WBAB

Radio station in New York, United States From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

WBAB

WBAB (102.3 FM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Babylon, New York. It is owned by Cox Radio with studios and offices on Sunrise Highway (New York State Route 27) in West Babylon. Morning duo "Roger & JP" (Roger Luce and John Parise) began hosting the morning show in January 2000.[3] WBAB and sister station WHFM (95.3 FM, licensed to Southampton, simulcast a classic rock radio format for Long Island.

Quick Facts Broadcast area, Frequency ...
WBAB
Broadcast areaLong Island
Frequency102.3 MHz (HD Radio)
Branding102.3 WBAB
Programming
FormatClassic rock
Ownership
Owner
WBLI, WHFM
History
First air date
August 27, 1958; 66 years ago (1958-08-27)
Former call signs
WBAB-FM (1958–2003)[1]
Call sign meaning
Babylon Bay Shore Broadcasting (original owner)
Technical information[2]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID71199
ClassA
ERP
  • 6,000 watts (analog)
  • 240 watts (digital)
HAAT82 meters (269 ft)
Transmitter coordinates
40°47′58″N 73°20′8″W
Repeater(s)95.3 WHFM (Southampton)
Links
Public license information
WebcastListen live
Websitewww.wbab.com
Close

WBAB has an effective radiated power (ERP) of 6,000 watts, its transmitter is off the Long Island Expressway South Service Road in Dix Hills. WBAB's signal covers Western Suffolk County and part of Nassau County, while WHFM's signal covers Long Island's East End.

History

Summarize
Perspective

Top 40, Album Rock, Classic Rock

The station signed on the air on August 27, 1958, as WBAB-FM.[4] In its early years, it simulcast WBAB (1440 AM). Because the AM station was a daytimer, WBAB-FM could continue its programming in the evening, when the AM station had to go silent. The stations were owned by Bay Shore Broadcasting. At the time, WBAB-FM was powered at only 670 watts, a fraction of its current output.

In the 1970s, the stations had a Top 40 format.[5] In September 1975, the simulcast ended. AM 1440 adopted a Gospel music format as WNYG.[6] WBAB-FM shifted its focus to an album rock sound. By the early 2000s, WBAB began concentrating on the top rock songs of the 1960s, 70s and 80s, becoming a classic rock station.

2006 signal hijacking

On the morning of Wednesday, May 17, 2006, the station's signal was hijacked for about 90 seconds.[7] During that time, the signal jammers broadcast the song "Nigger Hatin' Me" by the 1960s-era white supremacist country music singer Johnny Rebel.

Roger Luce, the station's morning host, said at the time, "I've never seen this in 22 years at this radio station... Whatever that was - it was very racist."[8] The next morning, it made the front page of Newsday with the headline "JACKED FM". The station's new general manager, John Shea, said, "I've only been here a week and we get hijacked." Former program director John Olsen said, "This was not some child's prank, this was a federal offense."[7][9]

The hijack was likely accomplished by overpowering the studio transmitter link (STL) signal to the transmitter in Dix Hills, New York. A signal hijacking with the same song happened to WBAB's sister station WBLI (106.1 FM) about two weeks earlier.[10]

Discography

References

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