WSB-FM
WSB-FM ("
B98.5FM") is an
Atlanta radio station that plays
adult contemporary music (AC). Along with several other Atlanta radio stations, WSB-FM is owned by
Cox Enterprises' publicly-traded
subsidiary Cox Radio, and is the group's flagship FM station. It is the only
Atlanta FM radio station to continue to share a
callsign with local TV and AM radio stations (
WSB AM and
WSB-TV), and one of the few such triopolies (under the same ownership) left in the entire U.S.
Following in the footsteps of pioneer WSB-AM, WSB-FM was the first FM station in the Southeast, debuting originally on 104.5 FM in
1948. After Cox acquired the
Atlanta Constitution, WSB-FM went silent in
1952, and returned a few years later on 98.5 FM.
The station has been an
adult contemporary music station since
1980. However, from late
2000 until the fall of
2003, the station played AC on
weekdays and
1980s music on
weekends. This ended when WMAX-FM (now
WBZY) became an all-80s station. During the holiday seasons in 2004 and 2005, the station played all-
Christmas music from
Thanksgiving to
Christmas.
When WSB-FM changed to AC from
beautiful music in 1980, the station initially broadcast under the branding "WSB 99 FM", shifting to "WSB 98.5" due to an
Arbitron ratings clash with WARM (now
WNNX) 99.7 in the mid-1980s. Later in the 1980s, the station adopted its present branding, "B98.5FM".
The station plays over 90 minutes of
radio commercial-free music each weekday at 9AM. B98.5's primary "listen at work"
competitor is
WLTM, "
94.9 Lite FM".
WSB's current HD-2 service is a throwback to their 'beautiful music' days.
Along with WLTM, WSB-FM is the
primary entry point (PEP) for
Emergency Alert System messages for the
state of Georgia. In an
emergency, the two stations receive alerts via secure networks directly from the
U.S. president, the Georgia Emergency Managment Agency, and the
National Weather Service. All other
broadcast stations and
cable TV systems in
metro Atlanta must monitor these two stations at all times with their EAS equipment. Alerts are then
relayed across the state by other stations.
WSB-FM shares a
tower with
WPBA TV 30, and in fact shares the same
antenna with
WSTR FM 94.1 and
WVEE FM 103.3. The three stations'
transmitters are
diplexed together, so that they all feed to the antenna instead of into each other.
A planned merger of GE and Cox in the late 70s almost caused WSB-FM to be spun off to Ragan Henry with plans to take the WEZA calls.
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B98.5FM homepage
