WOMX-FM
Broadcast area
Frequency105.1 MHz (HD Radio)
BrandingMix 105.1
Programming
Language(s)English
FormatHot adult contemporary
SubchannelsHD2: Channel Q
Ownership
Owner
History
First air date
August 15, 1967 (1967-08-15)
Former call signs
  • WWQS (1967–1973)
  • WBJW-FM (1973–1989)
Call sign meaning
We're Orlando's MiX 105.1
Technical information[1]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID47746
ClassC
ERP100,000 watts
HAAT487 meters (1,598 ft)
Transmitter coordinates
28°34′52″N 81°04′30″W / 28.581°N 81.075°W / 28.581; -81.075
Links
Public license information
WebcastListen live (via Audacy)
Websitewww.audacy.com/mix1051

WOMX-FM (105.1 MHz) is a commercial radio station licensed to Orlando, Florida. The station is owned by Audacy, Inc. and airs a hot adult contemporary radio format known as Mix 105.1. WOMX-FM's studios and offices are located on Pembrook Drive in Maitland and the transmitter tower is off Fort Christmas Road in Bithlo.[2] The transmitter is shared with WRUM, WJRR and WTKS-FM.

WOMX-FM operates with 100,000 watts and covers much of the Eastern region of Central Florida, from Palm Coast to the north, Lakeland to the west and Palm Bay to the south. On certain days, the signal can reach as far as Tampa Bay.

History

105.1 FM first signed on the air on August 15, 1967, as WWQS.[3] It was co-owned with WVCF (1480 AM) in Windermere.[4] In 1973, American Homes Stations sold WWQS to Rounsaville Radio, owner of WBJW (1440 AM) in Winter Park, which changed the call letters to WBJW-FM, with the FM as a contemporary hits station and the AM airing an easy listening format. 105.1 was sold to Nationwide Communications in 1982, then Omni American and then to Shamrock Broadcasting in 1996,[5][6] Chancellor Media in 1997 (which would subsequently merge with AMFM and then Clear Channel),[7] then to Infinity Radio (CBS) in 2000.[8][9] On February 2, 2017, CBS Radio announced it would merge with Entercom.[10] The merger was approved on November 9, 2017, and was consummated on November 17.[11][12]

The station became WOMX-FM on September 14, 1989.[13][14][15] (WOMX was formerly the call sign for a Coast Guard ship based in Biloxi, Mississippi.) Initially, Mix 105.1's format was characterized as "Adult Top 40", but was quickly modified to a slightly more mature "Hot Adult Contemporary" sound, with a greater emphasis on hits from the past two decades.

The station signed on with Mike Elliot and Beth Ann Schaffer in mornings,[16] Tracey Young in middays, Dave Kelly in afternoons, and Nick Sanders ("Nick At Night") in the evening slot. Overnights were hosted by Keith Summers. The station was first programmed by Brian Thomas, later the Program Director of WCBS-FM in New York City. In late 1990, the station launched Scott and Erica in the Morning, with Scott McKenzie and Erica Lee, after Mike Elliott left for a job in Tampa.[17]

Longtime morning show co-host Erica Lee was let go on January 7, 2010, after 19 years at WOMX-FM.[18][19] Scott remained as the anchor and face of WOMX-FM's morning show, joined by Dana Taylor and Jay Edwards. Following a move to more rhythmic content on CBS Radio-owned hot AC stations (WBMX Boston, WQAL Cleveland and WTIC-FM Hartford), WOMX-FM began adding more rhythmic music to go up against Top 40 station WXXL, owned by Clear Channel Communications (now iHeart). Ratings went up for WOMX-FM after the playlist tweak, which also caused rival soft adult contemporary station WMGF to phase in more hot AC content.

WOMX-FM is the oldest hot adult contemporary in Florida under CBS Radio/Entercom/Audacy ownership, while CBS Radio's other hot ACs (WHFS-FM Tampa and WPBZ West Palm Beach) had the format since 2010 and 2011, respectively. As of July 2014, those stations have switched formats, with WHFS-FM flipping to sports radio (as well as being sold to Beasley Broadcast Group), and WPBZ sold to a new owner and flipping to country music. That made WOMX-FM not only the oldest Hot AC station in Florida under CBS Radio/Entercom/Audacy ownership, but once again, CBS Radio's only Florida Hot AC station.

Morning host Scott McKenzie died on August 11, 2015, at the age of 59 after suffering from non-Hodgkin lymphoma for seven years.[20][21] As of September 2023, mornings are now hosted by Danny Serrano.

In early 2020, older songs from the 2000s and 2010s were added back to the playlist, as well as select 1990s tracks that don't overlap with sister station WOCL.

Jay Edwards announced his departure from the station in mid-November 2021.[22] He subsequently joined Cox Media Group's Orlando cluster as an on-air producer and host of talk radio station WDBO, country radio station WWKA, and classic rock station WMMO.

Dana Taylor left the station on January 13, 2023; she had been with WOMX since 1994.[23]

HD programming

WOMX-FM also carried an information service for Orlando International Airport on its HD2 subchannel, known as Fly MCO Radio ('MCO' being the airport's IATA code) from 2016 until 2019.[24][25] The HD signal rebranded as "Orlando Vacation Radio", while maintaining the same format, which overlapped with some of its main station's playlist, along with most of WOCL's as well. Prior to that, 105.1 HD2 previously carried a Top 40/CHR music format, branded as "105.1 AMP Radio", then tweaked to Rhythmic AC as "NOW 105.1 HD2" in mid-2013.[26]

As of November 2019, "Orlando Vacation Radio" was discontinued, and the online stream went dormant on the Radio.com app. That same month, the HD2 station switched over to "Channel Q", which was supposed to launch in Orlando during mid-August 2019 on sister station WQMP. At some point in early-to-mid 2020, the HD2 channel was pulled, with "Channel Q" moving to WQMP's HD3 subchannel, but in January 2022, Channel Q returned to WOMX's HD2 subchannel, with WQMP's HD3 subchannel becoming a secondary feed for Audacy's New Arrivals.

References

  1. ↑ "Facility Technical Data for WOMX-FM". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  2. ↑ "WOMX-FM Radio Station Coverage Map". radio-locator.com.
  3. ↑ Broadcasting Yearbook 1977 page C-45
  4. ↑ "FM Station To Open In Windermere". Orlando Sentinel. August 27, 1967. p. West 4. Retrieved January 12, 2021.
  5. ↑ "Behind The $7.4Billion Spring Of'96" (PDF). Radio & Records. July 26, 1996. p. 4. Retrieved September 13, 2023.
  6. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on October 9, 2016. Retrieved July 7, 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  7. ↑ "SALE SIGNALS NEW RADIO ERA CLEAR CHANNEL IS POISED TO BECOME A MAJOR VOICE IN THE ORLANDO MARKET". Archived from the original on October 9, 2016.
  8. ↑ "WOMX-FM 105.1 Orlando". www.cflradio.net.
  9. ↑ "LOCAL RADIO MARKET GETS A NEW PLAYER INFINITY BROADCASTING WILL BUY THREE STATIONS AS CLEAR CHANNEL UNLOADS HOLDINGS AS PART OF A MERGER DEAL". Archived from the original on October 9, 2016.
  10. ↑ "CBS Radio To Merge With Entercom - RadioInsight". February 2, 2017.
  11. ↑ "Entercom Receives FCC Approval for Merger with CBS Radio". Entercom. November 9, 2017. Retrieved November 17, 2017.
  12. ↑ Venta, Lance (November 17, 2017). "Entercom Completes CBS Radio Merger". Radio Insight. Retrieved November 17, 2017.
  13. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on October 9, 2016. Retrieved July 7, 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  14. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on October 9, 2016. Retrieved July 7, 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  15. ↑ "WBJW Mixes Up Orlando, Adopts WOMX Identity" (PDF). Radio & Records. September 22, 1989. p. 30. Retrieved September 13, 2023.
  16. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on October 9, 2016. Retrieved July 7, 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  17. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on October 9, 2016. Retrieved July 7, 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  18. ↑ "Orlando News, Weather and Sports - Florida News - WESH Channel 2".
  19. ↑ "Sounds of CFL Radio". www.cflradio.net.
  20. ↑ Boedeker, Hal. "Scott McKenzie, beloved radio host, dead at 59".
  21. ↑ "Scott McKenzie Biography". cflradio.net.
  22. ↑ "Jay Edwards on Instagram: "Hard to write this, but after nearly a 25-year career at Mix 105.1, my run has come to an end. My contract is about to expire and they have elected not to renew it and I have been let go. I have made some amazing friends over the past 2+ decades, some I have and will always consider family. Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to have so much fun with you on-the-air for all these years. I'm truly blessed to live in the greatest city and to be a voice for our community. Thank you Dan for taking a chance on me as your intern in 1997 when I got bit by the radio bug and fell in love. Thank you Scott & Erica for taking a chance on me to be your on-air producer with hardly any experience. Thanks Ang for being my BFF and always there for me! Adam, you're my boy Blue! I have so many other people to thank, but you know who you are. Thanks for being my radio family. To everyone that has listened over the years, I wouldn't have had this 25-year career without you. Many of you I've met in person and many I have not. But to every single one of you, thank you. What's next? Stay tuned…"". Instagram. Retrieved January 12, 2023.
  23. ↑ "Dana Taylor to Depart WOMX - RadioInsight". January 12, 2023.
  24. ↑ "FLY MCO RADIO TAKES FLIGHT AT ORLANDO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT - Airport Improvement Magazine". www.airportimprovement.com.
  25. ↑ "HD Radio Guide for Orlando, Florida". Archived from the original on February 21, 2017. Retrieved September 13, 2023.
  26. ↑ "Bye Bye AMP Radio 105.1-HD2 | RadioDiscussions". www.radiodiscussions.com.
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