Original Call Letters: WABU

Originally Licensed: May 28, 1993

Original City of License: Inglis

Original Frequency: 104.3

Origin of Call Letters: Location: Inglis, FLorida

Original Power: 6,000 Watts

Original Location: 

Original Format: Easy Listening/Beautiful Music

Network Affiliation(s): 

History of WIFL
Beginning regular broadcasting on October 1, 1994, WIFL-FM went on the air as WABU with a blend of easy listening and beautiful music, broadcasting 24-hours a day covering Florida’s nature coast. The original owners, Bill and Lucille Lacey from Amarillo, Texas, choose the call letters WAVQ -"The WAVE"- to reflect the station’s coverage which was over most of Florida’s West Coast up and down the Gulf. Although the station is licensed to the small fishing community of Inglis, located about 35-miles West of Ocala, the station primarily serves Crystal River, Spring Hill and West Ocala. Additionally, the Lacey’s had petitioned and received a construction permit for another class A FM - 96.3 - at Yankeetown, Florida, located less than two miles from Inglis. The Yankeetown station - now WXOF-FM - and WAVQ were intended to be a duopoly combo serving Crystal River. Curtis Rich, who was also the mayor of Crystal River, was hired as WAVQ’s first general manager due largely because of Rich’s political ties in the community. Rich had made many business contacts in the community as a political figure, which contributed greatly to the station’s initial success and acceptance in the area. Rich’s daughter was an account executive for cross town WXOF-FM “The Country Fox”. In 1997, the Lacey’s sold WAVQ to Palm Harbor based The Gull Group, owned by former Philadelphia disc jockey Carl Marcocci. The price was $625,000 cash., and the station was added to The Gull Group’s other stations WXOF-FM 106.3 Beverly Hills (now WJQB Spring Hill), WINV-AM 1560 Inverness (now Beverly Hills), WLCC-AM 930 Sarasota, WGUL-AM 860 Dunedin-Tampa Bay and WGUL-FM 96.1 Dade City (Marcocci later sold WGUL-AM and WLCC-AM to Salem Communications for $9.6 million). Once WAVQ was in The Gull Group’s possession, the format became Music Of Your Life, re-broadcasting WGUL-AM-FM in the Tampa Bay area. WAVQ remained in the Gull Group station portfolio for a little over a year before it was sold to C. W. “Bill” Caldwell, former co-owner of WKES-FM (now WPOI-FM 101.5 (“The Point“)  Saint Petersburg-Tampa. The price was $1.3 million cash. Caldwell then donated WAVQ to the Seven Rivers Presbyterian Church, located in Lecanto, Florida, while Caldwell stayed on as a consultant. Just 11 months earlier Caldwell had sold WKES-FM, which he co-owned with the Moody Bible Institute of Chicago, to Paxson Communications Corporation for $35 million. 
Seven Rivers changed the format from Music of Your Life to Religious/Christian Teaching and Talk with the call letters WHGN (We Have Good News). Two years later in 2000, Caldwell purchased non - commercial WXJC-FM 91.9 (Exalting Jesus Christ)  for $650,000 and donated WXJC to Seven Rivers as its second station. The WHGN call letters moved to the 91.9 frequency while the original WHGN became WIFL-FM ("We’re Inglis, Florida"). The new WHGN-FM 91.9 had the ability to make a technical upgrade to 50kw, so the programming moved to the more powerful signal while WIFL-FM began simulating the new WHGN’s programming and was placed on the market for sale. In 2003 Seven Rivers sold both stations. Because of Caldwell’s connections with the Moody Bible Institute, WHGN-FM 91.9 was sold to Moody while WIFL-FM 104.3 was sold to Nature Coast Broadcasting, Incorporated, owned by former Philadelphia CHR programmer Sabatino Cupelli. The price was $525,000. Cupelli reformatted the station as "Jack", known as "WOW 104.3", long before "Jack" became a popular format. The station became an immediate hit in the area, playing the most popular songs from the 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s and today. After a little tweaking, "WOW 104.3" became a full fledged CHR radio station, but, as a CHR, 104.3 never gained the popularity it garnered with its original "Jack" format. Long time radio executive Marc Tyll was brought in as the station’s General Manager to revamp the station and turn it around into a profitable entity once again. The music was once again reformatted as Hot Adult Contemporary and later talk programming was added, known as "Xtreme Talk Radio" www.xtremetalkradio.com. Today WIFL-FM is once again back on track, gaining popularity and playing a variety of hit music from the 70s, 80, 90s, and today with an eclectic mix of talk programming during the mornings and mid-day schedules.

          
From Marc Tyll;
After four years "WOWING" listeners along Florida's Nature Coast and parts of Central Florida, at noon Thursday March 27, 2008 WIFL-FM 104.3 Inglis-Crystal River-Ocala dropped its long running Hot Adult Contemporary music format and heritage moniker "WOW 104" in favor of becoming "Frank 104-Sinatra and More". The new format centers around playing hits from the "Chairman of the Board" himself Frank Sinatra and other hits from the Sinatra era. Nature Coast Broadcasting President and WIFL owner Sab Cupelli announced the change earlier this week by thanking all the listeners and advertisers who had listened to and supported the former "WOW 104" over the years. Cupelli said the change was reflective if the areas most dominate 55+ residents who reside within the station's primary and secondary signal. "The area is made up of predominantly retired seniors and this is their music" Cupelli said.      
104.3 goes from "Wow 104.3" to "Frank 104 and More"  

C. W. “Bill” Caldwell-1998-Station Manager/2003-Station Manager-Seven Rivers Broadcast Ministry

Lisa Cupelli-2004-General Manager/Station Manager/General Sales Manager/2006-CEO/General Manager/Station Manager-Nature Coast Broadcasting, Inc.

Jon Kay (Jon Kubiak)-2004-Mornings/Chief Engineer/Program Director/2006-Operations Manager-Nature Coast Broadcasting, Inc.

Sabitino Cupelli-2006-President-Nature Coast Broadcasting, Inc.

Marc "Tyll" Tillery-2006-General Manager-Nature Coast Broadcasting, Inc.  Biography