WMOB (1360 AM) was a radio stationlicensed to serve Mobile, Alabama, United States. The station, founded in 1961 as WLIQ, is owned by Dave Minard, through licensee UM Enterprise, LLC.
This station first signed on the air on January 25, 1961, as WLIQ, a 5,000-watt AM station owned by E. W. Jemison and Frank Conwell, a partnership doing business as Jemcon Broadcasting Company.[1] The new station aired an easy listening format.[6] On April 1, 1964, Jemcon Broadcasting Company, Inc., sold WLIQ to Hartzog Broadcasting, Inc., and the broadcast studios were moved to the historic Sheraton Battle House Hotel.[7] The new owners transitioned the station's playlist to a middle of the road music format.[6]
On July 26, 1971, WLIQ was acquired from Hartzog Broadcasting, Inc., by Southland of Alabama, Inc., and moved to new studios.[8] During the 1970s, the station broadcast first a top 40 format, then later a country music format.[6][8]
As WPCY
After nearly 20 years as WLIQ, the station applied and was assigned the call sign WPCY by the Federal Communications Commission on June 30, 1980.[3] A new format accompanied the new call sign as WPCY flipped to talk radio.[6]
In February 1981, Southland of Alabama, Inc., agreed to sell this station to WPCY Broadcasting Company, Inc. The deal was approved by the FCC on February 26, 1981.[9] The new owners put the station up for sale almost immediately and in June 1981 made a deal to sell WPCY to Beacon Broadcasting, Inc. The deal was approved by the FCC on October 14, 1981.[10] As long-lived as the previous call sign had been, the new one would prove short-lived and a change was made to WIXO on November 30, 1981.[3]
WMOB returns
In March 1984, Beacon Broadcasting, Inc., reached an agreement to sell this station to Buddy Tucker Enterprises, Inc. The deal was approved by the FCC on May 4, 1984, and the transaction was consummated on June 27, 1984.[11] The new owners had the FCC change the station's call sign to the historic WMOB, one of the oldest callsigns in Alabama radio.[3] (The original WMOB began broadcasting in 1939 but was shut down in 1949.)[12] In February 1991, Buddy Tucker Enterprises, Inc., applied to the FCC to transfer the broadcast license for WMOB to Buddy Tucker Association, Inc. The transfer was approved by the FCC on February 20, 1991, and the transaction was consummated on April 9, 1991.[13] The station ceased broadcasting on November 22, 2020, citing the owner's advanced age (over 90 years old) as the primary reason.[2]
Effective November 1, 2022, Buddy Tucker Association sold WMOB, sister station WTOF, and translator W239CW to Dave Minard's UM Enterprise, LLC for $100.
^ abc"Directory of AM and FM Radio stations in the U.S.". 1961-1962 Broadcasting Yearbook. Washington, D.C.: Broadcasting Publications, Inc. 1962. p. B-6.
^"Directory of AM and FM Radio stations in the U.S.". 1965 Broadcasting Yearbook. Washington, D.C.: Broadcasting Publications, Inc. 1965. p. B-6.
^ ab"Directory of Radio Stations in the United States and Canada". Broadcasting Yearbook 1979. Washington, D.C.: Broadcasting Publications, Inc. 1979. p. C-7.
^"Directory of Standard Broadcasting Stations of the United States". 1944 Broadcasting-Telecasting Yearbook. Washington, D.C.: Broadcasting Publications, Inc. 1944. p. 74.
