JVC Broadcasting has completed the revamp of its recently acquired Panama City FL cluster with the relaunch of Classic Country “Wild Wille 100” WWLY Panama City Beach as “Rebel Radio” at midnight.
Positioning as “Country Music with Grit”, the station is described as “a collective country experience” featuring nearly 3000 songs from the 1960s through mid 2010s including Southern Rock and Country leaning Classic Hits. The station will also feature one live recording per hour and an all live-recording show on Saturday nights.
Program Director Randy Gardner said, “This station launches with close to 3,000 songs because that’s what today’s listeners deserve. Country fans didn’t stop loving great music in one decade. Rebel Radio pulls from the roots, the legends, the anthems, and the modern classics—all without beating the same songs into the ground.”
Market Manager John Griffo stated, “We are doing radio differently than anyone else in this market. Bigger libraries, fewer restrictions, local decision-making, and stations that actually reflect how people listen to music in real life. Rebel Radio isn’t just another country station—it’s a statement about where radio should be heading.”
CEO John Caracciolo commented, “Rebel Radio is about freedom. “Freedom from tiny playlists, freedom from corporate formulas, and freedom from being told what country radio is ‘supposed’ to sound like. We built Rebel Radio to serve real listeners—people who love country music across generations, not just one narrow slice of it.”
He also added, “This may be the last format launch—for now. But we still have one more surprise up our sleeves. JVC has never believed in standing still, and the panhandle hasn’t seen the last of what we’re planning.”
The station’s Facebook logo also features a 106.9 frequency hinting at a future expansion to Fort Walton Beach on what is now Spanish Tropical “La Fiesta 106.9” WFWO Fort Walton Beach.
Since announcing the acquisition of the former Magic Broadcasting cluster last June, JVC flipped “News Talk 101.1” WYOO to a simulcast of its “Florida Man Radio” network, Rock “97X” WYYX to a simulcast of “92.1 The Bone” WBON-FM Destin, and CHR “Island 106” WILN-FM to Variety Hits “105.9 The Wave” WWVV duplicating 102.1 WWAV Fort Walton Beach.
