The station signed on in 1963 as WTAN-FM with an easy listening format, operating as an adjunct to its then-sister station, WTAN AM 1340. In the mid-1970s, the station became WOKF with a disco/dance format as "OK96", and later with the "Supermix 96" and "96 Fever" brandings. In 1980, after the death of disco, the station flipped to adult contemporary as WCKX, "96KX" (pronounced "96 Kicks"). In 1982, it re-branded as "Magic 96" with the WMGG call letters. In 1985, it re-branded again as "W-Lite 95.7" with the WNLT call letters, which later changed to "Lite Rock 95.7". On November 2, 1990, the station changed to hot AC as "Mix 96" with the WMTX call letters.[1][2][3] On August 4, 1997, the station changed to modern AC as "Star 95.7" with the WSSR call letters.[4][5]
On October 27, 2003, at 5 p.m., after stunting with a loop of directing listeners to sister stations WFLZ, WMTX and WXTB, WSSR flipped to urban contemporary as 95.7 the Beat, WBTP.[6][7][8] It remained jockless for nearly the first four months and received lukewarm reception from the African American community of the area. The station would compete against rhythmic contemporary-formatted WLLD, and would closely beat or come close to them in the Tampa radio market ratings starting in late 2004, though not consistently. For example, WLLD claimed a ratings victory for Summer 2006 by .3 rating points, according to Arbitron.[9] Former competition came from urban AC-formatted WTMP, which flipped to a Spanish tropical format in September 2011.
In January 2019, WBTP began to add more classic tracks to its playlist, in preparation for the relaunch of WMTX-HD2's Throwback Tampa Bay under a new format.[10]
Former 95.7 The Beat colors from 2019-2021.
As of October 1, 2019, WBTP-HD2 flipped from Quiet Storm to alternative rock as "Alt 95-7 HD2". The following day, WBTP added a third HD Radio subchannel, broadcasting a simulcast of AM sister station WDAE. On June 25, 2020, WBTP-HD2's alternative rock format was relocated to WXTB-HD3 as "Alt 98"; concurrently, WBTP-HD2 began airing iHeart's new African-American focused "Black Information Network" all-news radio service.
While WBTP would continue to have some ratings success, including ranking second with a 6.2 share of the market in the December 2016 ratings, the station's ratings would decline gradually over the next eight years. It dropped to 16th (a 3.2 share) in December 2018, rose to 13th place (3.4 share) in May 2021, and then to 18th place (1.3 share) by May 2024. The station shifted from a mix of hip hop and adult R&B music to a more standard hip hop-based playlist in May 2021, and would face further competition upon the launch of urban AC-formatted WTBV in September 2023.[11][12]
On July 17, 2024, at 3 p.m., after playing "Back That Thang Up" by Juvenile, WBTP began stunting with a loop of the playlist of Bad Bunny, while also promoting a new 'Beat' to debut on sister station WRUB (106.5 FM) and the launch of a new Spanish-language format on WBTP at noon the following day. At that time, WBTP's urban format moved to WRUB (and shifted to classic hip hop), while WRUB's Spanish-language contemporary hits format moved to 95.7 FM as "Rumba 95.7". The first two songs on "Rumba" were "Dakiti" (also by Bad Bunny) and "Relación" by Sech. The two stations would swap callsigns on July 29.[13][14]
