WHPT - A History
WHPT-FM 102.5 Sarasota – Lowell “Bud” Paxson, president of Paxson Communications, negotiated the sale of Sarasota’s The Wave 102.5 WHVE from Susquehanna Radio in 1991, and flipped it to 102-5 The Point WHPT. It also had a new format – Adult Album Alternative, or AAA.
Paxson sold WHPT to Clear Channel in 1997, which sold it to Cox Radio two years later. Cox dumped the alternative format, switched it to classic rock, and branded it The New 102.5. In 2003, WHPT became 102-5 The Bone.
On April 23, 2012, Cox dropped the classic rock format and WHPT became a Tampa Bay FM all-talk station (Real. Raw. Radio.) in the mold of its biggest star at that time, morning shock jock Todd “Bubba the Love Sponge” Clem.
Today (2015) the 100,000-watt station broadcasts from studios on 4th Street North in St. Petersburg. Its transmitter/tower site is located in southeast Manatee County near Myakka City.
Names in the history of 102.5 The Point include Drew Rashbaum (GM), Bob Cummings (PD), and on-air staffers Nick Van Cleve, Carson Cooper, Cynthia Clark, Tammy Jett, Mark Kreuger, Tim Kelly, Tim Harper, and Kevin Mitchell (music director).
Names in the history of classic rock 102.5 The Bone include Keith Lawless (VP/GM), Jay O’Connor (market manager), Michael “Shark” Sharkey (PD), Bubba the Love Sponge (Todd Clem, mornings), Slater (middays, then nights), Ledge (middays), Mike “Cowhead” Calta (afternoons), and Kelly (nights).
Names in the history of Real. Raw. Radio.102.5 The Bone include Todd “Bubba the Love Sponge” Clem (mornings), Drew Garabo (10am-12n), Billy Madison (12n-3pm), Mike “Cowhead” Calta (afternoons), Matt “Spice” Lloyd (7pm-10pm), and Nick & Artie (Nick DiPaolo and Artie Lange, 10pm-1am).
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Station History
1991 - 2015 Other Tampa Bay Area Stations (History)
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