WCRI-FM (95.9 FM; "Classical 95.9") is a

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also ...

-formatted radio station on

Block Island, Rhode Island Block Island is an island in the U.S. state of Rhode Island located in Block Island Sound approximately south of the mainland and east of Montauk Point, Long Island, New York, named after Dutch explorer Adriaen Block. It is part of Washingt ...

, affiliated with the

World Classical Network The World Classical Network (WCN) is an internet-delivery classical radio broadcasting service owned by CCB Media in Hyannis, Massachusetts. The service has been in existence since February 1998, when it was owned and operated by Charles River ...

(WCN). The station is owned by Judson Group, Inc., a company that includes the son and grandsons of broadcasting pioneer Ted Jones, founder of

Charles River Broadcasting Charles River Broadcasting Company was the owner of three classical music stations, one classic rock station, one CNN Headline News affiliate in Rhode Island, and a syndicated classical music program service. History The company began in 1948 w ...

and

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

classical music station

WCRB WCRB (99.5 FM) is a non-commercial radio station licensed to Lowell, Massachusetts, which serves the Greater Boston area. It broadcasts classical music. Its studios are located in Brighton, and its transmitter is located west of Andover. WCRB wa ...

History

The original

construction permit Planning permission or developmental approval refers to the approval needed for construction or expansion (including significant renovation), and sometimes for demolition, in some jurisdictions. It is usually given in the form of a building perm ...

for the station was granted on October 16, 1990, with the call sign WVBI assigned on November 30. The station signed on June 13, 1994, though the license to cover was not issued until April 12, 1995. The station has always had a classical format. WVBI initially had a limited programming schedule mainly from the now-defunct Classic FM network. The station's signal had trouble covering even Block Island. Charles River Broadcasting acquired WVBI in early 1999, at which point it was renamed WCRI. The station then performed upgrades, affiliating with WCN which was commonly owned with WCRI. A new tower was constructed in 2001 which also enabled stereo broadcasting.

Translator station A broadcast relay station, also known as a satellite station, relay transmitter, broadcast translator (U.S.), re-broadcaster (Canada), repeater (two-way radio) or complementary station (Mexico), is a broadcast transmitter which repeats (or tran ...

W243AI (96.5) in

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, ...

had relayed Charles River Broadcasting flagship WCRB since the translator's sign-on in 1996, and it carried WCRI's programming for several years before becoming a

WMVY WMVY (88.7 FM; "Mvyradio") is a non-commercial community-oriented adult album alternative radio station based in the town of Tisbury, Massachusetts and licensed to serve Edgartown, both on the island of Martha's Vineyard. The station is owned b ...

translator in 2004. Charles River Broadcasting announced on October 27, 2005, that it was exploring the sale of its properties, with Judson Group, Inc. purchasing WCRI and sister station WCNX in 2006. Judson Group, Inc., includes the son (Christopher Jones) and grandsons (Jamie Jones and Jefferey Jones) of broadcasting pioneer Ted Jones, founder of

Company and classical music station,

. WCRI began to simulcast on 1180 AM, replacing WCNX on October 1, 2011; to reflect this, the station added the "-FM" suffix on September 8, 2011. (The AM station was sold to Red Wolf Broadcasting Corporation in 2014, and dropped the WCRI-FM simulcast for a Red Wolf-programmed

oldies Oldies is a term for musical genres such as pop music, rock and roll, doo-wop, surf music (broadly characterized as classic rock and pop rock) from the second half of the 20th century, specifically from around the mid-1950s to the 1980s, as we ...

format under the WSKP call sign in December 2013.)

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wcri-Fm CRI-FM Classical music radio stations in the United States New Shoreham, Rhode Island Washington County, Rhode Island Radio stations established in 1994 1994 establishments in Rhode Island