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| Broadcast area | Springfield metropolitan area;Pioneer Valley |
| Frequency | 94.7MHz (HD Radio) |
| Branding | 94.7 WMAS |
| Programming | |
| Language | English |
| Format | Adult contemporary |
| Subchannels | HD2:Latin pop (WHLL) |
| Affiliations | Compass Media Networks |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
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| History | |
First air date | 1947; 78 years ago (1947) |
Former call signs |
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Call sign meaning | WMAS (1450 AM) founder Alfred S. Moffat; also regarded as standing for "Western Massachusetts" |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 36543 |
| Class | B |
| ERP | 50,000 watts |
| HAAT | 55 meters (180 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 42°06′32″N72°36′40″W / 42.109°N 72.611°W /42.109; -72.611 |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen live (via Audacy) |
| Website | www |
WMAS-FM (94.7MHz), branded94.7 WMAS, is acommercial radio stationlicensed toEnfield, Connecticut, and serving theSpringfield metropolitan area andPioneer Valley ofWestern Massachusetts. It broadcasts anadult contemporaryradio format and is owned byAudacy, Inc. In the evening, it carriesIntelligence for Your Life with John Tesh. On Sunday mornings, it airsThe Jim Brickman Show. The studios are at theNaismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield.
WMAS-FM has aneffective radiated power (ERP) of 50,000 watts, the maximum for most stations in Massachusetts. It uses adirectional antenna and broadcasts from a shortertower than most Springfield FM outlets to avoid interference with co-ownedWXBK, also on94.7 FM, in the New York Cityradio market. WMAS-FM'stransmitter is in Springfield's Brightwood neighborhood, off Plainfield Avenue (U.S. Route 20) and near theConnecticut River.[2]
WMAS-FMsigned on the air in 1947 as the FM counterpart ofWMAS (1450 AM). Both stations were owned by WMAS, Inc. and mostly simulcast their programming.[3]
WMAS-FM was one of the first FM stations in Western Massachusetts. The studios were in the Hotel Stonehaven and the stations'city of license was Springfield.
The simulcast ended in the late 1960s. WMAS-FM became a "freeform" radio station, playing aprogressive rock format. The programs were hosted by youthful disc jockeys (DJs) who could choose whatever they wanted to play. The progressive format was initiated by Hamilton K. Agnew, with an air name of "The Doktor". Brian Kreizenbeck joined the staff several months later. When Roy Cohn bought the station, Ham Agnew quit. He and Roy did not get along from the start. Advertising revenue came from thehippie boutiques, head shops, concert venues, and music stores that catered to the counter-cultural youth of the day.[citation needed]
This freeform radio format ended in September 1969 after complaints were made about expletives in aWild Man Fischer song. A protest movement, in part organized by the DJs, failed to save the format. From 1971 to 1973, the station programmed a tameralbum rock sound, using thecall sign WHVY.[citation needed] Another reason for the impending failure was that Tony Gazzana wanted to change the format to milque-toast "Top Forty" format in addition to the stations call sign WHVY. Ham Agnew was also the licensed Chief Engineer of the station in addition to being the architect of the "Progressive-Free Form" format, and resigned shortly after a meeting with Roy Cohn and Tony Gazzana.
In the mid 1970s, the WMAS-FM call letters returned. Both the AM and FM stations were mostly simulcast once again, with afull service,middle of the road music format. In 1978, WMAS-FM hopped on the bandwagon of thedisco music sound, although it was short-lived.[citation needed]
In 1979, WMAS-FM began airing asoft adult contemporary format, a forerunner of what the station is today.
In June 2004, WMAS-AM-FM were sold toCitadel Broadcasting for $22 million;[4] In January 2011, WMAS-FM agreed to change its city of license from Springfield toEnfield, Connecticut, to facilitate the relocation ofWPKX (97.9) from Enfield toWindsor Locks; the deal, which allowed Citadel to use a generator owned by WPKX ownerClear Channel Communications inAlbuquerque, New Mexico, did not require any changes to WMAS-FM's physical and studio facilities.[5] Citadel merged withCumulus Media on September 16, 2011.[6]
The station won theMassachusetts Broadcasters Association Award for "Station of the Year" in 2012 and 2014. The Kellogg Krew Morning Show won the Massachusetts Broadcasters Association "Air Talent of the Year" award in 2013.[citation needed]
On February 13, 2019, Cumulus andEntercom announced an agreement in which WMAS-FM and WHLL, as well asWNSH in New York City, would be swapped to Entercom in exchange for Entercom's Indianapolis stations. Under the terms of the deal, Entercom began operating WMAS-FM under alocal marketing agreement on March 1, 2019.[7] The station's web presence moved toRadio.com a month later, along with its streaming. The swap was completed on May 9, 2019.[8] Both Entercom and Radio.com changed their names to Audacy in 2021.