WBAB
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (January 2020) |
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|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Long Island |
| Frequency | 102.3 MHz (HD Radio) |
| Branding | 102.3 WBAB |
| Programming | |
| Format | Classic rock |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| WBLI, WHFM | |
| History | |
First air date | August 27, 1958 |
Former call signs | WBAB-FM (1958–2003)[1] |
Call sign meaning | Babylon Bay Shore Broadcasting (original owner) |
| Technical information[2] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 71199 |
| Class | A |
| ERP |
|
| HAAT | 82 meters (269 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 40°47′58″N 73°20′8″W / 40.79944°N 73.33556°W |
| Repeater(s) | 95.3 WHFM (Southampton) |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen live |
| Website | www |
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.
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
[edit]Top 40, Album Rock, Classic Rock
[edit]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
[edit]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
[edit]- WBAB Homegrown Album (1981)
- WBAB Son of Homegrown (1984)
References
[edit]- ^ "WBAB Call Sign History". CDBS Public Access Database. FCC Media Bureau. Retrieved April 29, 2013.
- ^ "Facility Technical Data for WBAB". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
- ^ InsideRadio.com "Long Island Morning Duo Roger & JP Celebrate 25 Years on WBAB" March 31, 2025. Retrieved April 23, 2025
- ^ Broadcasting Yearbook 1960 page A-188. Retrieved April 23, 2025.
- ^ Broadcasting Yearbook 1976 page C-130. Retrieved April 23, 2025.
- ^ "Gospel for New York Suburbs" (PDF). Record World. October 1, 1977. Retrieved March 15, 2020.
- ^ a b "WBAB/Long Island Claims Someone "Hijacked" Signal". allaccess.com. All Access Music Group. May 18, 2006. Retrieved August 22, 2022.
- ^ "WBAB Hijacked By Pirates - 5/17/06". Retrieved August 22, 2022 – via YouTube.
- ^ Lamberty, Reid (May 18, 2006). "WBAB-FM Airwaves Hijacked By Pirates: Long Island Radio Station Has Offensive Material On Its Air". WCBS-TV. Archived from the original on November 10, 2006.
- ^ "Pirate hijacks New York radio signal". United Press International. May 18, 2006. Retrieved May 16, 2020.
External links
[edit]- Official website
- Facility details for Facility ID 71199 (WBAB) in the FCC Licensing and Management System
- WBAB in Nielsen Audio's FM station database
- "History Cards for WBAB". Federal Communications Commission. (Guide to reading History Cards)