W297BB
| Company type | Commercial radio station |
|---|---|
| Industry | Radio broadcasting |
| Founded | May 24, 1924 in Winter Park, Florida |
| Headquarters | Orlando , United States |
Area served | Greater Orlando area |
| Products | News and talk radio programming |
| Owner | Cox Media Group |
| Website | www |
WDBO (580 AM) is a commercial news and talk radio outlet licensed in Orlando, Florida and owned by Cox Media Group. Its broadcasting studios and administrative offices are situated on North John Young Parkway in Orlando.
Operating at 5,000 watts, WDBO transmits a non-directional signal during daytime hours and switches to a directional pattern using a two-tower array at night to avoid interference with other stations on the AM 580 frequency. The transmitter site is positioned near West Kennedy Boulevard in Maitland. Additionally, the station’s content is relayed on a 250-watt FM translator, W297BB, broadcasting at 107.3 MHz.
Origins
As Orlando’s longest-running radio station, WDBO began transmissions on May 24, 1924, initially licensed to Rollins College in Winter Park. After multiple frequency adjustments, it established its position on 580 kHz by 1933. In 1935, the station boosted its power output from 250 watts to 1,000 watts. Owned by the Orlando Broadcasting Company, WDBO was affiliated with CBS Radio, featuring CBS’s lineup of dramas, comedies, news reports, sports coverage, soap operas, and big band music throughout the "Golden Age of Radio."
In 1949, WDBO-FM (92.3 FM) launched as a simulcast partner of WDBO. Five years later, WDBO-TV commenced operations as Central Florida’s inaugural television station and served as a primary CBS affiliate. The Outlet Company sold WDBO-AM-FM to Katz Broadcasting in 1982; meanwhile, the TV station rebranded as WCPX (currently WKMG-TV). The FM station adopted a country music format under the brand "K92FM" with the call letters WWKA.
MOR, Adult Contemporary, and Talk Formats
With television networks drawing away programming in the 1950s, WDBO transitioned to a full-service middle of the road (MOR) format that combined adult-oriented music with news and sports updates. It affiliated with ABC News Radio and gradually integrated talk radio elements into its schedule. By the 1980s, "58 WDBO" minimized MOR music and fully embraced adult contemporary in 1984 alongside news and sports content—this shift responded to market dynamics following Leesburg’s WHLY switch from AC to Top 40.
Throughout the early 1990s, WDBO aired a blend of news, talk shows, and adult contemporary music until March 1991 when it eliminated music entirely to become "NewsTalk 580 WDBO," establishing itself as Greater Orlando’s leading AM news/talk broadcaster. Cox Radio acquired both WDBO and WWKA in 1997. In August 2011, Cox discontinued classic rock on WHTQ (96.5 FM), rebranding it as WDBO-FM to simulcast the AM talk format; before this change, talk programming was available only on its HD-2 subchannel. Eventually, the FM frequency became the sole outlet for "NewsTalk 96-5 WDBO."
Transition to Sports
On November 12, 2012, WDBO ended its simulcast arrangement and relaunched as a sports radio station affiliated with ESPN Radio, while WDBO-FM continued independently with news/talk programming. ESPN Radio had previously been broadcast on WHOO (1080 AM), which then switched to NBC Sports Radio.
WDBO carried ESPN’s complete programming lineup except for a local weekday afternoon show hosted by Scott Anez. It served as the flagship station for the Orlando Magic NBA franchise until iHeartMedia's WYGM (740 AM) assumed that role at the beginning of the 2018–2019 season.
Reinstatement of Talk Format
On June 24, 2020, Cox Radio transformed WDBO-FM into a Spanish-language hot adult contemporary station named WOEX, branded as "Exitos 96.5." Concurrently, WDBO’s news/talk content returned to the 580 AM frequency, replacing the sports format. To maintain an FM presence for Orlando-area listeners, Cox introduced an FM simulcast via translator W297BB (107.3 FM) on June 29 and rebranded as "WDBO 107.3 FM and 580 AM."
In September 2021, Cox Media implemented staff reductions at WDBO that included dismissing morning anchor Ray Caputo, evening anchor Tony Marino, and talk host Darrell Moody. The noon newscast was substituted with additional talk programming.
Programming
Weekday mornings commence with the locally produced show Orlando's Morning News, hosted by Scott Anez. Following this, the schedule features a lineup of nationally syndicated talk shows, including The Sean Hannity Show, Brian Kilmeade and Friends, The Erik Erickson Show, Markley, Van Camp & Robbins, and Fox Across America with Jimmy Failla.
On weekends, programming shifts to topics such as finance, health, legal advice, pets, home improvement, gardening, automotive interests, and culinary subjects. Sunday evenings highlight a technology-focused program hosted by Kim Komando. Certain weekend time slots are allocated to brokered paid programming. Most hours throughout the week begin with updates on world and national news provided by ABC News Radio.
Up until 2024, a two-hour segment of local news was broadcast at 5 p.m. The evening local sports talk show titled Live, Local and Loud aired until 2022 before being replaced by syndicated talk content.
External links
- FCC History Cards for WDBO (1927–1979)