WPBB (98.7 FM broadcasting) is a radio station licensed to Holmes Beach, Florida, and serving the Tampa Bay media market. It is owned by K-Love Inc., and airs a Christian adult contemporary radio format branded as "K-Love".
WPBB's transmitter is off San Martin Blvd in St. Petersburg.
On August 19, 2009, at 5 p.m., "WiLD 98.7" and "Smooth Jazz 94.1 WSJT" switched frequencies, with 94.1 becoming "WiLD 94.1" and 98.7 becoming "Smooth Jazz 98.7 WSJT". Under the ownership of CBS Radio, the smooth jazz format evolved into a format known as smooth AC, a mix of urban AC and soft AC with a few instrumental jazz songs included.
Due to low ratings with "Play", CBS Radio announced on June 20, 2012, that WSJT would flip to sports talk in August, branded as "The Fan". On July 25, 2012, CBS said it would debut the new format on August 2.
On that day, at 11 a.m., "Play" signed off with "Closing Time" by Semisonic, and 98.7 FM began a half hour of stunting with songs usually played at sports games, followed by a half-hour long monologue of the history of sports teams in the Tampa Bay area, which would lead into the official launch of "The Fan" at Noon. At the same time as the format flip, WSJT changed call letters to WHFS-FM. The WHFS call letters were held by former sister station WUUB in West Palm Beach and were heritage call letters for a long-time alternative rock station in the Washington, DC/Baltimore, Maryland area. The station simulcast on sister station WHFS (1010 AM) until January 3, 2013, when the AM became a 24/7 affiliate of the new CBS Sports Radio network. WHFS-FM held the rights to carry University of South Florida sports in the Tampa Bay area.
On December 4, 2014, Beasley released the entire "Fan" airstaff, and at 3 p.m. that day, following The Jim Rome Show, the station dropped the sports format and began stunting with Christmas music as "The New 98.7". On December 26, the station shifted its stunting to a broad mix of music from different genres. Farewell to the Fan; 98.7 drops Sports format, Tampa Bay Times, December 5, 2014 98.7 The Fan Signs Off from Format Change Archive December 4, 2014
After months of speculation, longtime local morning personality Bubba the Love Sponge returned to the Tampa airwaves on 98.7 FM on January 5, the same day his non-compete with Cox Radio ended. Bubba's show aired live from 6 to 10 a.m. After Bubba's return show on the 5th, the station began airing repeats of the program the rest of the day, while the station built a permanent format outside of his show. On February 2, at 10 a.m., the station debuted a Rock-leaning Variety Hits format billed as "Bubba 98.7", which featured a mix of current and recent rock songs, along with selections of older music personally picked by Bubba himself. The first song played under the new format was AC/DC's "It's a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock 'n' Roll)". The station's call sign changed to WBRN-FM on February 4.
On December 9, 2015, WBRN-FM rebranded as "98.7 No Rules Rock". WBRN-FM Drops Bubba 98.7 Branding Radioinsight - December 9, 2015
On January 5, 2017, at 5:45 p.m., WBRN-FM officially flipped to adult contemporary as "B98.7", with "Hello" by Adele being the first song played. Chadd and Kristi Thomas, long-time morning hosts on new rival WWRM, resigned the week prior from that station, and began hosting mornings on "B" beginning February 6, and voice-tracking the station's 10,000 songs in a row launch until that date.
On February 1, 2017, WBRN-FM changed call letters to WPBB to match their new branding, though the station had been identifying itself as WPBB since late January.
At 10 p.m. on September 28, 2025, “The Shark” signed off with “Closing Time” by Semisonic, and WPBB went silent. The next morning, the station returned to the air broadcasting “K-Love” programming. On September 29, 2025, K-Love affiliate WKVZ filed an application with the FCC to exchange its call letters with WPBB.
|
|