WLOB

For the radio station (96.3 FM) licensed to Gray, Maine, United States that used the call sign WLOB-FM from November 1997 to September 2008, see WJJB-FM.
WLOB
City Portland, Maine
Broadcast area Portland, Maine, metropolitan area
Branding News/Talk WLOB
Frequency 1310 kHz
Format News/Talk
Power 5,000 watts
Class B (WLOB)
Facility ID 9202 (WLOB)
Transmitter coordinates 43°41′22″N 70°20′6″W / 43.68944°N 70.33500°W / 43.68944; -70.33500
Callsign meaning W LOBster
Affiliations Fox News Radio
Westwood One Network
Salem Radio Network
University of Maine Black Bears Network
Owner Atlantic Coast Radio
Sister stations WJJB, WPEI, WPPI
Webcast Listen Live
Website WLOBRadio.com

WLOB (1310 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station licensed to Portland, Maine. The station is owned by Atlantic Coast Radio and airs a Talk radio format. The studios and transmitter are on Warren Avenue in Portland. WLOB operates at 5000 watts using a directional antenna to protect other stations on its frequency.[1]

Programming

Weekdays begin a local news and interview show, hosted by Ray Richardson, which is also carried on several other AM stations in Maine. The weekday schedule continues with Mike Gallagher, Herman Cain, Jonathan Brandmeier, Michael Savage, Tom Sullivan, John Gibson, Jim Bohannon and "America Overnight" with Jon Grayson. Sports programming includes University of Maine Black Bear football and ice hockey,[2] and Portland Pirates ice hockey. [3]

A portion of The Ray Richardson Show was simulcast on Portland's MyNetworkTV network affiliate, WPME, from September 2009 to June 2013. Until March 2009, the entire program (as The Fox Morning News) was simulcast on Portland's Fox affiliate, WPFO.[4]

Most hours begin with national news from Fox News Radio.

History

During the 1960s and early 1970s, WLOB was a popular Top 40 music station, competing with WJAB (1440) in nearby Westbrook. During this time, McGavern/Guild Media NYC owned WLOB AM 1310 as Atlantic States Industries, which also owned WTSA (Brattleboro, Vermont), WNVY (Pensacola, Florida) and WRYT (Boston). By about 1979 or 1980, WLOB had picked up a religious format. In the late 1990s, it added a simulcast on 96.3 FM in Rumford, WLOB-FM. This was the third incarnation of WLOB-FM; previous versions included an incarnation on 102.9 (now occupied by WBLM) in the 1960s and an AOR-formatted incarnation on 100.9 (now occupied by WYNZ) from 1978 to 1980.

In 2000, WLOB and WLOB-FM were sold to Atlantic Coast Radio by Carter Broadcasting. The stations subsequently dropped their religious programming and picked up the news-talk format heard today. In 2006, WLOB-FM relocated its transmitter from western Maine to South Paris to provide a clearer signal to the Portland area. Following the transmitter move, in 2008, WLOB-FM changed its city of license from Rumford to Gray.

On August 25, 2008, WLOB-FM was converted to a simulcast of WJJB (which WJAE had become by that time), resulting in WLOB's programming being heard only on the AM signal. This was part of a shuffle of Atlantic Coast Radio's FM stations as a result of the conversion of two of its stations, including WJJB-FM, on September 1, 2008 to simulcasts of WEEI.[5] Shortly after the completion of these format changes, 95.5's call letters were changed to WGEI (it had initially planned to use the WTEI call sign,[6] and for a week in September 2008 used the WUEI call letters[7]).

On April 1, 2009, WGEI converted to a simulcast of WLOB; it became WLOB-FM a few days later.[7] In August 2011, WLOB-FM once again began airing programming from WEEI leaving the talk programming only on the AM signal.

References

  1. ↑ http://radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/patg?id=WLOB-AM&h=N
  2. ↑ University of Maine Official Athletic Site
  3. ↑ Pirates Announce New Radio Home
  4. ↑ Routhier, Ray (July 28, 2009). "Ray and Ted back on local TV". Portland Press-Herald. Retrieved July 29, 2009.
  5. ↑ Routhier, Ray (August 19, 2008). "WEEI to air in Maine Sept. 1". Portland Press Herald. Retrieved August 19, 2008.
  6. ↑ "WEEI Sports Radio Network Expands to Portland, Bangor & Keene" (PDF) (Press release). Entercom Communications. August 20, 2008. Retrieved August 20, 2008.
  7. 1 2 "Call Sign History". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved April 8, 2009.

External links

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