WBFB
 |
|
| City | Bangor, Maine |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Penobscot County, Maine |
| Branding | 97.1 The Bear |
| Slogan | Maine's New Country Leader |
| Frequency | 97.1 MHz |
| First air date | March 15, 1961 |
| Format | Country |
| ERP | 6,500 watts |
| HAAT | 375 meters |
| Class | B |
| Facility ID | 3671 |
| Transmitter coordinates | 44°42′12″N 69°4′47″W / 44.70333°N 69.07972°W |
| Callsign meaning |
BelFast Bear (format originally started on 104.7 FM, licensed to Belfast) |
| Former callsigns | WABI-FM (1961–1973) WBGW (1973–1986) WYOU-FM (1986–1995) WWBX (1995–2008) WAEI (2008–2009) WAEI-FM (2009–2011) |
| Affiliations | Motor Racing Network |
| Owner |
Blueberry Broadcasting (Blueberry Broadcasting, LLC) |
| Sister stations | WABK, WBAK, WBFE, WKSQ, WVOM-FM |
| Website | www |
WBFB (97.1 FM; "97-1 The Bear") is a radio station licensed to and operating from studios in Bangor, Maine. The station is owned by Blueberry Broadcasting and is a country formatted radio station simulcasting on co-owned WMCM and WBFE.
The 97.1 frequency has a long history in Bangor, signing on March 15, 1961 as WABI-FM, owned by the Community Broadcasting Service along with WABI (now WABK) and WABI-TV. Initially a simulcast of WABI, on March 1, 1973 the station became WBGW, a country music station.
Community Broadcasting Service merged with Journal Publications in 1971 to form Diversified Communications; the company's broadcasting division retained the Community Broadcasting Service name until 1982, when WBGW was transferred to Diversified directly. The call letters were changed to WYOU-FM in 1986.
Diversified announced in 1993 that it would put most of its broadcasting properties, including WYOU and WABI, up for sale; while it would retain WABI-TV following the collapse of a deal to sell it to Vision Communications, the radio stations were sold to Bangor Radio Corporation. Two years later, the station adopted a modern rock format under the WWBX calls. The station eventually changed to a hot adult contemporary format. WWBX and WABI were sold to Gopher Hill Broadcasting in 1997.
WWBX was instrumental in storm coverage during the North American ice storm of 1998. It was Michael W. Hale who made the decision to suspend the music format and allow open phones and dialogue to help those with no power and to provide home-based entertainment. The station allowed listeners from all over central and eastern Maine to call in and share stories of prior storms, survival tips, and even just to let people know they were still waiting for power. Michael W. Hale (the morning host at the time) was so inundated with calls, the station effectively became a talk station for a time. The announcers, Les Newsome, Cindy Michaels (who later worked at WVII-TV), Ted Wallace, Dave Glidden and Rob "On The Radio" Rosewall kept people all over eastern and central Maine informed. Inbound calls for help and assistance were so many, volunteers came to the station to take calls and nearby states. The station than returned to its regular format after the power was restored.
...
Wikipedia