WWKB

WWKB
Broadcast areaWestern New York
Frequency1520 kHz
BrandingThe Bet Buffalo
Programming
FormatSports gambling
Affiliations
Ownership
Owner
History
First air date
October 1926; 98 years ago (1926-10)
Former call signs
WKBW (1926–1986)
Former frequencies
  • 827 kHz (1926–1927)
  • 980 kHz (1927)
  • 1010 kHz (1927)
  • 1380 kHz (1927–1928)
  • 1470 kHz (1928–1930)
  • 1480 kHz (1930–1941)
Call sign meaning
Nod to previous WKBW call sign
Technical information[1]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID34383
ClassA
Power50,000 watts unlimited
Transmitter coordinates
42°46′10.21″N 78°50′33.12″W / 42.7695028°N 78.8425333°W / 42.7695028; -78.8425333
Links
Public license information
WebcastListen live (via Audacy)
Websitewww.audacy.com/thebetbuffalo

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]

  1. ^ "Facility Technical Data for WWKB". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  2. ^ Radio-Locator.com/WWKB