WBAK

WBAK (104.7 MHz "Big 104 FM") is a commercial FM radio station licensed to Belfast, Maine. It is owned by Blueberry Broadcasting, and broadcasts a classic hits radio format.[2] Its programming is also simulcast on WBKA (107.7 FM) in Bar Harbor, as well as WABK-FM (104.3 FM) in Gardiner (serving Augusta).[3]

For the television station in Terre Haute, Indiana, United States formerly known as WBAK-TV, see WAWV-TV. For the 1930s Pennsylvania State Police operated radio station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States formerly known as WBAK, see WHP (AM).
WBAK/WBKA
CityWBAK: Belfast, Maine
WBKA: Bar Harbor, Maine
Broadcast areaWBAK: Mid Coast/Bangor, Maine
WBKA: Down East
FrequencyWBAK: 104.7 MHz
WBKA: 107.7 MHz
BrandingBig 104 FM
SloganThe Biggest Hits!
Programming
FormatClassic hits
Ownership
OwnerBlueberry Broadcasting
(Blueberry Broadcasting, LLC)
WBFB, WBFE, WKSQ, WTOS, WVOM-FM
History
First air date
WBAK: March 7, 1986 (1986-03-07)
WBKA: May 6, 1995 (1995-05-06)[1]
Former call signs
WBAK:
WWFX (1986–1997)
WBFB (1997–2011)
WAEI-FM (2011–2012)
WBKA:
WEJS (1993-1994)
WMDI (1994–2001)
WBQI (2001-2013)
Call sign meaning
WBAK and WBKA: similar to WABK-FM (sister station in Gardiner)
Technical information
Facility IDWBAK: 25411
WBKA: 40925
ClassWBAK: B
WBKA: B1
ERPWBAK: 10,000 watts
WBKA: 11,500 watts
HAATWBAK: 335 meters (1,099 ft)
WBKA: 149 meters (489 ft)
Transmitter coordinates
WBAK:
44°34′51″N 68°53′51″W
WBKA:
44°33′13″N 68°5′40″W
Links
Websitewww.big104fm.com

Studios and offices are on Target Industrial Circle in Bangor.[4] WBAK's transmitter is off Murray Lane in Frankfort.[5] WBKA's transmitter is off Tunk Lake Road in Sullivan.[6] WBAK's competitor is WBQX in Thomaston. WBKA's competitors are cross-town station WNSX in Winter Harbor and WWMJ in Ellsworth.

History

WBAK

WBAK signed on the air on March 7, 1986 as WWFX.[1] It was a contemporary hit radio station known as "The Fox" and was owned by Sunnie Silverman. Silverman sold the station to Bruce Mittman, owner of WICE in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, that December.[7][8] WWFX was taken over in 1991 by Union Financial Services.[9] The station was sold to Group H Radio on March 17, 1993.[10]

Group H announced on September 18, 1996 that it would sell WWFX to Star Broadcasting, a company owned by Mark Osborne and Natalie Knox (current owners of WNSX) that already owned WKSQ and WLKE (now WBFE).[11] To minimize playlist overlap with WKSQ,[11] on September 20, Star changed the station's format to country music as "The Bear."[12][13] The first song was "Gone Country" by Alan Jackson. The change gave rival WQCB its first competition since WYOU-FM became modern rock station WWBX a year earlier.[12] The WWFX call letters were replaced with WBFB on April 25, 1997 after the station attempted to obtain the WEBR call sign.[14][15]

Osborne and Knox sold WBFB, WKSQ, and WLKE to Communications Capital Managers in February 2000;[16] that July, CCM announced that it would sell the group (which through other purchases also included WBYA, WGUY, and WVOM) to Clear Channel Communications.[17] Clear Channel announced on November 16, 2006 that it would sell its Bangor stations after being bought by private equity firms,[18] resulting in a sale to Blueberry Broadcasting to 2008;[19] on September 28, 2009, Blueberry began simulcasting WBFB on WLKE and WMCM, replacing their separate country formats. The station swapped formats and call letters with 97.1 FM (the former WYOU-FM) on September 1, 2011 and became sports radio station WAEI-FM, simulcasting with WAEI (WLKE and WMCM continue to simulcast WBFB on its new frequency).[20] The call letters were changed to WBAK on February 5, 2012;[15] the next day, the format was changed to classic hits, leaving the sports format exclusively on WAEI's 910 AM frequency.[2]

WBKA

WBKA went on the air May 6, 1995[1] as WMDI (for its location on Mount Desert Island), programming 1970s' music.[21] Original owner MDI Communications sold the station to Bridge Broadcast Corporation in 1997; the new owners changed the station's format to adult album alternative.[22] WMDI was simulcast on WNSX from that station's launch in July 2000[23] until February 2001, when WNSX was sold to Clear Channel Communications and began to simulcast WFZX.[24] In January 2001, Bridge reached a seal to sell WMDI to Mariner Broadcasting;[25] after the sale was completed in April 2001, the station temporarily left the air,[26] returning on April 23 as WBQI, part of Mariner's WBACH network of classical music stations.[27] Mariner sold its stations to Nassau Broadcasting Partners in 2004.[28]

Nassau Broadcasting entered bankruptcy in 2011, which culminated in an auction of its stations. Prior to the conclusion of the auction, the Maine Public Broadcasting Network expressed interest in running the WBACH stations.[29] As part of the bankruptcy proceeding, WBQI, along with 29 other Nassau-owned northern New England radio stations, went to a partnership of WBIN-TV owner Bill Binnie and Jeff Shapiro; 17 of the stations, including WBQI, were acquired by Binnie's WBIN Media Company.[30][31][32] The purchase was consummated on November 30, 2012, at a price of $12.5 million. WBIN Media promptly announced plans to resell WBQI to Blueberry Broadcasting;[33] on November 30, 2012, the station began to simulcast WBAK.[34] On January 3, 2013, the station changed its call sign to WBKA.[3]

References
  1. Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 1999 (PDF). 1999. pp. D-197–8. Retrieved January 2, 2013.
  2. "Bangor, Maine's WAEI-FM flips sports for adult hits; AM maintains Fox Sports". Radio-Info.com. February 6, 2012. Archived from the original on February 10, 2012. Retrieved February 6, 2012.
  3. Trotter, Bill (January 2, 2013). "Blueberry Broadcasting completes purchase of MDI radio station". Bangor Daily News. Retrieved January 2, 2013.
  4. Big104FM.com/contact-us
  5. Radio-Locator.com/WBAK
  6. Radio-Locator.com/WBKA
  7. "Newsline". Billboard. December 27, 1986. p. 12. Retrieved February 6, 2012.
  8. "Application Search Details (1)". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved February 6, 2012.
  9. "Application Search Details (2)". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved February 6, 2012.
  10. "Application Search Details (3)". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved February 6, 2012.
  11. Nessell, Doug (September 19, 1996). "Kiss 94.5 a winner in Fox hunt". Bangor Daily News. p. A4. Retrieved February 6, 2012.
  12. Fybush, Scott (October 9, 1996). "Meet the New 'FNX..." New England RadioWatch. Retrieved February 6, 2012.
  13. Fybush, Scott (October 18, 1996). "Kidstar Débuts!". New England RadioWatch. Retrieved February 6, 2012.
  14. Fybush, Scott (May 15, 1997). "Changes in the Morning". North East RadioWatch. Retrieved February 6, 2012.
  15. "Call Sign History". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved February 7, 2012.
  16. Fybush, Scott (February 18, 2000). "Consolidating in Bangor". North East RadioWatch. Retrieved February 6, 2012.
  17. Fybush, Scott (July 21, 2000). "An End to Jukebox's Legal Troubles". North East RadioWatch. Retrieved February 6, 2012.
  18. Fybush, Scott (November 20, 2006). "Dark Days All Around". NorthEast Radio Watch. Retrieved June 3, 2010.
  19. Fybush, Scott (May 5, 2008). "The Sales Market Heats Up". NorthEast Radio Watch. Retrieved March 13, 2010.
  20. Venta, Lance (August 18, 2011). "Bangor, ME Bear Moves". RadioInsight. Retrieved February 6, 2012.
  21. Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 1996 (PDF). 1996. pp. B-186. Retrieved January 3, 2013.
  22. Fybush, Scott (May 8, 1997). "May Miscellany". North East RadioWatch. Retrieved January 3, 2013.
  23. Fybush, Scott (July 14, 2000). "Saga Swallows Ithaca; We Go To Ohio". North East RadioWatch. Retrieved January 3, 2013.
  24. Fybush, Scott (February 26, 2001). "WBUF Rocks Again..." North East RadioWatch. Retrieved January 3, 2013.
  25. Fybush, Scott (January 29, 2001). "Andy Moes, 1950-2001". North East RadioWatch. Retrieved January 3, 2013.
  26. Fybush, Scott (April 16, 2001). "Clear Channel Buys Two in Maine". North East RadioWatch. Retrieved January 3, 2013.
  27. Fybush, Scott (April 30, 2001). "Quebec Tower Comes Down". North East RadioWatch. Retrieved January 3, 2013.
  28. "Stations sold". Sun Journal. Associated Press. December 12, 2003. Retrieved January 3, 2013.
  29. MPBN Going Commercial? Al Diamon, Downeast.com, April 23, 2012
  30. Nassau’s Maine Stations Split Up Al Diamon, Downeast.com, May 4, 2012
  31. "Carlisle Capital Corp. Wins Bidding For Rest Of Nassau Stations". All Access. May 22, 2012. Retrieved May 22, 2012.
  32. Venta, Lance (May 22, 2012). "Nassau Broadcasting Auction Results". RadioInsight. Retrieved May 24, 2012. (updated May 23, 2012)
  33. "Sold: Maine FM, Massachusetts Noncomm". All Access. September 6, 2012. Retrieved September 6, 2012.
  34. http://radioinsight.com/blog/headlines/79804/northern-new-england-change-rundown/
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