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WBAB
Broadcast areaLong Island
Frequency102.3 MHz (HD Radio)
Branding102.3 WBAB
Programming
Language(s)English
FormatClassic rock
Ownership
Owner
WBLI, WHFM
History
First air date
August 27, 1958; 65 years ago (1958-08-27)
Former call signs
WBAB-FM (1958-2003)[1]
Call sign meaning
BAbylon Bayshore Broadcasting (original owner)
Technical information[2]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID71199
ClassA
ERP
  • 6,000 watts (analog)
  • 240 watts (digital)
HAAT82 meters (269 ft)
Transmitter coordinates
40°47′58″N 73°20′8″W / 40.79944°N 73.33556°W / 40.79944; -73.33556 (WBAB)
Repeater(s)95.3 WHFM (Southampton)
Links
Public license information
WebcastListen live
Websitewww.wbab.com Edit this at Wikidata

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 went on the air August 27, 1958 as WBAB-FM. It simulcast WBAB (1440 AM), until September 1975 when 1440 AM adopted a Gospel music format.[3]

2006 signal hijacking

On the morning of Wednesday, May 17, 2006, the station's signal was hijacked for about 90 seconds[4] while the signal jammers broadcast the song "Nigger Hatin' Me" by the 1960s-era white supremacist country singer Johnny Rebel. Roger Luce, the station's morning host, said at the time, "I've never seen this in 22 years at this radio station... Whatever that was - it was very racist."[5]

The next morning, it made the front page of Newsday with the headline "JACKED FM". The station's new general manager, John Shea, said, "I've only been here a week and we get hijacked." Former program director John Olsen said, "This was not some child's prank, this was a federal offense."[4][6]

The hijack was likely accomplished by overpowering the studio transmitter link (STL) signal to the transmitter in Dix Hills, New York. A signal hijacking with the same song happened to WBAB's sister station WBLI about two weeks earlier.[7]

Discography

References

  1. ^ "WBAB Call Sign History". CDBS Public Access Database. FCC Media Bureau. Retrieved April 29, 2013.
  2. ^ "Facility Technical Data for WBAB". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  3. ^ "Gospel for New York Suburbs" (PDF). Record World. October 1, 1977. Retrieved March 15, 2020.
  4. ^ a b "WBAB/Long Island Claims Someone "Hijacked" Signal". allaccess.com. All Access Music Group. May 18, 2006. Retrieved August 22, 2022.
  5. ^ "WBAB Hijacked By Pirates - 5/17/06". youtube.com. Retrieved August 22, 2022.
  6. ^ Lamberty, Reid (May 18, 2006). "WBAB-FM Airwaves Hijacked By Pirates: Long Island Radio Station Has Offensive Material On Its Air". WCBS-TV. Archived from the original on November 10, 2006.
  7. ^ "Pirate hijacks New York radio signal". UPI. May 18, 2006. Retrieved May 16, 2020.

External links

Radio stations on Long Island (Nassau and Suffolk County, New York)
Classic rock radio stations in the state of New York
Cox Media Group
Categories