[BC] Call sign strangeness

[Broadcast List USER]

Then there is WWKB, Buffalo.  WKBW was a very popular AM Top-40
station in the day.  I used to listen to them at night.  Eventually,
they suffered from many format changes, and poor ratings.  I tuned in
maybe a year ago, and there they were, calling themselves WKBW, and
running a fairly broad Top-40 like format, but with oldies.  Only at
the top of the hour did they call themselves WWKB.

They are now talk again, and while I haven't listened, but the web
site is back to being entirely WWKB.

I believe they were forced to give up the call letters when the TV
and AM separated.

The same thing happened in DC, when NBC sold of WRC-AM.  NBC kept the
call letters for the O&O, so the radio got WWRC as call letters.
They also called themselves WRC except at the top of the hour.

Illegal?  I don't think so.  Look at all the stations that position
themselves as X-104, or Q-107 (pick your frequency), using only one
letter from the call sign.  Then again, calling the station WKBW when
it is, in fact, WWKB is pushing it pretty hard.  "Well, it's a grey
area."  "How gray?"  "Charcoal."

--chip

On Feb 28, 2009, at 8:32 PM, broadcast-request at radiolists.net wrote:

>Message: 5
>From: Ron Youvan <ka4inm at tampabay.rr.com>
>
>>IIRC, the FCC frowns deeply upon unauthorized use of unassigned call
>>signs of any ilk.
>[...]
>http://www.wwba1040.com/  and http://www.820wwba.com/
>    This may be "illegal," but it is common in central Florida.  I
>never
>thought this would be a problem as long as they identify them self
>properly with their "legal ID" as required.