WRSO
 | |
| City | Orlo Vista, Florida |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Greater Orlando |
| Branding | Brasil Radio |
| Slogan | A sua rádio brasileira em Orlando. |
| Frequency | 810 kHz |
| Translator(s) |
|
| First air date | January 2006 (as WEUS) |
| Format | News, talk, sports, Brazilian music |
| Language(s) | Portuguese |
| Power | |
| Class | B |
| Facility ID | 129548 |
| Transmitter coordinates | 28°34′18.00″N 81°26′2.00″W / 28.5716667°N 81.4338889°W |
| Former callsigns | WEUS (2002-2012) |
| Owner |
Star Over Orlando, Inc. (Star Over Orlando, Inc.) |
| Website |
brasilradio |
WRSO (810 AM), also known as Brasil Radio, is a radio station licensed to Orlo Vista, Florida, serving the Orlando area. The station is owned by Star Over Orlando and operated by Cafifa Media Group in partnership with the Grupo Bandeirantes de Comunicação under a local marketing agreement.[1] The station currently broadcasts Brazilian music and local shows and programming broadcast by the Grupo Bandeirantes owned-and-operated radio stations in Brazil, aimed to Brazilians who visit the Orlando parks and for the Portuguese speakers living in the Orlando area.[2]
History
Signing on in January 2006, WEUS went on the air with an oldies format, filling a void created when Clear Channel's WEBG flipped from oldies to a Spanish-language format over a year earlier. WEUS was running the Scott Shannon's "True Oldies Channel" format via satellite through automation. WEUS was also the flagship station for Mike Harvey's syndicated Supergold program, which is based in Orlando. On June 1, 2008, about six months after oldies returned to FM (when WOCL resumed carrying the format), the station changed ownership, as well as formats. The new ownership, Communicomm Corporation of America, was running a hybrid religious format in place of the syndicated oldies format. As such, the station's original big810.com website had been taken offline.
Communicom Corporation eventually broke its lease-management agreement with Star Over Orlando as Communicom's poor business practices resulted on a loss of over $500,000 over an 18-month period. Effective February 1, 2010, the station resumed operation under the management team of owner Carl Como Tutera and Carmine Tutera.
The station began reimaging itself as a local-oriented hot-talk station in mid-2010. During this phase, "The Mancow Experience," "The Ed Tyll Show", "The Shannon Burke Show", "The Doc Show" with former WXXL morning host Doc Holliday; "Alex Jones, "The Todd Schnitt Show, "The Free Radicals" with hosts Whit Kincaid and John Kurtz; "The Train Wreck with Tim Vestite"; "The Nick and Artie Lange Show" and "The Phil Hendrie Show" all aired on the station at one time or another. WEUS also aired "The People Power Revolution with George Crossley & John Hamilton" until Crossley's death in September 2010. The station aired a growing number of locally based programs throughout the weekend, including "Out N About" (later The Qiew), which was a two-hour program targeting the LGBT communities in Central Florida. The station also aired "The Spry Show", "Alt.Classics," the only classic alternative, indie, punk and new wave music program on Central Florida radio, as well as "The Nick Carioti Show" which discusses real estate, business and politics. Throughout some of this time, the station also played a satellite-based oldies music feed during off peak hours on the weekends.
In early 2011, the station began a billboard campaign touting its talk lineup, including a controversial billboard showing Shannon Burke holding a smoking microphone with the slogan "Listen or Else."[3] This caused a stir amongst local women's abuse groups due to an incident wherein Burke accidentally discharged a gun in his home; the bullet hit his dog and grazed his wife's head. Burke and the station insisted that the smoking microphone (an Electro-Voice RE-20 which in no way resembles a gun) referenced the "hot talk" on Burke's show. Clear Channel Outdoors had placed a number of the billboards before removing the Burke boards due to apparent pressure from local groups. A reworked image appeared on CBS billboards.
With the demise of smooth jazz WLOQ-FM, WEUS was one of the last of the independently owned radio stations in the Central Florida market.
Current station
On May 31, 2012, MultiCorp International, Inc./XTend Medical Corporation announced plans to acquire WEUS by entering into a Lease Management Agreement, (LMA), and purchasing the station within two years from Star Over Orlando.[4] On June 8, 2012, WEUS changed their call letters to WRSO. The station changed to a sports format when the new ownership started on July 30, 2012. When the station re-formatted, Doc Holliday's show became "The Doc Show on Sports".
On January 2, 2013, new management of WRSO re-launched as "810 CBS Sports Radio Orlando", picking up CBS Sports Radio, with Doc Holliday's show from 10 A.M.-Noon weekdays. This switch coincided with the shift of The Jim Rome Show from syndication through Premiere Radio Networks to being a component of CBS Sports Radio, resulting in the show moving to WRSO from WYGM.
In September 2013, Star Over Orlando took back control and operation of the station after MultiCorp International/Rivalz Sports Group apparently ended the Lease Management Agreement. Star Over Orlando also announced that they had received FCC approval to double the daytime power and increase the night-time power from 400 watts to 1,000 watts, and that WRSO also will be operating a translator on 93.1 with 250 watts in Orlando. The station remained a CBS Sports affiliate.
On March 1, 2016, WRSO changed their format to Brazilian music/talk programming.
Translators
| Call sign | Frequency (MHz) | City of license | Facility ID | ERP W | Height m (ft) | Class | Transmitter coordinates | FCC info |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W226BT | 93.1 | Orlando, Florida | 156791 | 99 | 0 m (0 ft) | D | 28°32′23″N 81°22′46″W / 28.53972°N 81.37944°W | FCC |
| W231CT | 94.1 | Orlando, Florida | 157706 | 250 | 0 m (0 ft) | D | 28°41′21.4″N 81°20′56.8″W / 28.689278°N 81.349111°W | FCC |
References
- ↑ Luis Gustavo Pacete (February 11, 2016). "A estratégia do Grupo Bandeirantes nos EUA" (in Portuguese). Meio&Mensagem. Retrieved March 12, 2016.
- ↑ Carlos Massaro (March 9, 2016). "Grupo Bandeirantes anuncia estreia oficial da Brasil Radio nos Estados Unidos" (in Portuguese). Tudo Rádio. Retrieved March 9, 2016.
- ↑ "Shannon Burke billboard comes down". Orlando Sentinel. 3 February 2011. Retrieved 29 December 2015.
- ↑ "MultiCorp International, Inc./XTend Medical Corporation (XMDC) Acquires WEUS 810AM Radio Station in Orlando, FL". Reuters. 31 May 2012. Retrieved 29 December 2015.
External links
- Official website (Portuguese)
- Brasil Radio on Instagram
- Central Florida Radio: WRSO 810
- James Timothy White
- Query the FCC's AM station database for WRSO
- Radio-Locator Information on WRSO
- Query Nielsen Audio's AM station database for WRSO
- Query the FCC's FM station database for W226BT
- Radio-Locator information on W226BT
- Query the FCC's FM station database for W231CT
- Radio-Locator information on W231CT