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W258CB (99.5 FM) is a radio station translator in Greenville, South Carolina. Owned by Tower Above Media, and operated by SummitMedia, the station simulcasts an all-Christmas music music format branded as Star 99.5 from an HD Radio subchannel of SummitMedia's WJMZ-FM.

History

W258CB began broadcasting at 97.7 FM as W249CB in December 2007 in Six Mile, re-broadcasting WLFJ-FM HD-3, which in turn was a simulcast of WHRZ-LP in Spartanburg, which carried a Christian Contemporary format. In August 2011, the station filed an application to move to Paris Mountain in Greenville, with an upgrade from 190 watts to 250 watts, allowing the station to cover Greenville County, as well as portions of neighboring Pickens and Spartanburg counties. The new location and stronger signal gave the station an impressive coverage area for a translator, helped by the location of the antenna on a mountain. After the request was granted, construction began on the new transmitter site in Greenville. The move was made official in early 2012.

On December 16, 2011, the station began operating from the new site under a construction permit. The religious format, however, did not move with the signal; on that day, 97.7 FM signed on with a variety hits format known as 97.7 Chuck FM, simulcast from an HD Radio subchannel of Cox Media Group-owned WJMZ-FM.

On July 20, 2012, Cox Radio announced the sale of its mid-market stations, including WJMZ and its lease of W249CB, to SummitMedia $66.25 million. The sale was consummated on May 3, 2013.

On August 19, 2016, the translator moved to 99.5 FM. The translator changed its call sign to W258CB on August 30, 2016. On December 27, 2017, the station relaunched under the Jack FM brand, with no change in format.

On June 1, 2021, W258CB shifted to classic hits, and rebranded as Awesome 99.5.

On April 28, 2023, at 3 p.m., after signing off the "Awesome" format with an hour of songs themed around departure in some fashion (ending with "End of the Road" by Boyz II Men), the station flipped to urban contemporary as "Streetz 99.5", launching with "Players" by Coi Leray. The format was to serve as a flanker for sister station WHZT against, most notably, Audacy's "The Block" translator trimulcast in the market.

On November 29, 2024, the station dropped the “Streetz” branding and Urban Contemporary format for Christmas music, branded as “Star 99.5” with the syndicated Murphy, Sam, and Jodi morning show. Patterned after sister station KSRZ, the station is expected to segue to an adult contemporary format after the Christmas holiday, filling the void left by WSPA-FM’s sale and subsequent flip to a Regional Mexican format in April 2024.

References

1. "Facility Technical Data for W258CB". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
2. Chuck Hits Greenville, SC
3. "Cox Puts Clusters up for Sale".
4. "Cox Sells Stations in Six Markets to Two Groups".
5. Venta, Lance (August 12, 2016). "Greenville's Chuck-FM On The Move". Radio Insight. Retrieved August 12, 2016.
6. "Chuck Thrown Out Of Building As Jack Enters Greenville". RadioInsight. 2017-12-27. Retrieved 2017-12-28.
7. Greenville Gets Awesome on 99.5
8. SummitMedia Takes Awesome 99.5 to The Streetz
9. A New Star in Greenville

External links

• Star 99.5 Official Website
• Facility details for Facility ID 156241 (W258CB) in the FCC Licensing and Management System
• W258CB at FCCdata.org

• Radio stations in South Carolina
• Adult contemporary radio stations in the United States
• Radio stations established in 2007
• 2007 establishments in South Carolina