WWEI

Last updated
WWEI
WWEI logo.png
Broadcast area Springfield, Massachusetts
Frequency 105.5 MHz (HD Radio)
Branding105.5 WEEI
Programming
Language(s) English
Format Sports radio
Subchannels HD2: "WAAF" (active rock)
Affiliations
Ownership
Owner
WHLL, WMAS-FM
History
First air date
October 1967 (1967-10)
Former call signs
  • WQRB-FM (1967)
  • WQRB (1967–79)
  • WBEC-FM (1979–2006)
  • WVEI-FM (2006–11)
Call sign meaning
similar to WEEI
Technical information [1]
Licensing authority
 FCC
Facility ID 11295
Class A
ERP 720  watts (horizontal)
706 watts (vertical)
HAAT 280 meters (920 ft)
Transmitter coordinates
 42°14′29.3″N72°38′55.3″W / 42.241472°N 72.648694°W / 42.241472; -72.648694 (WWEI) (NAD83)
Links
Public license information
Webcast
Website

WWEI (105.5 FM; "105.5 WEEI") is a radio station in Easthampton, Massachusetts, serving Springfield with a sports radio format. The station is owned by Audacy, Inc. Most programming is provided by Boston sister station WEEI-FM.

Contents

History

The 105.5 MHz frequency used by WWEI was originally allocated to Pittsfield, Massachusetts, where it signed on in October 1967 [2] as WQRB-FM. [3] It was co-owned with WBEC (1420 AM), though it offered its own programming; [3] this was a middle-of-the-road format by 1972. [4] The station became WBEC-FM in 1979, upon adopting an album-oriented rock format. [5] During the 1980s, the station shifted to more of a contemporary hit radio format. [2]

Vox Media acquired the WBEC stations in 2002. [6] Two years later, to accommodate then-sister station WNYQ (now WQBK-FM)'s move to Malta, New York, Vox filed to move WBEC-FM to Easthampton in 2004. [7] Vox then put the station up for sale, and after an unsuccessful attempt to sell it to Pamal Broadcasting, [8] it was sold to Entercom (forerunner to Audacy, Inc.) in 2006. [9] WBEC-FM signed off from Pittsfield that May, [10] with the format and call letters moving to 95.9 FM (a former frequency of WUPE-FM) at that time. [11] The current incarnation of the station signed on as WVEI-FM from Easthampton on October 26, 2006. [12] The call letters were changed to WWEI on September 14, 2011. [13]

On June 13, 2012, it was announced that WWEI would carry UMass Minutemen football and UMass Minutemen basketball games. In the event of conflicts with Boston Red Sox and Boston Celtics broadcasts, station manager David Oldread said "his station would prefer to keep UMass as the priority". As part of the deal, every Thursday at 7 p.m., WWEI airs The Coaches Show hosted by UMass Football analyst Matt Goldstein (with interviews with head UMass Football coach and head UMass Basketball coach) over WEEI programming. [14] Also, every Friday at 7 p.m. during Springfield Falcons hockey season, WWEI airs The Old Time Hockey Show, which discusses the Falcons, the Boston Bruins, and the NHL.

WWEI formerly carried Fox Sports Radio in the overnight hours, even after parent station WEEI switched to ESPN Radio in 2009; at that time, ESPN programming was heard in Springfield on WHLL. At midnight on January 1, 2013, WWEI assumed the ESPN Radio affiliation, after WHLL switched to CBS Sports Radio.

2020 signal hijacking

During the 2020 United States Presidential Election, the station's signal received interference from a pirate radio station on the same frequency in Warren, looping a recording of a whispering voice that said "Don't be a chump, vote for Trump." As of November 4, 2020, attempts to contact the FCC were unsuccessful. [15] [16]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WCRN</span> Radio station in Massachusetts, United States

WCRN is a radio station in Worcester, Massachusetts, owned by Carter Broadcasting. The station broadcasts with a transmitter power output of 50,000 watts and can be heard from Maine to Providence, Rhode Island, and from Boston to Springfield, Massachusetts. The signal is directional, pointed away from such other stations at 830 kHz as WCCO in Minneapolis, Minnesota. After sunset, WCRN's signal is made further directional towards the east; as a result, it is not clearly audible in Western Massachusetts after sunset.

The Big JAB is the name of two sports radio stations in western and southern Maine, owned by Atlantic Coast Radio. It is heard on WRED and WJJB-FM. The stations air local sports talk hosts Monday through Friday. Fox Sports Radio provides programming nights and weekends. In July 2017 Atlantic Coast Radio purchased a 250-watt translator at 92.5 MHz from Augusta, Maine-based Light of Life Ministries to further augment its Portland-area FM signal.

WXTP is a Catholic talk radio station licensed to North Windham, Maine, serving the Portland area from studios in Freeport. The station is an affiliate of Relevant Radio and is owned by Relevant Radio, Inc.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WBFB</span> Radio station in Bangor, Maine

WBFB 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.

WXZO is a commercial FM radio station licensed to Willsboro, New York. Owned by Vox AM/FM, it primarily serves the Champlain Valley, including Burlington, Vermont, and Plattsburgh, New York. Its studios are located in Colchester, Vermont. The station broadcasts a soft oldies radio format using the syndicated music service known as "MeTV FM." In morning drive time, the station carries Intelligence for Your Life with John Tesh. ABC News Radio provides news updates.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WEAV</span> Radio station in New York, United States

WEAV is an English-language American radio station in Plattsburgh, New York, with studios in Colchester, Vermont. The station broadcasts a sports format.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WMAS-FM</span> Adult contemporary radio station in Enfield, Connecticut

WMAS-FM, branded 94.7 WMAS, is a commercial radio station licensed to Enfield, Connecticut, and serving the Springfield metropolitan area and Pioneer Valley of Western Massachusetts. It broadcasts an adult contemporary radio format and is owned by Audacy, Inc. In the evening, it carries Intelligence for Your Life with John Tesh. On Sunday mornings, it airs The Jim Brickman Show. The studios are at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WNNH</span> Radio station in New Hampshire, United States

WNNH is a commercial radio station owned by Binnie Media. WNNH is licensed to Henniker, New Hampshire, and serves the Concord-Manchester area. Its transmitter is on Watchtower Road in Contoocook and its studios and offices are on Church Street in Concord.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WVEI-FM</span> Radio station in Rhode Island, United States

WVEI-FM is a radio station broadcasting a sports talk format, largely simulcasting Boston-based WEEI-FM. The station is licensed to Westerly, Rhode Island, United States, and is owned by Audacy, Inc. In addition to WEEI programming, WVEI-FM carries Providence Friars men's basketball, Boston Bruins hockey, and ESPN Radio. Its transmitter is in Exeter, Rhode Island; due to it being mostly a simulcast, its operations are run out of WEEI-FM's studios in Boston's Brighton neighborhood.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WTOS (AM)</span> Radio station in Bangor, Maine

WTOS is a commercial AM radio station licensed to Bangor, Maine, United States. The station is owned by Blueberry Broadcasting. WTOS broadcasts a mainstream rock format, simulcast with WTOS-FM in Skowhegan and WTUX in Gouldsboro.

The Boston Bruins Radio Network is a 17-station network which carries live game broadcasts of the Boston Bruins. The network's flagship station is WBZ-FM (98.5) in Boston, Massachusetts. Judd Sirott announces play-by-play. Bob Beers provides color commentary.

WLAM is a radio station broadcasting an adult standards and oldies format. Licensed to Lewiston, Maine, United States, the station serves the Lewiston-Auburn area. Established in 1947, the station is owned by Robert Bittner through licensee Blue Jey Broadcasting Co. Its 5,000-watt signal can be heard at day throughout most of Southern Maine and portions of New Hampshire and Massachusetts, and at night throughout most of New England and portions of New York and Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WPPI</span> Radio station in Topsham, Maine

WPPI is a sports radio station in the Portland, Maine, area. The station is owned by Atlantic Coast Radio.

WHAZ-FM is a radio station broadcasting a religious format. Licensed to Hoosick Falls, New York, United States, the station serves the easternmost portion of the Capital District, Bennington, Vermont, and North Adams, Massachusetts as a satellite of WHAZ. The station is owned by Capital Media Corporation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WCPV</span> Radio station in New York, United States

WCPV is a commercial radio station broadcasting a country music radio format. Licensed to Essex, New York, United States, the station serves the Champlain Valley of New York and Vermont. Although licensed to Essex, New York, many listeners mistakenly believe that WCPV is licensed to Essex, Vermont, given that its offices and studios are located at Fort Ethan Allen in neighboring Colchester, Vermont. The station is owned by Vox AM/FM.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WEEY</span> Radio station in New Hampshire, United States

WEEY is a radio station licensed to serve Swanzey, New Hampshire. The station is owned by Great Eastern Radio, LLC and serves as the Keene affiliate for WEEI-FM.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WPKZ</span> Radio station in Massachusetts, United States

WPKZ is a radio station broadcasting a news–talk and sports format and licensed to Fitchburg, Massachusetts, United States. The station is owned by John Morrison through licensee K-Zone Media Group, LLC, and features programming from Fox News Radio, Fox Sports Radio, Compass Media Networks, Premiere Networks, Radio America, and Westwood One. WPKZ's studios are located on Water Street in Fitchburg, across the street from the Wachusett Potato Chip Company factory; its transmitter is located on Alpine Road, also in Fitchburg.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WUPE-FM</span> Classic hits radio station in North Adams–Pittsfield, Massachusetts

WUPE-FM is a classic hits radio station owned by Townsquare Media. Licensed to North Adams, Massachusetts, United States, WUPE-FM serves Pittsfield.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WPVQ-FM</span> Radio station in Massachusetts, United States

WPVQ-FM is a radio station licensed to serve Greenfield, Massachusetts. The station is owned by Saga Communications and licensed to Saga Communications of New England, LLC; it operates as part of Saga's Western Mass Radio Group. WPVQ-FM airs a country music format.

WAKC is an American licensed radio station in Concord, New Hampshire. The station is owned by the Educational Media Foundation (EMF) and is part of its K-Love network of contemporary Christian music outlets. EMF also owns WLKC in Campton, serving the White Mountains and Lakes Region.

References

  1. ↑ "Facility Technical Data for WWEI". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  2. 1 2 Broadcasting/Cable Yearbook 1989 (PDF). 1989. p. B-143. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 10, 2011. Retrieved April 19, 2010.
  3. 1 2 Broadcasting Yearbook 1968 (PDF). 1968. p. B-103. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 6, 2011. Retrieved April 19, 2010.
  4. ↑ Broadcasting Yearbook 1973 (PDF). 1973. p. B-96. Retrieved April 19, 2010.
  5. ↑ Broadcasting Yearbook 1980 (PDF). 1980. p. C-108. Retrieved April 19, 2010.
  6. ↑ Fybush, Scott (July 29, 2002). "Vox buys WBEC (Really!)". North East RadioWatch. Retrieved April 19, 2010.
  7. ↑ Fybush, Scott (December 6, 2004). "WAQX-Stern Feud Escalates". NorthEast Radio Watch. Retrieved July 25, 2009.
  8. ↑ Fybush, Scott (May 1, 2006). "Unanswered Questions in Boston". NorthEast Radio Watch. Retrieved July 25, 2009. The deal with Pamal was never consummated…
  9. ↑ Fybush, Scott (February 20, 2006). "WEEI heads west with WBEC-FM buy". NorthEast Radio Watch. Retrieved July 25, 2009.
  10. ↑ Fybush, Scott (May 8, 2006). "Sox & Entercom: So Happy Together?". NorthEast Radio Watch. Retrieved July 25, 2009.
  11. ↑ Fybush, Scott (April 17, 2006). "WAVM, Living Proof Settle Dispute". NorthEast Radio Watch. Retrieved July 25, 2009.
  12. ↑ Fybush, Scott (October 30, 2006). "CC Cutbacks in Rochester Claim Five Jobs". NorthEast Radio Watch. Retrieved July 25, 2009.
  13. ↑ "Call Sign History". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission . Retrieved September 14, 2011.
  14. ↑ "105.5 FM WWEI Springfield talks details on new UMass football, basketball broadcast agreement". Masslive. The Springfield Republican. 13 June 2012. Retrieved October 8, 2012.
  15. ↑ Ring, Kim. "Talk radio station frequency hijacked by Trump message in Warren". Telegram & Gazette . Retrieved 2020-11-08.
  16. ↑ "Political Pirate Radio Operator Is Interfering With WWEI Signal". Inside Radio. November 2, 2020. Retrieved March 10, 2023.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.