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WBFB

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Coordinates: 44°42′12″N 69°4′47″W / 44.70333°N 69.07972°W / 44.70333; -69.07972 (WBFB)
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WBFB
Broadcast areaPenobscot County, Maine
Frequency97.1 MHz
Branding97.1 The Bear
Programming
FormatCountry
Affiliations
Ownership
Owner
  • Blueberry Broadcasting
  • (Blueberry Broadcasting, LLC)
WBAK, WBFE, WKSQ, WTOS, WVOM-FM
History
First air date
March 15, 1961; 63 years ago (1961-03-15)
Former call signs
  • WABI-FM (1961–1973)
  • WBGW (1973–1986)
  • WYOU-FM (1986–1995)
  • WWBX (1995–2008)
  • WAEI (2008–2009)
  • WAEI-FM (2009–2011)
Call sign meaning
Belfast Bear (format originally started on 104.7 FM, licensed to Belfast)
Technical information[1]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID3671
ClassB
ERP6,500 watts
HAAT375 meters (1,230 ft)
Transmitter coordinates
44°42′12″N 69°4′47″W / 44.70333°N 69.07972°W / 44.70333; -69.07972 (WBFB)
Repeater(s)99.1 WBFE (Bar Harbor)
103.3 WMCM (Rockland)
Links
Public license information
WebcastListen live
Websitewww.971thebear.com

WBFB (97.1 FM, "97-1 The Bear") is a commercial radio station in Bangor, Maine. The station is owned by Blueberry Broadcasting and airs a country music radio format, simulcast on sister stations WBFE in Bar Harbor and WMCM in Rockland.

The transmitter is off Maine State Route 9 in Dixmont, Maine, using the same tower as WABI-TV.[2] The studios and offices are on Target Industrial Circle in Bangor.[3]

WBFB begins each weekday with the syndicated, Nashville-based Bobby Bones Show from Premiere Networks. Local disc jockeys handle the other hours of the day. On Sunday mornings, Bob Kingsley's Country Top 40 is heard. Car races from the Motor Racing Network are heard on some weekends. After the Bobby Bones Show wraps up, WBFB promises to play nine songs in a row without commercial interruption, throughout the day. It also uses an electronic female voice to list the artist and title of every song when they conclude.

History

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WABI-FM

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The 97.1 frequency has a long history in Bangor, signing on the air on March 15, 1961.[4] The original call sign was WABI-FM, owned by the Community Broadcasting Service. Community Broadcasting also owned WABI (now WTOS) and WABI-TV. WABI-FM initially simulcast WABI.

"Big Country"

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In the 1970s, as more people began owning radios that received FM signals, Community Broadcasting decided to make a change on WABI-FM. On March 1, 1973, the station became "Big Country" WBGW, airing an automated country music format.[5][6] The WBGW call sign stood for "Bangor Goes Western".[7]

Community Broadcasting Service merged with Journal Publications in 1971 to form Diversified Communications.[8] The company's broadcasting division retained the Community Broadcasting Service name until 1982, when WBGW was transferred to Diversified directly.[9] The call letters were changed to WYOU-FM in October 1986,[10] with no change in format; the WYOU call sign, which Diversified had acquired earlier in the year, was shared with the company's television station in Scranton, Pennsylvania.[7]

Diversified announced in 1993 that it would put most of its broadcasting properties, including WYOU and WABI, up for sale.[11] While it would retain WABI-TV following the collapse of a deal to sell it to Vision Communications,[12] the radio stations were sold to Bangor Radio Corporation.[11][13]

WWBX

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In October 1995, WYOU adopted an alternative rock format, "97-X", aimed at Generation X;[14] the call sign would change to WWBX on November 20.[15] The format did not attain sufficient support from advertisers,[16] leading WWBX to move to modern adult contemporary programming from ABC Radio Networks in February 1997;[16][17] that April, the station shifted to a soft adult contemporary format,[18] which included a simulcast of George Hale's WABI radio morning show.[19] WWBX and WABI were sold to Gopher Hill Broadcasting in 1997.[20]

WWBX was instrumental in storm coverage during the North American ice storm of 1998. Morning host Michael W. Hale made the decision to suspend the music format and allow open phones and dialogue to help those with no power. The station allowed listeners from central and eastern Maine to call in and share stories of prior storms, survival tips and to let people know they were still waiting for power. Hale was so inundated with calls, the station effectively became a talk station for a time. Les Newsome, Cindy Michaels (who later worked at WVII-TV), Ted Wallace, Dave Glidden and Rob "On The Radio" Rosewall kept WWBX listeners informed about efforts to restore power and services. Inbound calls for help and assistance were so many, volunteers came to the station to take calls. The station than returned to its regular format after power was restored.

In September 1998, the format was again changed to Top 40, with an on-air slogan of "B97". The station was a quick success, giving cross-town rival WBZN new competition. The ratings were often close, with DJs from both stations involved in a friendly rivalry.

Clear Channel Communications bought WWBX and WABI in 2001 for $3.75 million.[21] Clear Channel (today iHeartMedia) owned the two stations for five years. The company announced on November 16, 2006, that it would sell its Bangor stations.[22] WWBX and WABI were bought by Blueberry Broadcasting in 2008.[23]

Sports radio

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On September 1, 2008, WWBX dropped the top 40 format in favor of sports talk provided by Boston's WEEI. Programming was also simulcast on WABI. The FM call letters were changed to WAEI.[24] The call letters were modified to WAEI-FM in February 2009, in order to install the WAEI call letters on WABI.[25] Though WAEI-AM-FM carried WEEI's talk shows, most game broadcasts were not aired on 97.1 or AM 910. However, they were the flagship stations of the Maine Black Bears Network from 2008 until 2011, when WAEI-FM was replaced by sister station WKSQ (WAEI's AM frequency remained a co-flagship).[26]

Blueberry Broadcasting ended WAEI's affiliation with WEEI on January 11, 2010.[27][28] WEEI programming was replaced with Fox Sports Radio, Imus in the Morning, and The Jim Rome Show.[28][29] Blueberry cited a breach of contract.[28]

"The Bear"

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Blueberry Broadcasting swapped the formats and call signs of WAEI-FM and WBFB (104.7 FM) on September 1, 2011. WBFB's "Bear" country music programming moved to 97.1, in effect returning the format to the frequency after a sixteen-year absence.[30] (WAEI-FM 104.7 became classic hits station WBAK the following February, leaving the sports format on WAEI's 910 AM frequency.)

The "Bear" country format originated on the 104.7 FM frequency on September 20, 1996, replacing top 40 station WWFX ("Fox 104.7");[31][32] the first song was "Gone Country" by Alan Jackson. The change, which gave rival WQCB its first competition since WYOU-FM became WWBX a year earlier,[31] came soon after WWFX was sold by Group H Radio to Star Broadcasting, a company owned by Mark Osborne and Natalie Knox (current owners of WNSX) that already owned WKSQ and WLKE.[33] The format change was intended to minimize overlap with WKSQ's playlist.[34] The WWFX call letters were replaced with WBFB on April 25, 1997 after the station attempted to obtain the WEBR call sign.[35]

Osborne and Knox sold WBFB, WKSQ, and WLKE to Communications Capital Managers in February 2000;[36] that July, CCM announced that it would sell the group (which through other purchases also included WBYA, WGUY, and WVOM) to Clear Channel.[37] Blueberry Broadcasting bought the station along with the other Clear Channel stations in Maine in 2008;[23] on September 28, 2009, WBFB began simulcasting on WLKE and WMCM, replacing their separate country formats. (WLKE would change its call letters to WBFE in 2013.) WBFB moved to 97.1 FM, swapping with WAEI-FM, on September 1, 2011.[30]

References

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  1. ^ "Facility Technical Data for WBFB". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  2. ^ Radio-Locator.com/WBFB
  3. ^ 971thebear.com/contact-us
  4. ^ Broadcasting Yearbook 1963 page B-81
  5. ^ Broadcasting Yearbook 1974 (PDF). 1974. p. B-93. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 8, 2010. Retrieved March 13, 2010.
  6. ^ "Country-Western FM To Start March 1". Bangor Daily News. January 29, 1973. Retrieved June 7, 2010.
  7. ^ a b "Country music station has new call letters". Maine Weekend Bangor Daily News. September 27–28, 1988. p. 11. Retrieved February 14, 2024.
  8. ^ "Publication Firm, TV Unit Merge". Bangor Daily News. January 21, 1971. Retrieved June 3, 2010.
  9. ^ "Application Search Details (1)". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved June 7, 2010.
  10. ^ "(WAEI-FM) Call Sign History". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved February 24, 2009.
  11. ^ a b Kekacs, Andrew (December 15, 1993). "Upheaval in Bangor Radio, TV". Bangor Daily News. Retrieved June 3, 2010.
  12. ^ "Hildreth heirs to keep WABI-TV". Bangor Daily News. May 28, 1994. Retrieved June 3, 2010.
  13. ^ "Application Search Details (2)". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved March 13, 2010.
  14. ^ Nash, John (October 20, 1995). "WYOU tunes in to Bangor's Generation X". Bangor Daily News. p. A7. Retrieved February 15, 2024.
  15. ^ "Call Letter Changes". The M Street Journal. November 29, 1995. p. 6.
  16. ^ a b McGarrigle, Dale (February 24, 1997). "Potential advertisers not in tune with 97-X's grunge music format". Bangor Daily News. pp. C7–C8. Retrieved February 15, 2024.
  17. ^ "Format Changes & Updates". The M Street Journal. February 26, 1997. p. 1.
  18. ^ "Format Changes & Updates". The M Street Journal. April 30, 1997. p. 2.
  19. ^ McGarrigle, Dale (April 22, 1997). "Bangor station WWBX goes 'lite'". Bangor Daily News. p. C3. Retrieved February 15, 2024.
  20. ^ Fybush, Scott (July 10, 1997). "On and Off the Air". North East RadioWatch. Retrieved June 4, 2010.
  21. ^ Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 2003-2004 page B-212
  22. ^ Fybush, Scott (November 20, 2006). "Dark Days All Around". NorthEast Radio Watch. Retrieved June 3, 2010.
  23. ^ a b Fybush, Scott (May 5, 2008). "The Sales Market Heats Up". NorthEast Radio Watch. Retrieved March 13, 2010.
  24. ^ "WEEI Sports Radio Network Expands to Portland, Bangor & Keene" (PDF) (Press release). Entercom Communications. August 20, 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 6, 2009. Retrieved August 20, 2008.
  25. ^ "(WAEI) Call Sign History". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved February 24, 2009.
  26. ^ Mahoney, Larry (June 14, 2011). "KISS 94.5 FM to join WAEI in broadcasting Maine games". Bangor Daily News. Retrieved February 6, 2012.
  27. ^ Heslam, Jessica (January 14, 2010). "Lawrence pastor 'proud' of Conan O'Brien". Boston Herald. Retrieved January 14, 2010. "Unfortunately, our affiliate in Bangor chose to end its contract with us (Tuesday)," said WEEI program director Jason Wolfe.
  28. ^ a b c Neff, Andrew (January 16, 2010). "Bangor stations drop WEEI". Bangor Daily News. Retrieved January 17, 2010.[permanent dead link‍]
  29. ^ "Bangor Affiliates Drop WEEI Programming". All Access. January 14, 2010. Retrieved January 14, 2010.
  30. ^ a b Venta, Lance (August 18, 2011). "Bangor, ME Bear Moves". RadioInsight. Retrieved February 6, 2012.
  31. ^ a b Fybush, Scott (October 9, 1996). "Meet the New 'FNX..." New England RadioWatch. Retrieved February 6, 2012.
  32. ^ Fybush, Scott (October 18, 1996). "Kidstar Débuts!". New England RadioWatch. Retrieved February 6, 2012.
  33. ^ Fybush, Scott (October 18, 1996). "WAAF (back) on the tube". New England RadioWatch. Retrieved February 6, 2012.
  34. ^ Nessell, Doug (September 19, 1996). "Kiss 94.5 a winner in Fox hunt". Bangor Daily News. p. A4. Retrieved February 6, 2012.
  35. ^ Fybush, Scott (May 15, 1997). "Changes in the Morning". North East RadioWatch. Retrieved February 6, 2012.
  36. ^ Fybush, Scott (February 18, 2000). "Consolidating in Bangor". North East RadioWatch. Retrieved February 6, 2012.
  37. ^ Fybush, Scott (July 21, 2000). "An End to Jukebox's Legal Troubles". North East RadioWatch. Retrieved February 6, 2012.
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