WOBM-FM

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WOBM-FM
WOBM 92.7 logo.png
CityToms River, New Jersey
Broadcast areaOcean County, New Jersey
Frequency92.7 MHz
Branding92.7 WOBM
Programming
FormatAdult contemporary
Ownership
OwnerTownsquare Media
(Townsquare License, LLC)
Sister stations
WOBM, WADB, WCHR-FM, WJLK
History
First air date
March 1, 1968
Call sign meaning
Ocean Burlington Monmouth
Technical information
Facility ID59508
ClassA
ERP1,400 watts
HAAT148 meters (472 ft)
Links
WebcastListen Live
Websitewobm.com

WOBM-FM (92.7 MHz) is a commercial FM radio station known as "Ocean County's Hometown Station," licensed to Toms River and serving Ocean County, New Jersey. It airs an adult contemporary radio format. From late November until December 25 each year, WOBM-FM switches to a Christmas music format.

The station is owned by Townsquare Media, as part of its Shore Group, along with AM 1160 WOBM, FM 94.3 WJLK, 105.7 WCHR-FM and AM 1310 WADB. Shore Group studios are at 8 Robbins Street in Toms River. WOBM-FM's transmitter is in Bayville, New Jersey.

On-Air Staff[]

Current weekday on-air hosts include Shawn Michaels, Sue Moll, Diana Tyler, and JB Wilde.

The WOBM News/Townsquare Media News team includes Vin Ebenau.

History[]

WOBM-FM signed on the air on March 1, 1968 with studios and transmitter on U.S. Route 9 in Berkeley Township. The station celebrated its 50th anniversary on March 1, 2018. For nearly all its time on the air, it has broadcast some form of middle of the road or adult contemporary music format, as well as Ocean County news.

On the station's 50th anniversary, long-time talk show host and former WOBM advertising salesman Bob Levy died at the age of 86.

The slogan "Ocean County's Soft Rock" was changed to "Ocean County's Best Variety" in January 2015.

The outbreak of COVID-19 had an impact on the number of personalities on the station. Full-time personalities, including Sue Moll from the Ocean County Breakfast Show, host various weekend shows.

The longtime "Jersey Shore Flashback Weekend" was renamed to "Feel Good '80s Weekend" in May 2020. The new weekend format launched on Memorial Day weekend and consists of fast, upbeat and feel-good music of the 1980s.

In November 2020, Diana Tyler was repositioned to the evening time slot temporarily hosted by Mark Anthony after the departure of 18 year station veteran Brian Moore in July. "JB" Wilde, was later repositioned to the afternoon time slot formally hosted by Justin Louis for almost 15 years.

In November 2020, 92.7 WOBM's parent company, Townsquare Media, received significant backlash after firing multiple prominent personalities including Justin Louis. Andy Chase, Chris Varacchi, and Liz Jeressi of sister stations 105.7 The Hawk and 94.3 The Point were also fired.[1]

With the exception of one ratings period, the station was a ratings powerhouse for almost ten years. In January 2021, 92.7 WOBM was rated one of the least listened to radio stations in Monmouth and Ocean Counties with a market share of just 2.1. [2]

Topic A with Bob Levy[]

Topic A was a freeform talk program that aired every Sunday on 92.7 WOBM from 7:00am until 10:00am and eventually until 11:00am for almost 40 years by local radio icon Bob Levy. The overall premise of the show was for callers to tell Levy what was on their mind. Often, the callers had a political agenda. Levy was never really political himself, although he identified as a Republican on-air, he was very much a socially moderate.

In 2017, local philanthropist Jeremy Grunin joined the program as Levy's cohost.

Grunin took over the program in 2018 when Levy died and somewhat revamped the show to occasionally include guests.[3]

The show was cancelled in May 2019 after Grunin announced he was stepping down. On his final show, he described a disagreement with station management as his primary reason for leaving the show.[4]

References[]

  1. ^ "4 local N.J. radio personalities fired from their stations". NJ.com. December 2020.
  2. ^ "Radio Ratings - Nielsen".
  3. ^ "Beloved Radio Personality Passes Away". Patch.com. March 2018.
  4. ^ "WOBM's Topic A Radio Show Ends After Almost 40 Years". Patch.com. 19 May 2019.

External links[]

Coordinates: 39°52′30″N 74°09′54″W / 39.875°N 74.165°W / 39.875; -74.165

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