WDBO FM 96.5

Operating at 580 kHz on the AM dial, this commercial talk radio station holds the distinction of being Central Florida's oldest radio station, having signed on May 24, 1924. Its programming is also carried on FM translator W297BB at 107.3 MHz, giving it broader reach across the Orlando metropolitan area. The station is owned by Cox Media Group, with studios and offices on North John Young Parkway and a transmitter off West Kennedy Boulevard in Maitland. The transmitter operates at 5,000 watts with a non-directional signal during daytime hours, switching to a directional two-tower array at night to protect co-channel stations. The station's history spans a century of American broadcasting evolution. It was originally licensed to Rollins College in Winter Park, and by 1933 had settled on the 580 kHz frequency. In 1935, power was increased from 250 to 1,000 watts. The station affiliated with CBS Radio during the Golden Age of Radio, carrying dramas, comedies, news, sports, soap operas, and big band programming. In 1949, a companion FM signal was launched on 92.3 MHz as a simulcast, and in 1954, the broadcast group added WDBO-TV as the first television station in Central Florida. As network programming migrated to television through the 1950s, the station transitioned to a middle-of-the-road format blending popular adult music, news, and sports. It joined ABC News Radio and gradually expanded its talk programming through subsequent decades. By 1984, music had been dropped entirely in favor of a full talk format, which the station has continued to develop and refine as talk radio's audience profile evolved through the cable news era.