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WVEI-FM (103.7
The station signed on October 17, 1967, as WERI-FM. At one time a simulcast of its sister AM station (1230 AM; now WBLQ), in the mid-1970s, WERI-FM became a totally separate station with an automated Drake/Chenault format called "Hit Parade". Eventually, in the early 1980s, the station switched to Stereo with a live album rock format called "Number 1-04", consulted by Clark Smidt. By the mid-1980s, after a major power upgrade, it had become "RI 104", a 
WWRX-FM was acquired by Radio Equity Partners in 1995; Radio Equity Partners, in turn, was purchased by
MHz
The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose expression in terms of SI base units is sā1, meaning that one he ...
, ''SportsRadio 103.7'') is a 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 ...
broadcasting a 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-ai ...
format, largely simulcasting 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 ...
-based WEEI-FM
WEEI-FM (93.7 Hertz, MHz) ā branded SportsRadio 93.7 WEEI-FM ā is a commercial Sports radio, sports Radio broadcasting, radio station licensed to Lawrence, Massachusetts, serving Greater Boston and much of surrounding New England. Owned by ...
. Licensed to Westerly, Rhode Island
Westerly is a town on the southwestern shoreline of Washington County, Rhode Island, first settled by English colonists in 1661 and incorporated as a municipality in 1669. It is a beachfront community on the south shore of the state with a popula ...
, United States. The station is owned by Audacy, Inc.
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 ...
In addition to WEEI programming, WVEI-FM carries Providence Friars men's basketball
The Providence Friars men's basketball team represents Providence College in NCAA Division I competition. They were a founding member of the original Big East Conference from 1979 until 2013, and are now a member of the current Big East Conferen ...
, Boston Bruins
The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team has been in existence since 1924, making t ...
hockey, and ESPN Radio
ESPN Radio, which is alternately platform-agnostically branded as ESPN Audio, is an American sports radio network and extension of the ESPN television network. It was launched on January 1, 1992, under the original banner of "SportsRadio ESPN". ...
. Its transmitter is in Exeter, Rhode Island
Exeter is a town in Washington County, Rhode Island, United States. Exeter extends east from the Connecticut border to the town of North Kingstown. It is bordered to the north by West Greenwich and East Greenwich, and to the south by Hopkinton, ...
but due to it being mostly a simulcast, its operations are run out of WEEI-FM's studios in Boston's Brighton
Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London.
Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...
neighborhood.
History
The station signed on October 17, 1967, as WERI-FM. At one time a simulcast of its sister AM station (1230 AM; now WBLQ), in the mid-1970s, WERI-FM became a totally separate station with an automated Drake/Chenault format called "Hit Parade". Eventually, in the early 1980s, the station switched to Stereo with a live album rock format called "Number 1-04", consulted by Clark Smidt. By the mid-1980s, after a major power upgrade, it had become "RI 104", a top 40
In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or " con ...
station. On March 9, 1987, the station changed its call sign to WWRX, and the station shifted to an album 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-orient ...
format. Though WWRX saw some success in the New London, Connecticut
New London is a seaport city and a port of entry on the northeast coast of the United States, located at the mouth of the Thames River in New London County, Connecticut. It was one of the world's three busiest whaling ports for several decades ...
, market, management opted to focus on the larger 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 ...
market, and the station moved its transmitter from West Greenwich
West Greenwich is a town in Kent County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 6,528 at the 2020 census. West Greenwich was named for the historic town of Greenwich, Kent, England. It was separated from East Greenwich in 1741. Stude ...
to Exeter
Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol.
In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal comm ...
in 1989. The call sign was modified to WWRX-FM on February 22, 1992, concurrent with a brief period of time in which then-sister station WHIM
Whim may refer to:
* Whim, U.S. Virgin Islands, a settlement
* Whim (mining), a capstan or drum with a vertical axle used in mining
* Whim (carriage), a type of carriage
* ''Whim'', a reissue of ''Adventures of Wim'', a book by George Cockroft as ...
(1110 AM; now WPMZ
WPMZ (1110 AM, "Poder 1110") is a radio station licensed to serve East Providence, Rhode Island, United States. The station is owned by Video Mundo Broadcasting Co., LLC. It airs a Spanish Tropical format. WPMZ is relayed on an FM translator: ...
) discontinued its country
A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...
format in favor of CNN Headline News
HLN is an American basic cable network. Owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, the network primarily carries true crime programming.
The channel was originally launched on January 1, 1982 by Turner Broadcasting as CNN2 (later renamed Headline News ...
under the WWRX call sign; however, the "-FM" suffix was not removed from 103.7 when the AM station reverted to WHIM and the country format in 1993.
WWRX-FM was acquired by Radio Equity Partners in 1995; Radio Equity Partners, in turn, was purchased by Clear Channel Communications
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 ...
the following year. After Clear Channel's acquisition of AMFM Broadcasting, WWRX was divested to Stephen Mindich, owner of '' The Providence Phoenix'', similar publications in Boston and Portland, Maine
Portland is the largest city in the U.S. state of Maine and the seat of Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 in April 2020. The Greater Portland metropolitan area is home to over half a million people, the 104th-largest metropol ...
, and Boston modern rock
Modern rock is an umbrella term used to describe rock music that is found on college rock radio stations. Some radio stations use this term to distinguish themselves from classic rock, which is based in 1960sā1980s rock music.
Radio format
Mod ...
station WFNX, in 2000. Mindich switched the station to modern rock on September 7, initially as a simulcast of WFNX, and later, starting in 2003, on its own.
In March 2004, Mindich sold WWRX-FM to Entercom. As a result, the station canceled its local programming on March 22 and reverted to the WFNX simulcast on a temporary basis as Entercom prepared to relaunch WWRX with the WEEI simulcast. The change of simulcast partners took effect on-air April 16, and the station was renamed WEEI-FM. The call letters were changed to WVEI-FM on September 14, 2011.
References
External links
* {{Entercom VEI-FM Sports radio stations in the United States Radio stations established in 1967 1967 establishments in Rhode Island Audacy, Inc. radio stations CBS Sports Radio stations