 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (April 2024) |
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|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Western New York |
| Frequency | 1520 kHz |
| Branding | The Bet Buffalo |
| Programming | |
| Format | Sports gambling |
| Affiliations | |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
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| History | |
First air date | October 1926 |
Former call signs | WKBW (1926–1986) |
Former frequencies |
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Call sign meaning | Nod to previous WKBW call sign |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 34383 |
| Class | A |
| Power | 50,000 watts unlimited |
Transmitter coordinates | 42°46′10.21″N 78°50′33.12″W / 42.7695028°N 78.8425333°W |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen live (via Audacy) |
| Website | www |
WWKB (1520 AM) is a commercial radio station in Buffalo, New York. It broadcasts a sports gambling format and is owned and operated by Audacy, Inc. It is one of two sports radio stations owned by Audacy in the Buffalo radio market, with WGR primarily broadcasting local sports programming. The studios are on Corporate Parkway in Amherst, New York. The station used the WKBW callsign from its 1926 founding until 1986, and had periods broadcasting pop-rock music and talk radio.
WWKB broadcasts with a power of 50,000 watts, the maximum permitted for AM stations in the U.S. It is one of two 50,000 watt AM stations in Western New York, along with WHAM in Rochester. WWKB is a clear channel station, sharing its Class A status on 1520 kHz with KOKC in Oklahoma City. WWKB uses a directional antenna with a three-tower array. Its transmitter site is shared with WGR on Big Tree Road in Blasdell, New York.[2]
WWKB's primary daytime signal covers all of Western New York, including Rochester, as well as the Southern Tier. It provides secondary coverage to much of Southern Ontario, including Toronto, and can be heard as far east as Kingston.
At night, to mutually protect KOKC from interference, it must direct its signal eastward. Thus, while WWKB can be heard across most of the eastern half of North America at night, its signal is spotty only 20 miles (32 km) southwest of Buffalo. Local residents remain largely unaware that the antenna array is internationally famous for sending WWKB's nighttime signal to the outskirts of Stockholm on a regular basis. The directional nighttime signal has resulted the station being commonly heard in parts of Sweden during winter months. A group of Scandinavian radio reception enthusiasts visited for conference at a Camp Road motel, to view the transmitter array, apparently to photograph and measure it.[citation needed]
- ^ "Facility Technical Data for WWKB". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
- ^ Radio-Locator.com/WWKB