WVBF (1530 AM) is a radio station broadcasting a news/talk format. Licensed to Middleborough Center, Massachusetts, United States, the station serves the Middleborough/Taunton area. The station is currently owned by Massachusetts state senator Marc R. Pacheco through his MRP Communications and Consulting, LLC.[5] WVBF carries the Massachusetts Reading Network when not airing local programming. USA Radio News plays at the top of the hour during locally produced programs.
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Broadcast area | Middleborough–Taunton |
Frequency | 1530 kHz |
Branding | AM 1530 WVBF |
Programming | |
Format | News/talk, radio reading service |
Affiliations |
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Ownership | |
Owner |
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History | |
First air date | March 31, 1992[1][2] |
Former call signs | WCEG (1992–1997) |
Call sign meaning | Virginia B. Fairbanks, wife of owner of unrelated WVBF (now WROR-FM)[3] |
Technical information[4] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
Facility ID | 63403 |
Class | D |
Power |
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Transmitter coordinates | 41°52′56″N 71°3′50″W / 41.88222°N 71.06389°W |
Translator(s) | 99.7 W259DD (Middleborough Center) |
Links | |
Public license information | |
Website | wvbfradio |
History
editThe station went on the air as WCEG on March 31, 1992.[1][2] [dead link ] Original owner Steven J. Callahan sold the station to Metro South Broadcasting, owner of WMSX in Brockton, on January 7, 1993.[6] The new owners dropped WCEG's music programming in favor of a simulcast of WMSX; separate programming was subsequently introduced in Portuguese.[7] However, the station had been silent for several years by 1996, when Callahan reached a deal to repurchase the station.[8][9] Soon after reassuming control on January 5, 1997,[8] Callahan brought WCEG back on the air with radio reading service programming;[7] the call letters were changed to WVBF on March 21, 1997.[10] The WVBF call sign had previously been used by 105.7 FM in Framingham from 1971 until 1993, while broadcasting top 40 and adult contemporary formats; that station is now WROR-FM.
From the station's inception, WCEG/WVBF only broadcast during daytime hours with 1,000 watts;[1] however, 2-watt nighttime service was inaugurated in 2002.[11] In 2006, the station's daytime power was increased to 2,200 watts.[12][13] On August 7, 2007, WVBF began to air several local talk shows from studios in Taunton; these shows moved from WPEP (1570 AM), which was in the process of closing down to accommodate a power increase at WNSH in Beverly. The radio reading service programming continues when talk programming does not air.[14]
Translator
editWVBF is relayed on translator station W259DD, which transmits on 99.7 MHz. It received its license to cover on April 10, 2019.[15]
Call sign | Frequency | City of license | FID | ERP (W) | HAAT | Class | Transmitter coordinates | FCC info |
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W259DD | 99.7 FM | Middleborough Center, Massachusetts | 200670 | 20 | 0 m (0 ft) | D | 41°52′55″N 71°3′51″W / 41.88194°N 71.06417°W | LMS |
References
edit- ^ a b c Bickelhaupt, Susan (May 15, 1992). "The little AM station that thinks it can". The Boston Globe. Archived from the original on June 29, 2014. Retrieved June 30, 2013.
- ^ a b "WCEG reception verification" (PDF). April 1, 1992. Retrieved May 17, 2014.
- ^ "Call Letter Origins". Radio History on the Web.
- ^ "Facility Technical Data for WVBF". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
- ^ "WVBF Facility Record". United States Federal Communications Commission, audio division.
- ^ "Application Search Details (1)". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved June 30, 2013.
- ^ a b Fybush, Scott (January 26, 1997). "Back From the Dead..." North East RadioWatch. Retrieved June 30, 2013.
- ^ a b "Application Search Details (2)". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved June 30, 2013.
- ^ Fybush, Scott (November 19, 1996). "MusicAmerica Returns". New England RadioWatch. Retrieved June 30, 2013.
- ^ "WVBF Call Sign History". United States Federal Communications Commission, audio division.
- ^ Fybush, Scott (May 13, 2002). "North East RadioWatch". North East RadioWatch. Retrieved June 30, 2013.
- ^ "APPLICATION FOR CONSTRUCTION PERMIT FOR COMMERCIAL BROADCAST STATION". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. February 2, 2004. Retrieved June 30, 2013.
- ^ "Application Search Details (3)". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved June 30, 2013.
- ^ Winokoor, Charles (August 6, 2007). "Local talk radio gets 2nd wind". Taunton Daily Gazette. Retrieved June 30, 2013.
- ^ F.C.C. information for facility 200670; retrieved June 20, 2019.
External links
edit- Facility details for Facility ID 63403 (WVBF) in the FCC Licensing and Management System
- WVBF in Nielsen Audio's AM station database
- Facility details for Facility ID 200670 (W259DD) in the FCC Licensing and Management System
- W259DD in Nielsen Audio's FM station database