Bermuda Broadcasting

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The Bermuda Broadcasting Company is the largest broadcasting company in Bermuda. The BBC (not to be confused with the BBC in the UK) is a purely commercial network, and there is no equivalent in Bermuda to PBS or the UK's BBC.

The BBC owns radio stations and TV stations using the call letters "ZFB" and "ZBM". The ZBM callsign in particular is one of the oldest in Bermuda - this callsign has been used since 1953 for an AM radio station, since 1962 for an FM radio station, and was also used, beginning in 1958, for the first Bermudian television station, which gave Bermudians their own TV station for the first time after years of watching a TV channel intended for American servicemen stationed at Kindley Field. ZFB was originally the callsign for the radio and TV stations of the Capital Broadcasting Company from 1965 to 1984. The BBC also owns a website at http://www.bermudabroadcasting.com/, but lately the website has been down.

[edit] Radio

ZFB radio is broadcast on 1230 kHz (transmitter power: 1 kW) and (as Power95 Stereo FM) on 94.9 MHz (ERP: 1 kW). It is mostly an easy-listening station, while Power95 is a bit more on the adult contemporary side. Power95 has been on the air since 1971.

ZBM radio is broadcast on 1340 kHz (transmitter power: 1 kW) and (as FM89) on 89.1 MHz (ERP: 15 kW). While ZBM-AM is more of an adult contemporary station than anything else, FM89 is more of a news/talk station, with some music programming.

[edit] Television

  • ZFB-TV (ch7 (VHF), ch2 (cable)) is the affiliate station for ABC; however, when ZFB used to be part of the Capital Broadcasting Company (no relation to the owners of WRAL-TV in Raleigh, North Carolina), the TV station broadcast on ch8.
  • ZBM-TV (ch9 (VHF), ch3 (cable)) is the affiliate station for CBS; however, when ZBM originally began broadcasting in 1958, it used to be on ch10.

[edit] References


Broadcast television in the Hamilton, Bermuda market

ZFB 7 (ABC/BBCW) - ZBM 9 (CBS) - VSB 11 (NBC/BBCW)
Local cable television channels

Fresh TV - Look TV - Government Information TV
Continental broadcast stations available on cable only

WDIV 4 (NBC, Detroit) - CBLT 5 (CBC, Toronto) - WGN 9 (The CW, Chicago) - WWOR 9 (MNTV, New York) - CHCH 11 (E! Canada, Hamilton ON) - WPIX 11 (The CW, New York) - WPCH 17 (Ind, Atlanta) - WUHF 31 (Fox, Rochester) - WTVS 56 (PBS, Detroit) - CITY 57 (Citytv, Toronto)

See also: Communications in Bermuda