationsWWNG, WQSL, WQZL, WXQR, WRNS, WRNS-FM
History
Former call signsWBOB-FM (until 04/23/2004)
WERO (until 04/15/2004)
WDLX (until 02/19/1996)
WITN-FM (until 06/01/1985) [1]
Technical information
Facility ID64609
ClassC
ERP100,000 watts
HAAT543 meters (1781 feet)
Links
WebcastListen Live
Websitebob933.com

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.[1] 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.[2]

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.[3]

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, Bill O'Brien, Penny, Flave, Jagger, Helen Harvey, Harry Palm, "Swingin" Dick Richards, Austin (Moore) at Night.

In September 2017, Dick Broadcasting announced the purchase of Alpha Media stations in three markets — 18 stations and two translators in total, at a purchase price of $19.5 million.[4] The acquisition of WERO by Dick Broadcasting was consummated on December 20, 2017.

References
  1. "Call Sign History (WERO)". Retrieved 2010-04-27.
  2. "Raleigh-Durham FM Dial". Archived from the original on 2003-02-01. Retrieved 2010-04-27.
  3. "Bob's Getting Bigger". bob933.com. Retrieved 2010-02-18.
  4. Venta, Lance (2017-09-05). "Dick Broadcasting Acquires Three Markets From Alpha Media". radioinsight. Retrieved 2017-09-06.

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