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WKVB (107.3  FM) is a
non-commercial A non-commercial (also spelled noncommercial) activity is an activity that does not, in some sense, involve commerce, at least relative to similar activities that do have a commercial objective or emphasis. For example, advertising-free community ...
radio station Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radio ...
licensed to serve
Westborough, Massachusetts Westborough is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 21,567 at the 2020 Census, in over 7,000 households. Incorporated in 1717, the town is governed under the New England open town meeting system, headed ...
, United States, carrying a
contemporary Christian Contemporary history, in English-language historiography, is a subset of modern history that describes the historical period from approximately 1945 to the present. Contemporary history is either a subset of the late modern period, or it is o ...
format known as "K-Love". Owned by the
Educational Media Foundation Educational Media Foundation (formerly EMF Broadcasting, abbreviated EMF) is an American nonprofit Christian media ministry based in Franklin, Tennessee, a suburb of Nashville. EMF is the parent company of K-LOVE and Air1—the world's largest ...
, WKVB does not broadcast any local programming but functions as
Greater Boston Greater Boston is the metropolitan region of New England encompassing the municipality of Boston (the capital of the U.S. state of Massachusetts and the most populous city in New England) and its surrounding areas. The region forms the northern a ...
's
network affiliate In the broadcasting industry (particularly in North America, and even more in the United States), a network affiliate or affiliated station is a local broadcaster, owned by a company other than the owner of the network, which carries some or ...
for K-Love, despite being located in the adjacent
Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engla ...
market. The station's studios are located in Boston's
Allston Allston is an officially recognized neighborhood within the City of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It was named after the American painter and poet Washington Allston. It comprises the land covered by the zip code 02134. For the most pa ...
district, while its
transmitter In electronics and telecommunications, a radio transmitter or just transmitter is an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna. The transmitter itself generates a radio frequency alternating current, which is applied to the ...
is on Stiles Hill in
Boylston Boylston may refer to the following communities: ;Canada * Boylston, Nova Scotia ;United States * Boylston, Massachusetts * Boylston, New York * Boylston, Wisconsin * Boylston Junction, Wisconsin It may also refer to: * Helen Dore Boylston, au ...
, with a backup in Paxton. In addition to a standard
analog transmission Analog transmission is a transmission method of conveying information using a continuous signal which varies in amplitude, phase, or some other property in proportion to that information. It could be the transfer of an analog signal, using an an ...
, WKVB broadcasts in
HD Radio HD Radio (HDR) is a trademark for an in-band on-channel (IBOC) digital radio broadcast technology. It generally simulcasts an existing analog radio station in digital format with less noise and with additional text information. HD Radio is used ...
and is available online. Historically, this station is perhaps best known as WAAF, which carried a
commercial Commercial may refer to: * a dose of advertising conveyed through media (such as - for example - radio or television) ** Radio advertisement ** Television advertisement * (adjective for:) commerce, a system of voluntary exchange of products and s ...
rock music Rock music is a broad genre of popular music that originated as " rock and roll" in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of different styles in the mid-1960s and later, particularly in the United States a ...
format for nearly 50 years in various forms of the genre, with an
active rock Active rock is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations across the United States and Canada. Active rock stations play a balance of new hard rock songs with valued classic rock favorites, normally with an emphasis on the harder edge o ...
orientation between 1989 and 2020. The station also featured personalities including
Bob Rivers Robert Rivers (born July 7, 1956 in Branford, Connecticut) is a retired American rock and roll radio on-air personality in the Pacific Northwest, as well as a prolific producer and songwriter of parody songs, most famous for his Christmas son ...
, Liz Wilde and Greg Hill, and was the first high-profile radio home for ''
Opie and Anthony ''Opie and Anthony'' was an American radio show hosted by Gregg "Opie" Hughes and Anthony Cumia that aired from March 1995 to July 2014, with comedian Jim Norton serving as third mic from 2001. The show originated in 1994 when Cumia took part in ...
'' in the mid-1990s. Sold by Entercom (now known as Audacy, Inc.) to the Educational Media Foundation on February 18, 2020, WAAF's former programming continues on digital subchannels of WEEI-FM and WWBX, as well as on the
Audacy Audacy, previously known as Radio.com, is a free broadcast and Internet radio platform owned by the namesake company Audacy, Inc. (formerly known as Entercom). The Audacy platform functions as a music recommender system and is the national um ...
platform.


History


Early years

On October 5, 1960, the
Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdicti ...
awarded the
Waterman Broadcasting Waterman Broadcasting Corporation is a small American television broadcasting company based in Fort Myers, Florida. It was founded in 1978 in Fort Myers when it purchased WBBH from Broadcast Telecasting Services, Inc. It was founded by Bernard Wa ...
Corporation, owner of WAAB (1440 AM), a
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 ...
to build a new FM radio station licensed to Worcester on 107.3 MHz, to transmit from Asnebumskit Hill in Paxton. WAAB-FM went on the air on June 15, 1961. In its early years, WAAB-FM simulcast the
full service Full service or Full Service may refer to: * Full-service radio, a wide range of programming * Full Service Network, a communications company Entertainment * "Full Service", a song by the New Kids on the Block from their album ''The Block'' * Ful ...
programming of its AM sister station; in 1967, it broke away from the simulcast and launched a stereo
beautiful music Beautiful music (sometimes abbreviated as BM, B/EZ or BM/EZ for "beautiful music/easy listening") is a mostly instrumental music format that was prominent in North American radio from the late 1950s through the 1980s. Easy listening, elevator mu ...
format. WAAB-AM-FM was sold to WAAB, Inc., in 1968 for $675,000. WAAB, Inc., was owned by
Ahmet Ertegun Ahmet Ertegun (, Turkish spelling: Ahmet Ertegün; ; – December 14, 2006) was a Turkish-American businessman, songwriter, record executive and philanthropist. Ertegun was the co-founder and president of Atlantic Records. He discovered and ch ...
and his brother Nesuhi Ertegun, as well as record executive
Jerry Wexler Jerry may refer to: Animals * Jerry (Grand National winner), racehorse, winner of the 1840 Grand National * Jerry (St Leger winner), racehorse, winner of 1824 St Leger Stakes Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Jerry'' (film), a 2006 Indian fil ...
; all had just recently sold
Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most im ...
to Warner Bros.-Seven Arts. The FM station took on new WAAF call letters on May 28, 1968; the call sign had been dropped the previous year by
a station , known professionally as , is a Japanese actor, creative director, and writer. He appeared in a number of Japanese TV dramas, including '' Mei-chan no Shitsuji'', '' Hanazakari no Kimitachi e'' and '' Zettai Kareshi''. Additionally, he was well ...
in
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...
. In later years, WAAF ownership would erroneously claim a longer history than that of its own license, stretching back to experimental FM station W1XOJ in the late 1930s. W1XOJ—later given the normal call letters WGTR—was part of the first FM network, put together by the Yankee Network and its principal, John Shepard, who at the time also owned WAAB. While WAAB-FM/WAAF initially utilized the same transmission tower as this previous station, there is no connection, as the license for WGTR was deleted at the request of General Teleradio on July 24, 1953.


Freeform era

WAAF ended its automated middle-of-the-road programming on March 16, 1970, and introduced a live
progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. I ...
format, which emphasized folk and folk-rock during the day and harder rock at night. It ran as a freeform station known as "WAAF, The Rock of New England", where the air talent was given total control over what music to play. The station was sold in 1971 to Southern Massachusetts Broadcasters, owned by George Gray, in an $800,000 acquisition. On November 7, 1971, WAAF was in the middle of an all-
Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developm ...
weekend when its transmitting building was damaged by a homemade pipe bomb, knocking it off the air temporarily and causing $4,000 in damage. A group demanding the end of capital punishment and "parole law" in Massachusetts claimed it had orchestrated the bombing. The station was forced to temporarily operate on a limited schedule from the transmitter site, as the blast put its studio-transmitter link out of service. Gray sold his Worcester stations to the Robert L. Williams Broadcasting Company of Massachusetts in 1976 for $1.465 million; he had previously sold his other radio stations in
New Bedford New Bedford (Massachusett: ) is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts. It is located on the Acushnet River in what is known as the South Coast region. Up through the 17th century, the area was the territory of the Wampanoag Native American p ...
and
Binghamton, New York Binghamton () is a city in the U.S. state of New York, and serves as the county seat of Broome County. Surrounded by rolling hills, it lies in the state's Southern Tier region near the Pennsylvania border, in a bowl-shaped valley at the conflu ...
, the year before. Robert L. Williams also owned WEZN radio in
Bridgeport, Connecticut Bridgeport is the most populous city and a major port in the U.S. state of Connecticut. With a population of 148,654 in 2020, it is also the fifth-most populous in New England. Located in eastern Fairfield County at the mouth of the Pequo ...
.


Album rocker

By the mid-1970s, WAAF had settled in as an
album-oriented rock Album-oriented rock (AOR, originally called album-oriented radio) is an FM radio format created in the United States in the 1970s that focuses on the full repertoire of rock albums and is currently associated with classic rock. Album-orien ...
outlet. The station was one of the first clients of the "Superstars" format, developed by consultants Lee Abrams and Kent Burkhart; WAAF would continue to use their services until January 1984. Promotional slogans of the period played off the call letters, including "The WAAF Air Force" and a giraffe mascot known as the "WAAF GirAAF". WAAF had completed the first of several technical improvements to reach listeners in Boston in 1972 when it increased its effective radiated power to 16,500 watts; it had operated with less than 2,000 ever since signing on. However, it was not until 1978 when the ''
Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Gl ...
'' heralded WAAF's entry into the Boston market and its "rock radio battle". In 1977, the station managed to outrate talk outlet WMEX. 1978 saw WAAF's third sale of the decade when WAAF, its AM counterpart WFTQ, and WEZN were sold to a group of employees, known as Park City Communications, for $3.2 million. Park City sold all of its stations to Katz Broadcasting, a subsidiary of Katz Media Group, for $16 million in November 1981. WAAF encountered ratings success in the Worcester market to start the 1980s; despite newfound competition from WCOZ (94.5 FM) in Boston, the station attributed its success to extensive marketing, promotion, and contests. WAAF appeared in ratings surveys not only in Worcester and Boston but in Providence and Springfield; WAAF listening was even measured as far away as
Peterborough, New Hampshire Peterborough is a town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 6,418 at the 2020 census. The main village, with 3,090 people at the 2020 census, is defined as the Peterborough census-designated place (CDP) an ...
. Remaining a "Superstars" client, WAAF relied on Abrams' playlist input and received criticism for not taking chances to play other music genres; Abrams notably told WAAF's program director in 1980 that new wave "isn't the coming thing." Music heard on the station tended to lean toward a harder rock focus from artists like
Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ...
,
Ted Nugent Theodore Anthony Nugent (; born December 13, 1948) is an American rock musician and activist. He initially gained fame as the lead guitarist and occasional lead vocalist of The Amboy Dukes, a band formed in 1963 that played psychedelic rock ...
,
Van Halen Van Halen ( ) was an American rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. Credited with "restoring hard rock to the forefront of the music scene", Van Halen was known for its energetic live shows and for the virtuosity of its lead gu ...
, and
Pat Benatar Patricia Mae Giraldo ('' née'' Andrzejewski, formerly Benatar; born January 10, 1953), known professionally as Pat Benatar, is an American rock singer and songwriter. In the United States, she has had two multi-platinum albums, five platinum al ...
. It was during this time, in September 1981, that
the Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically dr ...
played a warmup show for a group of WAAF listeners at Sir Morgans Cove, a Worcester nightclub. WAAF connected with the band while they rehearsed at Long View Farm in North Brookfield and gave away all 300 tickets for the free show as a reward for locals respecting their privacy; demand exceeded 4,000 in what ''
Radio & Records ''Radio & Records'' (''R&R'') was a trade publication providing news and airplay information for the radio and music industries. It started as an independent trade from 1973 to 2006 until VNU Media took over in 2006 and became a relaunched sister ...
'' termed "an unprecedented radio concert promotion coup". All day, station staffers drove around Worcester in unmarked cars handing out tickets to locals who had station stickers or T-shirts. While WAAF refused to announce the name of the location, WBCN obtained the information from a Worcester police officer, causing a large crowd of 4,000 to form outside of the 300-seat venue; 10 people were arrested. WAAF promotion director Steve Stockman blamed WBCN for announcing the venue on-air, declaring his competitor's actions "reckless and irresponsible". A few months later,
Bob and Doug McKenzie Bob and Doug McKenzie are a pair of fictional Canadian brothers who hosted "Great White North", a sketch which was introduced on '' SCTV'' for the show's third season when it moved to CBC Television in 1980. Bob is played by Rick Moranis and ...
( Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas) teamed up with WAAF for a contest to promote their '' The Great White North'' comedy album, where the winner received an afternoon trip for two to
Tewksbury Tewksbury may refer to: Places *Tewksbury, Massachusetts, USA *Tewksbury Township, New Jersey, USA * Tewksbury Heights, Contra Costa County, California, USA *Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, England **Tewkesbury (UK Parliament constituency) **Borough o ...
, while the runner-up won a weekend trip for two to the Lowell suburb. WAAF staffers came up with the contest idea after noticing a sign in Tewksbury that reminded them of
toque A toque ( or ) is a type of hat with a narrow brim or no brim at all. Toques were popular from the 13th to the 16th century in Europe, especially France. The mode was revived in the 1930s. Now it is primarily known as the traditional headgear ...
knit hats referred to in the album. The station had also asked the town's fire chief to give the winner
keys to the city The Freedom of the City (or Borough in some parts of the UK) is an honour bestowed by a municipality upon a valued member of the community, or upon a visiting celebrity or dignitary. Arising from the medieval practice of granting respected ...
; he declined, believing the initial offer to be a prank phone call.
Bob Rivers Robert Rivers (born July 7, 1956 in Branford, Connecticut) is a retired American rock and roll radio on-air personality in the Pacific Northwest, as well as a prolific producer and songwriter of parody songs, most famous for his Christmas son ...
co-hosted morning drive on WAAF between 1982 and 1987 with Peter "Zip" Zipfel. Titled ''Bob and Zip'', the program became known for parody and
novelty song A novelty song is a type of song built upon some form of novel concept, such as a gimmick, a piece of humor, or a sample of popular culture. Novelty songs partially overlap with comedy songs, which are more explicitly based on humor, and wit ...
s produced by Rivers; the most memorable one being "Breakin' Up Is Hard on You" (" Breaking Up Is Hard to Do" by
Neil Sedaka Neil Sedaka (; born March 13, 1939) is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. Since his music career began in 1957, he has sold millions of records worldwide and has written or co-written over 500 songs for himself and other artists, collabo ...
) regarding the
Bell System divestiture The breakup of the Bell System was mandated on January 8, 1982, by an agreed consent decree providing that AT&T Corporation would, as had been initially proposed by AT&T, relinquish control of the Bell Operating Companies, which had provided loc ...
, and charted at #70 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Rivers also performed "Just a Big Ego" (" Just a Gigolo" by
David Lee Roth David Lee Roth (born October 10, 1954) is an American rock singer. Best known for his wild, energetic stage persona, he was the original lead vocalist of the hard rock band Van Halen across three stints, from 1974 to 1985, in 1996 and again fro ...
) which debuted as Roth announced his departure from
Van Halen Van Halen ( ) was an American rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. Credited with "restoring hard rock to the forefront of the music scene", Van Halen was known for its energetic live shows and for the virtuosity of its lead gu ...
, and was included in ''
The Rhino Brothers Present the World's Worst Records ''The Rhino Brothers Present the World's Worst Records'' is a compilation album released by Rhino Records in 1983. It purports to compile the worst music ever recorded and features mostly novelty songs, parodies and cover versions of popular s ...
.'' Rivers and Zipfel attracted attention on the day of the
1984 United States presidential election The 1984 United States presidential election was the 50th quadrennial presidential election. It was held on Tuesday, November 6, 1984. Incumbent Republican President Ronald Reagan defeated Democratic former Vice President Walter Mondale, in ...
by instructing their listeners who planned to vote for
Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...
to simultaneously flush their toilets at 7:00 a.m., and listeners voting for
Walter Mondale Walter Frederick "Fritz" Mondale (January 5, 1928 – April 19, 2021) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 42nd vice president of the United States from 1977 to 1981 under President Jimmy Carter. A U.S. senator from Minnesota ...
to flush their toilets at 7:30 a.m.; the station then contacted the various regional water authorities and based their
exit poll An election exit poll is a poll of voters taken immediately after they have exited the polling stations. A similar poll conducted before actual voters have voted is called an entrance poll. Pollsters – usually private companies working for ...
off of the drops in water pressure. Rivers left WAAF to take over as morning-drive host at
WIYY WIYY (97.9 FM, "98 Rock") is a commercial radio station in Baltimore, Maryland. It is owned by Hearst Communications and broadcasts a mainstream rock radio format. WIYY shares studios and offices with sister stations WBAL and WBAL-TV on T ...
in
Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was ...
; Drew Lane replaced him and was later teamed up with Zipfel. WAAF attempted another unusual promotion where the station was to have dropped 100,000 one-dollar bills from a helicopter onto downtown Lowell on November 26, 1988, at 1:07 p.m. This event was abruptly canceled at the last minute by Lowell city officials concerned about the safety of people who would have participated, while station management had intended for it to promote Lowell's revitalization.


"Untamed Radio"

On March 10, 1989, New City Broadcasting traded WAAF and WFTQ to Zapis Communications in exchange for WEKS-FM (104.1) in Atlanta in what was a tax-free asset swap; each half of the transaction was valued at $15 million. Zapis Communications was headed by Xenophon Zapis and his son Lee Zapis, who also owned
WZAK WZAK (93.1 FM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Cleveland, Ohio, featuring an urban adult contemporary format. Owned by Urban One, WZAK serves Greater Cleveland and much of surrounding Northeast Ohio as a local affiliate for nationally ...
in
Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the United States, U.S. U.S. state, state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along ...
. New City already owned WYAY (106.7 FM), and agreed to keep it in the
Gainesville, Georgia The city of Gainesville is the county seat of Hall County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 42,296. Because of its large number of poultry processing plants, it is often called the "Poultry Capital of ...
, market as a condition of the asset swap. When Zapis took over operations in the summer, John Sutherland took over as general manager, promotions director Ron Valeri was promoted to operations manager, Nance Grimes was promoted to acting program director (Grimes left that October, with Valeri assuming the programming role outright) and
John Gorman John Gorman may refer to: *John Gorman (director) (1884–1936), American movie director * John Gorman (entertainer) (born 1936), English vocalist and musician *John Gorman (politician) (1923–2014), Northern Ireland politician *John Gorman (footb ...
—a Boston native best known for programming
WMMS WMMS (100.7 FM) – branded ''100.7 WMMS: The Buzzard'' – is a commercial radio station licensed to Cleveland, Ohio, serving Greater Cleveland and much of surrounding Northeast Ohio. Widely regarded as one of the most influential rock s ...
in Cleveland from 1973 to 1986—was hired as a consultant. As a sign of things to come,
Aerosmith Aerosmith is an American rock band formed in Boston in 1970. The group consists of Steven Tyler (lead vocals), Joe Perry (guitar), Tom Hamilton (bass), Joey Kramer (drums) and Brad Whitford (guitar). Their style, which is rooted in blues ...
was in-studio to play their upcoming album ''Pump'' two weeks in advance of the album's release. Owing in part to Gorman's consultancy, WAAF hired Ruby Cheeks for morning drive that October. Cheeks was formerly a part of WMMS's morning show and had also hosted evenings and afternoons, and had left the station in a contract dispute. WAAF's musical direction was shifted to what was called " Rock 40", featuring harder songs by core artists while increasing the amount of new and current music played. Gorman publicly called it a "fine-tuning" of the playlist instead of a format shift, while the move was also made to improve WAAF's ratings in Boston as opposed to Worcester. With the relaunch, the station was re-branded as "Untamed Radio", a slogan also used on
WRQK-FM WRQK-FM (106.9 FM broadcasting, FM) is a commercial Radio broadcasting, radio station licensed to serve Canton, Ohio, featuring a mainstream rock format known as "Rock 106.9". Owned by iHeartMedia, the station serves both the Canton–Massillon, ...
in
Canton, Ohio Canton () is a city in and the county seat of Stark County, Ohio. It is located approximately south of Cleveland and south of Akron in Northeast Ohio. The city lies on the edge of Ohio's extensive Amish country, particularly in Holmes an ...
, another station Gorman oversaw. Greg Hill, who had joined the station's promotions department in 1986, was promoted to overnights in June, then named as Ruby Cheeks's co-host that November. While John Gorman's consultancy over WAAF eventually ended after he took over as program director for WMJI in Cleveland and subsequently returned to WMMS and WHK (1420 AM) in 1994, Gorman held high praise for Valeri's work as programmer for WAAF, telling ''Hitmakers'' magazine, "could you imagine what (Ron) would do with a full Boston Metro signal?" Starting on January 9, 1991, WAAF's programming was simulcast over WFTQ due to what John Sutherland called "substantial losses" for the AM station's prior format; among the people dismissed was Steve LeVeille. This simulcast ended on September 8 when Zapis Communications entered into an agreement with the
Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of t ...
, then the owners of WEEI (590 AM), to simulcast the newly converted
sports radio Sports radio (or sports talk radio) is a radio format devoted entirely to discussion and broadcasting of sporting events. A widespread programming genre that has a narrow audience appeal, sports radio is characterized by an often- boisterous on ...
outlet under the WVEI call sign.


Alternative and "raunchy" lean

As the station continued to evolve under the "Untamed Radio" brand, Liz Wilde was hired initially for evenings in 1990, then promoted to afternoon drive in early 1992. Following Ruby Cheeks' departure from WAAF to return to Cleveland at WNCX, Greg Hill assumed sole hosting duties for what would be called ''The Hill-Man Morning Show''. Both Wilde and Hill's on-air presentations, in addition to billboards and television commercials suggestively promoting the station, netted attention in the local press for what was deemed as "raunchy" content. General manager Bruce Mittman and program director Ron Valeri defended their content to the Boston Globe as appealing to the 18-34 male demographic, Mittman, in particular, praised Wilde for her creativity. Hill also defended his show by saying, "If something annoys you, turn the knob. Shut it off." Following Wilde's promotion to afternoons,
John Osterlind Rebecca Pratt (March 10, 1967 – December 31, 2022) was an American radio broadcaster. Life and career Pratt was born in Norwalk, Connecticut, on March 10, 1967. She graduated from Roger Ludlowe High School in Fairfield, Connecticut, in 1985 ...
took over as evening host. Much of the station's change to an aggressive presentation came with WAAF's further orientation to the Boston market, having opened a sales office in Newton in 1991. In the Arbitron ratings in that period, WAAF ranked number one in Worcester, number four in Springfield, in the top five stations in
Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The ...
and in the top ten in Boston and
Providence Providence often refers to: * Providentia, the divine personification of foresight in ancient Roman religion * Divine providence, divinely ordained events and outcomes in Christianity * Providence, Rhode Island, the capital of Rhode Island in the ...
, all in the 18-34 male demo; management viewed WAAF as speaking to an audience rather than speaking to a geographical location. WAAF also championed local band Extreme upon the release of their album ''
Pornograffitti ''Extreme II: Pornograffitti'' (also known as simply ''Pornograffiti'') is the second studio album by the heavy metal band Extreme, released on August 7, 1990 through A&M Records. The album title is a portmanteau of pornography and graffit ...
'' and single " More Than Words", hosting a softball duel between the band and station staffers at Lampson Field in Billerica. Every November, starting in 1993, WAAF held a popular annual charity event "Walk and Rock for Change", raising money for food banks in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. During this event, the DJs from the station walked across Massachusetts, asking for change from the people as they stopped in each town and airing interviews along the way. Starting in 2003, during this event, WAAF DJs played requested songs not normally heard on the station for a donation. For the first two weeks of December 1993, Greg Hill engaged in an elaborate stunt dressed up as a "Mystery
Santa Santa Claus, also known as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Kris Kringle, or simply Santa, is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring children gifts during the late evening and overnigh ...
", handing out $50 dollar bills to random people, and even to
Boston Mayor The mayor of Boston is the head of the municipal government in Boston, Massachusetts. Boston has a mayor–council government. Boston's mayoral elections are nonpartisan (as are all municipal elections in Boston), and elect a mayor to a four-y ...
Thomas Menino Thomas Michael Menino (December 27, 1942 – October 30, 2014) was an American politician who served as the 53rd mayor of Boston, from 1993 to 2014. He was the city's longest-serving mayor. He was elected mayor in 1993 after first serving three ...
, who declined the money offer. Hill's reveal took place in a news conference after several days of $10,000 giveaways, including several hundred dollars to a homeless shelter, saying he was aiming to capture "the curiosity of the people." Liz Wilde would leave WAAF for the evening slot on WLUP-FM (97.9) in Chicago in March 1995. It was her replacements in the afternoon time slot, however, that would garner the station ample amounts of attention and infamy.


Opie and Anthony

In early 1995,
Gregg "Opie" Hughes Gregg Hughes, better known by his air name Opie, is an American radio personality and podcast host best known as the former co-host of the ''Opie and Anthony'' radio show that aired from 1995 to 2014 with Anthony Cumia and comedian Jim Norton. ...
and Anthony Cumia were a newly established duo hosting a late-night program over
WBAB WBAB (102.3 FM) is a classic rock radio station licensed to Babylon, New York and owned by Cox Radio. The station is also simulcast on WHFM (95.3 FM) licensed to Southampton, New York and serving eastern Long Island. History WBAB first wen ...
in
Babylon, New York The Town of Babylon is one of ten towns in Suffolk County, New York, United States. Its population was 218,223 as of the 2020 census. Parts of Jones Beach Island, Captree Island and Fire Island are in the southernmost part of the town. It border ...
. WAAF program director Ron Valeri tuned into WBAB while visiting family in
Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United States and the 18 ...
and called Hughes to offer them a job. General manager Bruce Mittman later recounted he "almost drove off the road laughing" from listening to an
aircheck In the radio industry, an aircheck is generally a demonstration recording, often intended to show off the talent of an announcer or programmer to a prospective employer, but mainly intended for legal archiving purposes. A ''scoped'' (short for "te ...
assembled by Hughes, and after a competing offer from a Dallas station, Hughes and Cumia were hired by WAAF in afternoon drive in March 1995, officially replacing Liz Wilde. Shortly after the debut of ''Opie and Anthony'', Valeri left the station and was replaced by Dave Douglas; Cumia ignored directives from Douglas and dropped most of the music from their program. Despite this, Douglas cited their show as part of a high-profile airstaff where every daypart could easily be a well-performing morning show on another station. The duo had several publicity stunts throughout their tenure at WAAF, the most infamous one being "100 Grand" where after weeks of on-air promotions implying otherwise, the winning caller to a contest giveaway won a 100 Grand Bar instead of $100,000. In May 1997, Hughes and Cumia started one of their most notorious promotions: "Whip 'em Out Wednesday", where women engaged in "flashing" to any oncoming drivers that had a "WOW" sticker on their car. The show was suspended for two weeks after a confidential memo from management was read aloud by the duo, while Bruce Mittman canceled the promotion after nine weeks when police contacted station management; Mittman denied the suspension was related. A compilation album of their material from WAAF, '' Demented World'', was released in October 1997. Hughes and Cumia further accelerated the rivalry between WAAF and WBCN, especially after Nik Carter replaced Mark Parenteau against their show on WBCN. Carter, who was African-American, was targeted not only by Hughes and Cumia, but by nighttime host "Rocko" for his ethnicity; a rant on ''Opie and Anthony'' on November 17, 1997, also contained what were construed as threats of physical violence towards Carter, labeled with the pejorative "Disco Boy" by the duo. Carter responded in kind by calling WAAF "the hate station in Worcester" and "We Are All Fonies", in addition to in-kind pejoratives against Hughes, Cumia and Rocko, both on-air and on the station's website. Hughes responded by telling the ''Boston Globe'', "Eventually it's gonna come down to talent and, not to sound cocky, (Carter's) not in our league... (WBCN is) trying to create talk for their guy, a
Howard Stern Howard Allan Stern (born January 12, 1954) is an American radio and television personality, comedian, and author. He is best known for his radio show, '' The Howard Stern Show'', which gained popularity when it was nationally syndicated on terr ...
wannabe with no talent to back what he does." WAAF would become the subject of unwanted national and international attention in April 1998 after an
April Fools' Day April Fools' Day or All Fools' Day is an annual custom on 1 April consisting of practical jokes and hoaxes. Jokesters often expose their actions by shouting "April Fools!" at the recipient. Mass media can be involved in these pranks, which may ...
prank by Hughes and Cumia claimed that Boston mayor
Thomas Menino Thomas Michael Menino (December 27, 1942 – October 30, 2014) was an American politician who served as the 53rd mayor of Boston, from 1993 to 2014. He was the city's longest-serving mayor. He was elected mayor in 1993 after first serving three ...
was killed in a car accident in Florida, accompanied by a
Haiti Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and s ...
an prostitute. This included staged phone-in reports from two people claiming to be a policeman and news reporter, respectively. In reality, Menino was on a flight as the prank unfolded; when notified, he joked about "being back from the dead" but filed a complaint with the FCC over the hoax, saying WAAF "blatantly disregarded the personal and public turmoil they were causing my family and the city" after Hughes and Cumia jokingly offered on-air to allow themselves to be stockaded at Boston City Hall Plaza and pied by Menino. While the FCC took no action, the negative reaction caused
American Radio Systems American Radio Systems Corporation was a radio company that existed from 1993 until 1998. Its predecessor, Atlantic Ventures, was founded by Steven B. Dodge, Eric Schultz, Joseph Winn, and Michael Milsom. American Radio Systems was formed from ...
(which had purchased the station, along with its AM counterpart, for $24.8 million on August 1, 1996) to fire the duo and suspend Mittman for one month and Douglas for a week. Mittman later claimed he had no advance knowledge of the prank, having taken the day off to celebrate his 20th wedding anniversary. Both Hughes and Cumia signed a deal to host afternoons at
WNEW-FM WNEW-FM (102.7 FM, ''NEW 102.7'') is a hot adult contemporary formatted radio station, licensed to New York, New York and owned by Audacy, Inc. The station's studios are located at the Audacy facility in the Hudson Square neighborhood of Ma ...
in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
several weeks after the firing. As part of the deal, Hughes and Cumia frequently appeared on Nik Carter's afternoon program through phone-in appearances on co-owned WBCN, which later simulcast their WNEW-FM program beginning in August 2001.


The Boston rock radio war

WAAF's rivalry with WBCN continued to escalate throughout the late 1990s. In February 1997, both stations engaged in a war of words over who had an advance copy of the
Aerosmith Aerosmith is an American rock band formed in Boston in 1970. The group consists of Steven Tyler (lead vocals), Joe Perry (guitar), Tom Hamilton (bass), Joey Kramer (drums) and Brad Whitford (guitar). Their style, which is rooted in blues ...
album ''Nine Lives'' first; WAAF offered to play it over the phone to anyone who would call in, while during a listening party for the CD, WBCN announcer Mark Parenteau ripped WAAF as "juvenile" and "trailer park trash bottom feeders". WZLX, co-owned with WBCN, wound up playing the album first over the air and received a
cease and desist A cease and desist letter is a document sent to an individual or business to stop alleged illegal activity. The phrase "cease and desist" is a legal doublet, made up of two near-synonyms. The letter may warn that, if the recipient does not disc ...
order. That May, WAAF and WFNX management both accused WBCN and program director Oedipus of directing local bands away from functions hosted by either station. In a ''Radio & Records'' op-ed, WAAF program director Dave Douglas saw WBCN's booking of Primus—a band WAAF had played more than any other station in the Boston market—for a festival as insulting, along with a concert performed by Tonic not sponsored by any station but co-opted by WBCN. The rivalry was justified. WBCN reported to industry trades as both an active rock and alternative hybrid at this period; WAAF shared as much as 59% of its audience with WBCN in the local ratings, while WBCN shared 32% of its audience with WAAF. The overlap between the two stations became so pronounced that a ''Boston Globe'' story in 2000 pointed out directly how much WAAF and WBCN "sounded alike", with nearly identical music playlists and equally provocative air personalities, in what industry analyst Tom Taylor called "the rock wars in Boston". The competitiveness was especially notable as WBCN had several distinct advantages over WAAF: a signal centered in
Greater Boston Greater Boston is the metropolitan region of New England encompassing the municipality of Boston (the capital of the U.S. state of Massachusetts and the most populous city in New England) and its surrounding areas. The region forms the northern a ...
, the local rights to ''
The Howard Stern Show ''The Howard Stern Show'' is an American radio show hosted by Howard Stern that gained wide recognition when it was nationally syndicated on terrestrial radio from WXRK in New York City, between 1986 and 2005. The show has aired on Howard 100 a ...
'', and the
flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the ...
station designation for the
New England Patriots Radio Network The New England Patriots Radio Network is a radio network which carries live game broadcasts of the New England Patriots. The network's flagship station is WBZ-FM Boston. Bob Socci, who now does the play-by-play with former Patriots quarterbac ...
. Another unseen factor took place on September 20, 1997, when WAAF owner American Radio Systems was purchased by WBCN owner
Infinity Broadcasting Corporation Infinity Broadcasting Corporation was a radio company that existed from 1972 until 2005. It was founded by Michael A. Wiener and Gerald Carrus. It became associated with popular radio personalities like Howard Stern, Opie and Anthony, Don Imus a ...
's parent company,
Westinghouse Electric Corporation The Westinghouse Electric Corporation was an American manufacturing company founded in 1886 by George Westinghouse. It was originally named "Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Company" and was renamed "Westinghouse Electric Corporation" in ...
, for $1.6 billion. Due to both American Radio and Infinity having multiple station holdings in the Boston market,
Entercom Audacy, Inc. is an American broadcasting company based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1968 as Entercom Communications Corporation, it is the second largest radio company in the United States, owning 235 radio stations across 48 media ...
purchased WAAF and WWTM, along with WEEI (850 AM), WRKO, and WEGQ, from the combined entity for $140 million on August 14, 1998. After the sale, WAAF moved its studios from Worcester to Boston at a combined facility with the other Entercom acquisitions; the city of license remained Worcester. Prior to the merger and divestiture, WAAF was briefly simulcast on the AM dial again, this time over WNFT (1150 AM) starting in June 1997, replacing a previous simulcast of WKLB (96.9 FM) as a placeholder until ARS could determine a new format for WNFT. WAAF took credit for being the first radio station to play Godsmack in 1999, giving the band extensive airplay before landing a music deal. In fact, WAAF had booked the band as a warm-up act for a Days of the New concert in December 1997, where they reportedly "stole the show" in a ''Globe'' concert review. On June 13, 1999, the station also hosted an impromptu concert headlined by
Limp Bizkit Limp Bizkit is an American rap rock band from Jacksonville, Florida. Its lineup consists of lead vocalist Fred Durst, drummer John Otto, guitarist Wes Borland, turntablist DJ Lethal and bassist Sam Rivers. The band's music is marked by D ...
on a parking garage rooftop across the street from
Fenway Park Fenway Park is a baseball stadium located in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, near Kenmore Square. Since 1912, it has been the home of the Boston Red Sox, the city's American League baseball team, and Boston Braves (baseball), since 1953, i ...
; the start time was moved up by an hour after WBCN announced the location on-air 15 minutes before WAAF did, and the performance only lasted for 25 minutes before police ordered it to end. During the production of a WAAF compilation CD, an audio track by evening host Mistress Carrie that gave out a phone number to someone named "Mike" was inserted as an inside joke; the phone number given was the inside studio line to WBCN, forcing WBCN to change their hotline. Mistress Carrie, who has never publicly disclosed her
surname In some cultures, a surname, family name, or last name is the portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family, tribe or community. Practices vary by culture. The family name may be placed at either the start of a person's full name ...
, applied to be a producer for ''Opie and Anthony'' right before their dismissal in 1998, but was still hired full-time to the evening shift; her involvement at the station dated back to a college internship seven years earlier. Carrie eventually hosted both afternoon drive and middays.


Signal adjustments

While it had been teased as early as 1999 when their studio was moved to downtown Boston, WAAF was finally able to commence testing at a new transmission site at the WUNI tower on Stiles Hill in
Boylston Boylston may refer to the following communities: ;Canada * Boylston, Nova Scotia ;United States * Boylston, Massachusetts * Boylston, New York * Boylston, Wisconsin * Boylston Junction, Wisconsin It may also refer to: * Helen Dore Boylston, au ...
between October 31 and November 22, 2005, on program test authority from the FCC; along with this relocation, WAAF's
city of license In American, Canadian, and Mexican broadcasting, a city of license or community of license is the community that a radio station or television station is officially licensed to serve by that country's broadcast regulator. In North American b ...
designation was reassigned from Worcester to
Westborough, Massachusetts Westborough is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 21,567 at the 2020 Census, in over 7,000 households. Incorporated in 1717, the town is governed under the New England open town meeting system, headed ...
. While the station's signal strength decreased in most parts of Connecticut and western Massachusetts, the move was an attempt to concentrate the signal into Greater Boston. WAAF resumed broadcasting at the Paxton site to address alleged multipath issues, which were blamed on a faulty T1 line between their Brighton studios and the transmitter site. These issues were resolved by the spring and summer of 2006, when WAAF resumed operations at the Boylston site. The original program test authority lasted until May 26, 2011, when the FCC officially issued a license for the site.


Simulcast with WKAF

Radio One announced the sale of Brockton-licensed WILD-FM (97.7) to Entercom for $30 million on August 21, 2006, in what Radio One President Alfred C. Liggins called "a very good start to our asset disposition process." Entercom's purchase came after their purchase of 15 small-market stations from
CBS Radio CBS Radio was a radio broadcasting company and radio network operator owned by CBS Corporation and founded in 1928, with consolidated radio station groups owned by CBS and Westinghouse Broadcasting/Group W since the 1920s, and Infinity Broad ...
earlier in the day; those stations and WILD-FM totaled $250 million. Entercom entered into a time brokerage agreement several hours after the announcement, and switched WILD-FM to a simulcast of WAAF, enabling full-market coverage of WAAF's programming in Downtown Boston and other parts of the metro area. After stunting with a computerized countdown sequence, the simulcast began at 5:30 p.m. the next day with
AC/DC AC/DC (stylised as ACϟDC) are an Australian rock band formed in Sydney in 1973 by Scottish-born brothers Malcolm and Angus Young. Their music has been variously described as hard rock, blues rock, and heavy metal, but the band calls it ...
's "
For Those About to Rock (We Salute You) "For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)" is a song by the Australian hard rock band AC/DC. The song was first released on AC/DC's eighth studio album '' For Those About to Rock We Salute You'' in 1981, and later as a single in 1982. The single ...
". WILD-FM's call sign was changed to WKAF on August 30, 2006. The addition of WKAF was seen by industry analyst Scott Fybush as a way for WAAF to finally achieve signal parity with WBCN; Fybush considered the combination of WAAF's new Boylston signal and WKAF's signal as "the biggest FM coverage of any single Boston facility." In 2007, the station was nominated for the ''
Radio & Records ''Radio & Records'' (''R&R'') was a trade publication providing news and airplay information for the radio and music industries. It started as an independent trade from 1973 to 2006 until VNU Media took over in 2006 and became a relaunched sister ...
'' magazine active rock station of the year in a top 25 market award; other nominees included
WIYY WIYY (97.9 FM, "98 Rock") is a commercial radio station in Baltimore, Maryland. It is owned by Hearst Communications and broadcasts a mainstream rock radio format. WIYY shares studios and offices with sister stations WBAL and WBAL-TV on T ...
in Baltimore, KBPI in Denver,
WRIF WRIF (101.1 FM) is a commercial active rock radio station licensed in Detroit, Michigan and serving Metro Detroit as well as bordering city Windsor, Ontario, Canada. The station is currently owned by Beasley Media Group. WRIF is a grandfathered ...
in Detroit,
WMMR WMMR (93.3 FM, "93-3 WMMR") is a commercial radio station licensed to serve Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The station is owned by the Beasley Broadcast Group, through licensee Beasley Media Group, LLC, and broadcasts an active rock radio format. ...
in Philadelphia, and
KISW KISW (99.9 FM) – branded 99.9 KISW, The Rock of Seattle – is a commercial mainstream rock radio station licensed to Seattle, Washington. Owned by Audacy, Inc., the station serves the Seattle metropolitan area; live shows include ''The Me ...
in Seattle. WAAF became the longest-running rock radio station in the Boston market on August 12, 2009, after a complicated series of simultaneous format changes by CBS Radio, where WBCN's call sign changed to
WBMX WBMX (104.3 FM, 104.3 Jams) is a commercial radio station in Chicago, Illinois, serving the Chicago metropolitan area and Northwest Indiana. The station is owned by Audacy, Inc. and airs a classic hip hop radio format. WBMX's studios and offic ...
and format from rock to
hot adult contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quiet ...
; WBMX's call sign changed to
WBZ-FM WBZ-FM (98.5 FM) is a commercial sports radio station licensed to Boston, Massachusetts, serving Greater Boston and much of surrounding New England. Owned by the Beasley Broadcast Group, WBZ-FM is the Boston affiliate for Fox Sports Radio; t ...
and format from hot AC to
sports radio Sports radio (or sports talk radio) is a radio format devoted entirely to discussion and broadcasting of sporting events. A widespread programming genre that has a narrow audience appeal, sports radio is characterized by an often- boisterous on ...
as "The Sports Hub"; and WBCN's rock format was moved to the "new" WBZ-FM's second
digital subchannel In broadcasting, digital subchannels are a method of transmitting more than one independent program stream simultaneously from the same digital radio or television station on the same radio frequency channel. This is done by using data compress ...
. WKAF broke away from the WAAF simulcast on January 5, 2017, when Entercom debuted a separate
urban adult contemporary Urban adult contemporary, often abbreviated as urban AC or UAC, (also known as adult R&B,) is the name for a format of radio music, similar to an urban contemporary format. Radio stations using this format usually would not have hip hop music on ...
format; a press release sent out by Entercom stated that WKAF "delivered little appreciable audience beyond (WAAF's) booming signal". With the switch, WAAF added simulcasts on the second digital subchannel of WKAF and the third digital subchannel of WEEI-FM. One month later, Entercom entered into an agreement to merge with CBS Radio via a
Reverse Morris Trust A Reverse Morris Trust in United States law is a transaction that combines a divisive reorganization ( spin-off) with an acquisitive reorganization ( statutory merger) to allow a tax-free transfer (in the guise of a merger) of a subsidiary. It may ...
. Entercom, the surviving entity, retained WAAF and divested WKAF (along with several other stations) to
iHeartMedia, Inc. iHeartMedia, Inc., formerly CC Media Holdings, Inc., is an American mass media corporation headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It is the holding company of iHeartCommunications, Inc. (formerly Clear Channel Communications, Inc.), a company fou ...


Departure of Greg Hill

The final ''Hill-man Morning Show'' aired on WAAF on July 19, 2019. Greg Hill and co-host Danielle Murr were transferred from WAAF to the morning-drive timeslot on WEEI-FM (and by extension, WVEI, due to it being a full-time affiliate of WEEI-FM's regional network) in the wake of
Gerry Callahan Gerald "Gerry" Callahan is a radio show host best known for hosting a longtime morning program for WEEI-FM, a sports radio station in the Boston market. He began his career as a sports reporter for '' The Sun'' in Lowell in 1983, then the ''Bost ...
's dismissal from WEEI-FM over declining ratings. Callahan's co-host, Mike Mutnansky, was reassigned to weeknights on WEEI-FM, while Hill's other co-host Lyndon Byers and producer Mike Hsu were moved to afternoon drive on WAAF. Byers abruptly quit on air in the middle of a show less than two months later. This left Hsu and Mistress Carrie as the lone remaining on air personalities on the station, along with ''The Mens Room'' in evenings, despite a "national search" for Hill's replacement announced by WAAF management when he left. In November 2019, the station announced a 50th anniversary concert for early April 2020 headlined by Godsmack, a band WAAF had championed 20 years earlier. Intended as part of a year-long celebration, no other events were ever announced or scheduled.


Sale to EMF

On February 18, 2020, Entercom announced that WAAF would be sold to the
Educational Media Foundation Educational Media Foundation (formerly EMF Broadcasting, abbreviated EMF) is an American nonprofit Christian media ministry based in Franklin, Tennessee, a suburb of Nashville. EMF is the parent company of K-LOVE and Air1—the world's largest ...
for $10.75 million. Under a network affiliation agreement signed on February 14, the station would join EMF's K-Love network on February 22. Entercom would still provide two hours of programming for the station on Sunday mornings, so as to satisfy
U.S. Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdictio ...
-mandated public affairs requirements. This agreement ended WAAF's 50-year run as a rock station; Entercom's
press release A press release is an official statement delivered to members of the news media for the purpose of providing information, creating an official statement, or making an announcement directed for public release. Press releases are also considere ...
regarding the sale stated that "WAAF"-branded rock programming would continue to air on the second
HD Radio HD Radio (HDR) is a trademark for an in-band on-channel (IBOC) digital radio broadcast technology. It generally simulcasts an existing analog radio station in digital format with less noise and with additional text information. HD Radio is used ...
channels of WWBX and WEEI-FM (both channels had been simulcasting WAAF), as well as on Entercom's
Radio.com Audacy, previously known as Radio.com, is a free broadcast and Internet radio platform owned by the namesake company Audacy, Inc. (formerly known as Entercom). The Audacy platform functions as a music recommender system and is the national umbr ...
platform. Despite the K-Love network affiliation agreement having been officially signed four days earlier, on a Friday, Mistress Carrie and Mike Hsu were not informed of the transaction until two hours before the press release was issued, in between both of their respective airshifts. While still a Worcester-market station, the sale also effectively marked EMF's entry into the Boston market, which had previously received K-Love programming via a lease of Methuen-licensed WUBG (1570 AM), along with two FM translators in Boston's northern suburbs and reception in the southern end of the market of the network's
Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay ...
station, WLVO (95.5 FM). EMF vice president of signal development Joe Miller said that Boston was "one of the last major markets we haven't been able to get a major signal into until now." The final day of WAAF's rock format consisted of a 14-hour farewell program co-hosted by program director Joe Calgaro, Mistress Carrie, and Mike Hsu. Among the in-studio guests was Aerosmith bass player Tom Hamilton, who personally reminisced about the first time he heard '' Dream On'' played anywhere on radio while driving in his car, listening to WAAF. Other guests on the program included
Bob Rivers Robert Rivers (born July 7, 1956 in Branford, Connecticut) is a retired American rock and roll radio on-air personality in the Pacific Northwest, as well as a prolific producer and songwriter of parody songs, most famous for his Christmas son ...
, Peter Zipfel, Greg Hill, Gregg "Opie" Hughes, Anthony Cumia, and John Osterlind. Mistress Carrie would later say of the offer by Entercom to do such a long farewell program, "that is a gift that we were given that we will never be able to repay. It's like being awake and attending your own wake and funeral... that you are there to hear all the nice things people would say about you if you were dead, it was overwhelming." During the final hour, all three hosts stated on-air that internal plans had been in place to "relaunch the station" on March 2. These plans were to have included re-hiring station veteran Mike Brangiforte as the new morning show host, canceling ''The Mens Room'' for a local night host, teaming up Hsu with Calgaro, and a revamped music playlist curated by Mistress Carrie. All of these purported plans were immediately aborted once the sale to EMF was announced, with the ensuing "WAAF"-branded rock programming operating without any air personalities. * The last song played on WAAF prior to joining the K-Love network was "
Black Sabbath Black Sabbath were an English rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. They are often cited as pioneers of heavy met ...
", from
Black Sabbath Black Sabbath were an English rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. They are often cited as pioneers of heavy met ...
's self-titled debut album. The selection was intentional, as Mistress Carrie explained, "the album came out weeks before we signed on the air, and Ozzy released a new album ( ''Ordinary Man'') the day we signed off, and is the only artist to stay current for all 50 years of our history, and well... SATAN. If EMF was going to take our beloved signal, they were going to have to endure Satan first." Hsu also quipped, "I was hoping they (EMF) had to throw some
holy water Holy water is water that has been blessed by a member of the clergy or a religious figure, or derived from a well or spring considered holy. The use for cleansing prior to a baptism and spiritual cleansing is common in several religions, from ...
on the stick when (the clock) turned." Following the switchover, around 150 fans, former employees and staff members celebrated the station's legacy outside of the Brighton studios with an outdoor
champagne Champagne (, ) is a sparkling wine originated and produced in the Champagne wine region of France under the rules of the appellation, that demand specific vineyard practices, sourcing of grapes exclusively from designated places within it, spe ...
toast Toast most commonly refers to: * Toast (food), bread browned with dry heat * Toast (honor), a ritual in which a drink is taken Toast may also refer to: Places * Toast, North Carolina, a census-designated place in the United States Books * '' ...
in the parking lot. Upon the takeover, Entercom " parked" the WAAF call sign on a station in Scranton, Pennsylvania; that station's previous WBZU calls were transferred to WAAF in a temporary move, effective February 26, 2020. The WBZU call letters had themselves been parked in Scranton 15 years earlier when another Entercom-owned station in
Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the county seat of Dane County and the capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census the population was 269,840, making it the second-largest city in Wisconsin by population, after Milwaukee, and the 80th-lar ...
, changed formats and call letters. Entercom then changed the station's call sign to WKVB on March 6; EMF had previously used the WKVB call sign on the K-Love station at
Port Matilda, Pennsylvania Port Matilda is a borough in Centre County, Pennsylvania. It is part of the State College, Pennsylvania metropolitan statistical area and is located approximately halfway between State College and Altoona. The population was 606 at the 2010 censu ...
. EMF's purchase of WKVB was completed on April 21, 2020. Despite the sale, WAAF's planned "Big Gig" concert was still scheduled to be held on April 25, 2020; however, on March 27, Entercom announced that it would be postponed to April 24, 2021, due to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
.


Current programming

WKVB does not air local programming; all content is transmitted via satellite by the Educational Media Foundation's K-Love network based out of
Rocklin, California Rocklin is a city in Placer County, California, about from Sacramento, and about northeast of Roseville in the Sacramento metropolitan area. Besides Roseville, it shares borders with Granite Bay, Loomis and Lincoln. As of the 2010 census, Ro ...
. This excludes one hour of public affairs programming produced for the station by EMF on Sunday nights.


Notes

  1. WBZU was only used for the station's top of the hour
    station identification Station identification (ident, network ID or channel ID or bumper) is the practice of radio and television stations and broadcast network, networks identifying themselves on-air, typically by means of a call sign or brand name (sometimes known, ...
    ; despite the similar call sign, there was no connection between WBZU and WBZ, WBZ-FM, or
    WBZ-TV WBZ-TV (channel 4) is a television station in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, airing programming from the CBS network. It is owned and operated by the network's CBS News and Stations division alongside independent station WSBK-TV (channe ...
    .
    Paramount Global Paramount Global (doing business as Paramount) is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate owned and operated by National Amusements (79.4%) and headquartered at One Astor Plaza in Midtown Manhattan, New York. I ...
    , which owns WBZ-TV, holds the trademark for "WBZ" and has
    licensed A license (or licence) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit). A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another party (licensee) as an element of an agreeme ...
    the rights to the WBZ call letters under long-term agreements with iHeartMedia and
    Beasley Broadcast Group Beasley Broadcast Group, Inc., based in Naples, Florida, is an owner/operator of radio stations in the United States. , the company owned 63 stations under the Beasley Media Group name. History The company was founded in 1961 by George G. Beasl ...
    following
    CBS Corporation The second incarnation of CBS Corporation (the first being a short-lived rename of the Westinghouse Electric Corporation) was an American multinational media conglomerate with interests primarily in commercial broadcasting, publishing, and t ...
    's divestiture of CBS Radio to Entercom.


References


External links

* * {{K-LOVE KVB (FM) Westborough, Massachusetts Radio stations established in 1961 1961 establishments in Massachusetts Educational Media Foundation radio stations K-Love radio stations KVB (FM)