Focus on Mobile: WABB leaves, WABD enters, and W262BL surprises

It's 1 March 2012, and WABB is no more.  The station hosted a 12 hour loop of clips from the station's history, going all the way back to the late 50s and WABB-AM 1480.  The last 5.5 hours, including the flip to K-Love, are available here.  At midnight, K-Love faded in, right in the middle of a song.  Their first legal ID came shortly after, mention the new calls, WLVM, and also the legal ID for WKPF Navarre, which implies they're being simulcasted off one another.  The actual ID reads "WLVM Mobile-Pascagoula, WKPF Navarre-Pensacola".

I contacted EMF yesterday and they said they had no immediate plans for WKPF and that it and WLVM will simulcast K-Love for the time being.

As one CHR leaves Mobile, another makes a stumbling entrance: former WYOK "Jack FM" dropped the variety hits format half an hour before midnight for a tolling bell.  At midnight their new CHR format debuted with LMFAO's "Party Rock Anthem".  The imaging is done by the same person who appears to have done the failed i100 imaging, as well as work on the current Journey 100 format of WJLQ.  The music was heavy on currents and repetitive, but it's overnight and work will be done yet to improve the delivery.  The station's calls are now WABD, an obvious nod to WABB and/or Bernie Dittman; the station logo is a carbon copy of WABB's logo.  One major flub that got through was a promo for a Christ Daughtry concert that mentioned "Q100" — Cumulus' Atlanta CHR station.  One technical note: WABD has a pending application to slightly lower antenna height, and re-license to Saraland from Atmore.

Finally, lost amongst all the farewells and goodbyes for WABB is word that Red Mountain Broadcasting has bought a tiny little translator in Gulf Shores — W262BL.  The license is for all of one watt from downtown Gulf Shores.  An application is pending to move to what appears to be the WKRG-TV tower in Spanish Fort, with a height of 1414 feet and a full 250 watts.  That will cover some serious territory, for a translator.  The parent station is listed, for now, as WHIL-HD2.  There is no HD broadcast on WHIL.

Red Mountain Broadcasting is the name on several central Alabama translators, some of which relay HD-2 channels from various Clear Channel properties in Birmingham.  Could WNTM-FM be waiting in the wings?