WBACH was a

radio network There are two types of radio network currently in use around the world: the one-to-many (simplex communication) broadcast network commonly used for public information and mass-media entertainment, and the two-way radio ( duplex communication) type ...

in the

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

state of

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...

, active from 1991 to 2017. Airing on four stations at its peak, the network broadcast 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 ...

format from studios in Kennebunk. Following the bankruptcy of

Nassau Broadcasting Partners Nassau Broadcasting Partners LP was a company based in Princeton, New Jersey that owned radio stations in New England and the Mid-Atlantic United States. Nassau's stations, which included both AM and FM frequencies, were located in Maryland, New J ...

in 2011, the network's stations were sold off and largely converted to

translators Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''transla ...

of other radio stations. The WBACH format and branding remained on one of the former network's stations, WBQX in Thomaston, and was added in 2013 to a new translator in

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

. The stations dropped the classical format in 2017.

History

The WBACH format was launched in November 1991, initially airing on WBQQ 99.3 in Kennebunk. The station was founded by Mariner Broadcasting, and (after assembling its network) was acquired by

in 2003. WBACH began to expand in 1998, when it bought another southern Maine classical music station, WPKM (106.3 FM) in

Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, su ...

, and renamed it WBQW. WPKM's classical format, in turn, originated on 97.9 FM (now

WJBQ WJBQ (97.9 FM; ''Q97 dot 9'') is a radio station in Portland, Maine, United States, which airs a CHR/Top 40 format. It transmits its signal from Gray, Maine, which can be heard throughout Southwestern Maine, and into portions of adjacent New Ham ...

) in 1971 as WDCS, moving to 106.3 in 1980 and becoming WPKM in 1988. WBQX signed on in 1992 and was previously known as WAVX "The Classical Wave" (then simulcast with 101.7, the current

WKVV WKVV (101.7 FM) is a radio station licensed to Searsport, Maine, United States. Established in 1994 as WBYA, the station serves the Bangor area. The stations is owned by the Educational Media Foundation. The station carries Educational Media F ...

). It also became part of the WBACH network in 1998. WBQI was previously WMDI, the call letters standing for Mount Desert Island, the area in which the city of license, Bar Harbor, is located. It joined the WBACH network in 2001. On October 6, 2008, WBACH realigned its southern Maine frequencies. WBQQ was removed from the network completely, shifting to a simulcast of

WTHT WTHT (99.9 FM broadcasting, FM; "The Wolf") is a radio station broadcasting a country music format. Licensed to Auburn, Maine, the station serves the Portland, Maine, Portland area. The station is owned by Binnie Media. Programming is simulcast o ...

, while WBQW moved from 106.3 to 104.7, swapping formats with

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 ...

station WHXQ. Nassau Broadcasting entered bankruptcy in 2011, which culminated in an auction of its stations. Prior to the conclusion of the auction, the Maine Public Broadcasting Network expressed interest in running the WBACH stations. As part of Nassau Broadcasting's bankruptcy proceeding, WBQW was auctioned in May 2012 to Mainestream Media for $150,000, while the other WBACH stations, along with Nassau's 28 other northern New England stations, went to a partnership of WBIN-TV owner Bill Binnie and Jeff Shapiro. As part of the deal, 17 of the stations, including WBQX and WBQI, will be acquired by Binnie's WBIN Media Company.Nassau’s Maine Stations Split Up
Al Diamon, Downeast.com, May 4, 2012 (updated May 23, 2012) The purchase was consummated on November 30, 2012, at a price of $12.5 million. WBIN Media plans to resell WBQI to Blueberry Broadcasting. Mainestream Media began programming WBQW on September 13 with

Christmas music Christmas music comprises a variety of genres of music regularly performed or heard around the Christmas season. Music associated with Christmas may be purely instrumental, or, in the case of carols or songs, may employ lyrics whose subject ma ...

en route to launching a Top 40/CHR format the next day (it now broadcasts as

WHTP-FM WHTP-FM (104.7 FM broadcasting, FM) is an American radio station licensed to serve the city of license, community of Kennebunkport, Maine, serving York County, Maine, York County and southern Cumberland County, Maine. Its signal is broadcast from ...

and has since become a

rhythmic contemporary Rhythmic contemporary, also known as Rhythmic Top 40, Rhythmic CHR or rhythmic crossover, is a primarily American music-radio format that includes a mix of EDM, upbeat rhythmic pop, hip hop and upbeat R&B hits. Rhythmic contemporary never uses ...

radio station); this removed WBACH entirely from its original southern Maine market. On August 7, 2012, WBQX was granted a construction permit to increase their ERP to 30,000 watts and to raise their height above sea level up to 232 meters (761 feet). The construction permit expired on August 7, 2015. On November 30, 2012, WBQI split from its simulcast with WBQX and began simulcasting classic hits-formatted

WABK-FM WABK-FM (104.3 MHz) is a commercial FM radio station licensed to Gardiner, Maine, and serving Augusta and Central Maine. It airs a classic hits radio format. WABK-FM is part of a three-way simulcast with FM 104.7 WBAK Belfast and FM 107.7 ...

104.3 from Gardiner. On January 3, 2013, WBQI changed its call sign to WBKA. On April 15, 2013, WBQX returned to Portland through FM translator W245AA at 96.9 FM and

's HD2 subchannel. Portland was previously served by WBQW. On February 19, 2017, WBQX was replaced in Portland with a simulcast of WTHT and in Thomaston with a simulcast of

WFNK WFNK (107.5 FM) – branded ''Frank 107.5 –'' is a commercial classic hits radio station licensed to serve Lewiston, Maine. Owned by Binnie Media, the station services the Portland metropolitan area. WFNK has an effective radiated power (ERP) ...

. No reason was given for the sudden termination of the classical format.

Stations

* WBQW and WBQQ both served York County, greater

and portions of the

Seacoast Region (New Hampshire) The Seacoast Region is the southeast area of the U.S. state of New Hampshire that includes the eastern portion of Rockingham County and the southern portion of Strafford County. The region stretches along the Atlantic Ocean from New Hampshire' ...

. *

WBQX WBQX (106.9 FM, "Frank FM") is a radio station broadcasting a classic hits music format. Licensed to Thomaston, Maine, United States, it serves the Mid Coast region. It first began broadcasting in 1992 under the call sign WAVX. The station is ...

served the

Mid Coast The Midcoast is a region of Maine that includes the coastal counties of Lincoln, Knox, Waldo, Sagadahoc, and the northern coastal portion of Cumberland counties. Some of the towns are: *Alna * Arrowsic * Bath *Belfast *Boothbay * Boothbay ...

primarily, but could also be heard in Augusta. * WBQI served

Down East "Down East", also "Downeast", is a term for parts of eastern coastal New England and Canada, particularly the U.S. state of Maine and Canada's Maritime Provinces, an area that closely corresponds to the historical French territory of Acadia. Th ...

Maine primarily, but could also be heard in Bangor.

References

External links

Maine Radio History from bostonradio.org
{{Classic Hits Radio Stations in Maine

BACH Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard w ...

Classical music radio stations in the United States Radio stations established in 1991 Radio stations disestablished in 2017 Defunct radio networks in the United States 1991_establishments_in_Maine 2017_disestablishments_in_Maine

Defunct radio stations in the United States