City | see table in article |
---|---|
Broadcast area | Southern Maine |
Branding |
96.3 The Big JAB SportsRadio WJAB |
Frequency |
WRED: 1440 (kHz) WJJB: 96.3 (MHz) |
First air date |
WRED: November 8, 1959 WJJB: November 15, 1975 |
Format | Sports |
Power | see table in article |
ERP | see table in article |
HAAT | see table in article |
Class | see table in article |
Facility ID | see table in article |
Transmitter coordinates | see table in article |
Callsign meaning |
WRED: The color RED (call letters previously assigned to WPEI when it aired a rhythmic top 40 format) WJJB: similar to WJAB |
Former callsigns | see table in article |
Affiliations |
Fox Sports Radio SB Nation Radio (updates) CBS Sports Radio (Jim Rome) Premiere Networks (Dan Patrick) Boston Celtics Radio Network Red Sox Radio Network |
Owner | Atlantic Coast Radio |
Sister stations | WLOB, WPEI, WPPI |
Website | thebigjab.com |
The Big JAB is a network of sports radio stations in southern Maine, owned by Atlantic Coast Radio. It is heard on 1440 AM (WRED, licensed to Westbrook) and 96.3 FM (WJJB-FM, licensed to Gray). The stations air local sports talk hosts Monday through Saturday mornings and weekday afternoons. Middays feature nationally syndicated sports programs from Dan Patrick and Jim Rome. Fox Sports Radio provides programming nights and weekends.
Studios and offices are located on 779 Warren Avenue in Portland, Maine. The AM transmitter is off Juniper Lane in Westbrook. The FM transmitter is near King Hill Road in South Paris, Maine.
The 1440 frequency first went on the air November 8, 1959 as WJAB. At first it was a daytime only station playing top 40 music, giving major competition to cross-town Top 40 leader 1310 WLOB. WJAB quickly became the top rated Top 40 station in Portland, a position it held until 1965, when a resurgent WLOB, after having obtained night power, retook the top spot. In 1974, WJAB launched a similarly-formatted FM simulcast on 106.3 WJBQ-FM, to allow listeners with FM radios to hear the station around the clock. The WJBQ call sign was eventually added to the AM station as well. In 1980, WJBQ-FM relocated to 97.9 in a frequency swap with classical music station WDCS, a predecessor to WBACH. (106.3 is now occupied by WHXR.)