| Simulcasts ofWABK-FM,Gardiner | |
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| Branding | Big 104 FM |
| Programming | |
| Format | Classic hits |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Blueberry Broadcasting, LLC |
| History | |
First air date |
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Former call signs |
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Call sign meaning | similar toWABK-FM (sister station inGardiner) |
| Technical information[2][3] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
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| ERP |
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| HAAT |
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Transmitter coordinates | |
| Links | |
Public license information |
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| Webcast | Listen live |
| Website | www |
WBAK (104.7MHz "Big 104 FM") is acommercialFM radio stationlicensed toBelfast, Maine. It is owned by Blueberry Broadcasting, and broadcasts aclassic hitsradio format.[4] Its programming is alsosimulcast onWBKA (107.7 FM) inBar Harbor, as well asWABK-FM (104.3 FM) inGardiner (servingAugusta).[5]
Studios and offices are on Target Industrial Circle in Bangor.[6] WBAK'stransmitter is off Murray Lane inFrankfort.[7] WBKA's transmitter is off Tunk Lake Road inSullivan.[8] WBAK's competitor isWBQX inThomaston. WBKA's competitors are cross-town stationWNSX inWinter Harbor andWWMJ inEllsworth.
WBAKsigned on the air on March 7, 1986, as WWFX.[1] It was acontemporary hit radio station known as "The Fox" and was owned by Sunnie Silverman. Silverman sold the station to Bruce Mittman, owner ofWICE inPawtucket, Rhode Island, that December.[9][10] WWFX was taken over in 1991 by Union Financial Services.[11] The station was sold to Group H Radio on March 17, 1993.[12]
Group H announced on September 18, 1996, that it would sell WWFX to Star Broadcasting, a company owned by Mark Osborne and Natalie Knox (current owners ofWNSX) that already ownedWKSQ and WLKE (nowWBFE).[13] To minimize playlist overlap with WKSQ,[13] on September 20, Star changed the station's format tocountry music as "The Bear."[14][15] The first song was "Gone Country" byAlan Jackson. The change gave rivalWQCB its first competition since WYOU-FM becamemodern rock station WWBX a year earlier.[14] The WWFX call letters were replaced with WBFB on April 25, 1997, after the station attempted to obtain the WEBR call sign.[16][17]
Osborne and Knox sold WBFB, WKSQ, and WLKE to Communications Capital Managers in February 2000;[18] that July, CCM announced that it would sell the group (which through other purchases also includedWBYA,WGUY, andWVOM) toClear Channel Communications.[19] Clear Channel announced on November 16, 2006, that it would sell its Bangor stations after being bought by private equity firms,[20] resulting in a sale to Blueberry Broadcasting to 2008;[21] on September 28, 2009, Blueberry began simulcasting WBFB on WLKE andWMCM, replacing their separate country formats. The station swapped formats and call letters with97.1 FM (the former WYOU-FM) on September 1, 2011, and becamesports radio station WAEI-FM, simulcasting withWAEI (WLKE and WMCM continue to simulcast WBFB on its new frequency).[22] The call letters were changed to WBAK on February 5, 2012;[17] the next day, the format was changed to classic hits, leaving the sports format exclusively on WAEI's910 AM frequency.[4]
WBKA went on the air May 6, 1995,[1] as WMDI (for its location onMount Desert Island), programming1970s' music.[23] Original owner MDI Communications sold the station to Bridge Broadcast Corporation in 1997; the new owners changed the station's format toadult album alternative.[24] WMDI was simulcast on WNSX from that station's launch in July 2000[25] until February 2001, when WNSX was sold to Clear Channel Communications and began to simulcastWFZX.[26] In January 2001, Bridge reached a seal to sell WMDI to Mariner Broadcasting;[27] after the sale was completed in April 2001, the station temporarily left the air,[28] returning on April 23 as WBQI, part of Mariner'sWBACH network ofclassical music stations.[29] Mariner sold its stations toNassau Broadcasting Partners in 2004.[30]
Nassau Broadcasting entered bankruptcy in 2011, which culminated in an auction of its stations. Prior to the conclusion of the auction, theMaine Public Broadcasting Network expressed interest in running the WBACH stations.[31] As part of the bankruptcy proceeding, WBQI, along with 29 other Nassau-owned northern New England radio stations, went to a partnership ofWBIN-TV ownerBill Binnie and Jeff Shapiro; 17 of the stations, including WBQI, were acquired by Binnie's WBIN Media Company.[32][33][34] The purchase was consummated on November 30, 2012, at a price of $12.5 million. WBIN Media promptly announced plans to resell WBQI to Blueberry Broadcasting;[35] on November 30, 2012, the station began to simulcast WBAK.[36] On January 3, 2013, the station changed its call sign to WBKA.[5]