 | |
| |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | |
| Frequency | 107.3MHz (HD Radio) |
| Branding | K-Love |
| Programming | |
| Format | Contemporary Christian |
| Subchannels |
|
| Network | K-Love |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Educational Media Foundation |
| History | |
First air date | June 15, 1961 (63 years ago) (1961-06-15)[1] |
Former call signs |
|
Call sign meaning | "K-Love Boston" |
| Technical information[2] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 74467 |
| Class | B1 |
| ERP | 2,100watts |
| HAAT | 321 meters (1,053 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 42°23′2.7″N71°29′35.3″W / 42.384083°N 71.493139°W /42.384083; -71.493139 |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen live |
| Website | klove |
WKVB (107.3 FM) is anon-commercialradio station licensed to serveWestborough, Massachusetts, United States, carrying acontemporary Christian format known as "K-Love". Owned by theEducational Media Foundation (EMF), WKVB does not broadcast any local programming but functions as thenetwork affiliate forK-Love inGreater Boston andWorcester. With its transmitter located inHudson, 20 miles west of Boston, its signal is supplemented byWNKC (104.9 FM) inGloucester, which serves theNorth Shore andMerrimack Valley, andWLVO (95.5 FM) fromProvidence, Rhode Island, which coversSoutheastern Massachusetts. The station also hasboosters inBoston,Lexington, andWaltham. In addition to a standardanalog transmission, WKVB broadcasts inHD Radio and is available online.
Historically, this station is perhaps best known asWAAF, which carried acommercialrock music format for nearly 50 years in various forms of the genre, with anactive rock orientation between 1989 and 2020. The station also featured personalities includingBob Rivers,Liz Wilde andGreg Hill, and was the first high-profile radio home forOpie and Anthony in the mid-1990s. The station was sold by Entercom (now known asAudacy, Inc.) to the Educational Media Foundation on February 18, 2020. WAAF's former programming continues on HD Radio subchannels ofWWBX andWEEI-FM and on theAudacy platform.[3]
On October 5, 1960,[4] theFederal Communications Commission (FCC) awarded the Waterman Broadcasting Corporation, owner ofWAAB (1440 AM), aconstruction permit to build a new FM radio station licensed to Worcester on 107.3 MHz, to transmit from Asnebumskit Hill in Paxton.[5] WAAB-FM went on the air on June 15, 1961.[1] In its early years, WAAB-FM simulcast thefull service programming of its AM sister station; in 1967, it broke away from the simulcast and launched a stereobeautiful music format.[6]
WAAB-AM-FM was sold to WAAB, Inc., in 1968 for $675,000. WAAB, Inc., was owned byAhmet Ertegun and his brotherNesuhi Ertegun, as well as record executiveJerry Wexler; all had just recently soldAtlantic Records toWarner Bros.-Seven Arts.[7] The FM station took on new WAAF call letters on May 28, 1968;[4] the call sign had been dropped the previous year bya station inChicago.[8]
In later years, WAAF ownership would erroneously claim a longer history than that of its own license, stretching back to experimental FM station W1XOJ in the late 1930s.[9] W1XOJ—later given the normal call letters WGTR—was part of the first FM network, put together by theYankee Network and its principal, John Shepard, who at the time also owned WAAB. While WAAB-FM/WAAF initially utilized the same transmission tower as this previous station,[5] there is no connection, as the license for WGTR was deleted at the request ofGeneral Teleradio on July 24, 1953.[10]
WAAF ended its automatedmiddle-of-the-road programming on March 16, 1970, and introduced a liveprogressive rock format,[11] which emphasizedfolk andfolk-rock during the day and harder rock at night.[12] It ran as afreeform station known as "WAAF, The Rock of New England", where the air talent was given total control over what music to play. The station was sold in 1971 to Southern Massachusetts Broadcasters, owned by George Gray, in an $800,000 acquisition.[13]
On November 7, 1971, WAAF was in the middle of an all-Beatles weekend when its transmitting building was damaged by a homemade pipe bomb, knocking it off the air temporarily and causing $4,000 in damage.[14] A group demanding the end of capital punishment and "parole law" in Massachusetts claimed it had orchestrated the bombing.[15] The station was forced to temporarily operate on a limited schedule from the transmitter site, as the blast put its studio-transmitter link out of service.[16] Gray sold his Worcester stations to the Robert L. Williams Broadcasting Company of Massachusetts in 1976 for $1.465 million; he had previously sold his other radio stations inNew Bedford andBinghamton, New York, the year before.[17] Robert L. Williams also ownedWEZN radio inBridgeport, Connecticut.[18]
(Lee) Abrams is sitting down in Atlanta coming up with research that showsnew wave isn't the coming thing, it's lost its chance. Not enough airplay, not enough record company support.
By the mid-1970s, WAAF had settled in as analbum-oriented rock outlet. The station was one of the first clients of the "Superstars" format, developed by consultantsLee Abrams and Kent Burkhart;[19] WAAF would continue to use their services until January 1984.[20] Promotional slogans of the period played off the call letters, including "The WAAF Air Force" and a giraffe mascot known as the "WAAF GirAAF".[21]
WAAF had completed the first of several technical improvements to reach listeners in Boston in 1972 when it increased its effective radiated power to 16,500 watts; it had operated with less than 2,000 ever since signing on.[4] However, it was not until 1978 when theBoston Globe heralded WAAF's entry into the Boston market and its "rock radio battle".[22] In 1977, the station managed to outrate talk outletWMEX.[23] WAAF's third sale of the decade would come in 1978: the station, its AM counterpart WFTQ, and WEZN were sold to a group of employees, known as Park City Communications, for $3.2 million.[24] Park City sold all of its stations to Katz Broadcasting, a subsidiary of Katz Media Group, for $16 million in November 1981.[25]
WAAF encountered ratings success in the Worcester market to start the 1980s; despite newfound competition fromWCOZ (94.5 FM) in Boston, the station attributed its success to extensive marketing, promotion, and contests.[26] WAAF appeared in ratings surveys not only in Worcester and Boston but in Providence andSpringfield; WAAF listening was even measured as far away asPeterborough, New Hampshire.[27] Remaining a "Superstars" client, WAAF relied on Abrams' playlist input and received criticism for not taking chances to play other music genres; Abrams notably told WAAF's program director in 1980 thatnew wave "isn't the coming thing".[19] Music heard on the station tended to lean toward a harder rock focus from artists likeLed Zeppelin,Ted Nugent,Van Halen, andPat Benatar.[26]
As far as we're concerned, it's the biggest promotion ever to hit AOR radio, certainly at least here in New England... we left the competition,WBCN andWCOZ, hemming and hawing.
It was during this time, in September 1981, thatthe Rolling Stones played a warmup show for a group of WAAF listeners at Sir Morgans Cove, a Worcester nightclub. WAAF connected with the band while they rehearsed at Long View Farm in North Brookfield and gave away all 300 tickets for the free show as a reward for locals respecting their privacy; demand exceeded 4,000 in whatRadio & Records termed "an unprecedented radio concert promotion coup".[28] All day, station staffers drove around Worcester in unmarked cars handing out tickets to locals who had station stickers or T-shirts. While WAAF refused to announce the name of the location,WBCN obtained the information from a Worcester police officer, causing a large crowd of 4,000 to form outside of the 300-seat venue; 10 people were arrested.[29] WAAF promotion director Steve Stockman blamed WBCN for announcing the venue on-air, declaring his competitor's actions "reckless and irresponsible".[28]
A few months later,Bob and Doug McKenzie (Rick Moranis andDave Thomas) teamed up with WAAF for a contest to promote theirThe Great White North comedy album, where the winner received an afternoon trip for two toTewksbury, while the runner-up won a weekend trip for two to theLowell suburb.[30] WAAF staffers came up with the contest idea after noticing a sign in Tewksbury that reminded them oftoque knit hats referred to in the album. The station had also asked the town's fire chief to give the winnerkeys to the city; he declined, believing the initial offer to be a prank phone call.[31]
Bob Rivers co-hosted morning drive on WAAF between 1982 and 1987 with Peter "Zip" Zipfel. TitledBob and Zip, the program became known for parody andnovelty songs produced by Rivers; the most memorable one being "Breakin' Up Is Hard on You" ("Breaking Up Is Hard to Do" byNeil Sedaka) regarding theBell System divestiture, and charted at #70 on theBillboard Hot 100.[32] Rivers also performed "Just a Big Ego" ("Just a Gigolo" byDavid Lee Roth) which debuted as Roth announced his departure fromVan Halen,[33] and was included inThe Rhino Brothers Present the World's Worst Records.[34] Rivers and Zipfel attracted attention on the day of the1984 United States presidential election by instructing their listeners who planned to vote forRonald Reagan to simultaneously flush their toilets at 7:00 a.m., and listeners voting forWalter Mondale to flush their toilets at 7:30 a.m.; the station then contacted the variousregional water authorities and based theirexit poll off of the drops in water pressure.[35] Rivers left WAAF to take over as morning-drive host atWIYY inBaltimore;[36] Drew Lane replaced him and was later teamed up with Zipfel.[37][38]
WAAF attempted another unusual promotion where the station was to have dropped 100,000one-dollar bills from a helicopter onto downtown Lowell on November 26, 1988, at 1:07 p.m. This event was abruptly canceled at the last minute by Lowell city officials concerned about the safety of people who would have participated, while station management had intended for it to promote Lowell's revitalization.[39]
It's important to remember that WAAF has a 20-year heritage as a New England rock station, I don't want any mixed signals from this thing... it's not that dramatic a change.
On March 10, 1989, NewCity Broadcasting traded WAAF and WFTQ to Zapis Communications in exchange forWEKS-FM (104.1) in Atlanta in what was a tax-free asset swap; each half of the transaction was valued at $15 million.[41] Zapis Communications was headed by Xenophon Zapis and his son Lee Zapis, who also ownedWZAK inCleveland.[42][43] NewCity already ownedWYAY (106.7 FM), and agreed to keep it in theGainesville, Georgia, market as a condition of the asset swap.[44]
When Zapis took over operations in the summer, John Sutherland took over as general manager, promotions director Ron Valeri was promoted to operations manager, Nance Grimes was promoted to acting program director (Grimes left that October, with Valeri assuming the programming role outright)[45] andJohn Gorman—a Boston native best known for programmingWMMS in Cleveland from 1973 to 1986—was hired as a consultant.[40] As a sign of things to come,Aerosmith was in-studio to play their upcoming albumPump two weeks in advance of the album's release.[46]
Owing in part to Gorman's consultancy, WAAF hired Ruby Cheeks for morning drive that October.[47] Cheeks was formerly a part of WMMS's morning show and had also hosted evenings and afternoons, and had left the station in a contract dispute.[48] WAAF's musical direction was shifted to what was called "Rock 40", featuring harder songs by core artists while increasing the amount of new and current music played. Gorman publicly called it a "fine-tuning" of the playlist instead of a format shift, while the move was also made to improve WAAF's ratings in Boston as opposed to Worcester.[40] With the relaunch, the station was re-branded as "Untamed Radio", a slogan also used onWRQK-FM inCanton, Ohio, another station Gorman oversaw.[49]
Greg Hill, who had joined the station's promotions department in 1986,[50] was promoted to overnights in June,[51] then named as Ruby Cheeks's co-host that November. While John Gorman's consultancy over WAAF eventually ended after he took over as program director forWMJI in Cleveland[52] and subsequently returned to WMMS andWHK (1420 AM) in 1994,[53] Gorman held high praise for Valeri's work as programmer for WAAF, tellingHitmakers magazine, "could you imagine what (Ron) would do with a full Boston Metro signal?"[54]
Starting on January 9, 1991, WAAF's programming was simulcast over WFTQ due to what John Sutherland called "substantial losses" for the AM station's prior format;[55] among the people dismissed was Steve LeVeille.[56] This simulcast ended on September 8 when Zapis Communications entered into an agreement with theBoston Celtics, then the owners ofWEEI (590 AM), to simulcast the newly convertedsports radio outlet under the WVEI call sign.[57]
I'm into reality and sarcasm, and I call myself a humorist. Some people are shocked, but to me it's rote, I'm just being myself.
As the station continued to evolve under the "Untamed Radio" brand,Liz Wilde was hired initially for evenings in 1990, then promoted to afternoon drive in early 1992.[59] Following Ruby Cheeks' departure from WAAF to return to Cleveland atWNCX,[60] Greg Hill assumed sole hosting duties for what would be calledThe Hill-Man Morning Show. Both Wilde and Hill's on-air presentations, in addition to billboards and television commercials suggestively promoting the station, netted attention in the local press for what was deemed as "raunchy" content.[58] General manager Bruce Mittman and program director Ron Valeri defended their content to the Boston Globe as appealing to the 18-34 male demographic,[9] Mittman, in particular, praised Wilde for her creativity. Hill also defended his show by saying, "If something annoys you, turn the knob. Shut it off."[9] Following Wilde's promotion to afternoons,Rebecca Pratt[a] took over as evening host.[62]
Much of the station's change to an aggressive presentation came with WAAF's further orientation to the Boston market, having opened a sales office inNewton in 1991. In the Arbitron ratings in that period, WAAF ranked number one in Worcester, number four in Springfield, in the top five stations inManchester and in the top ten in Boston andProvidence, all in the 18-34 male demo; management viewed WAAF as speaking to an audience rather than speaking to a geographical location.[63] WAAF also championed local bandExtreme upon the release of their albumPornograffitti and single "More Than Words", hosting a softball duel between the band and station staffers at Lampson Field inBillerica.[64]
Every November, starting in 1993, WAAF held a popular annual charity event "Walk and Rock for Change", raising money for food banks in Massachusetts and New Hampshire.[65] During this event, the DJs from the station walked across Massachusetts, asking for change from the people as they stopped in each town and airing interviews along the way. Starting in 2003, during this event, WAAF DJs played requested songs not normally heard on the station for a donation.[66] For the first two weeks of December 1993, Greg Hill engaged in an elaborate stunt dressed up as a "MysterySanta", handing out $50 bills to random people and even toBoston MayorThomas Menino, who declined the money offer.[67][68] Hill's reveal took place in a news conference after several days of $10,000 giveaways, including several hundred dollars to a homeless shelter, saying he was aiming to capture "the curiosity of the people".[69]
Liz Wilde would leave WAAF for the evening slot onWLUP-FM (97.9) in Chicago in March 1995.[70] It was her replacements in the afternoon time slot, however, that would garner the station ample amounts of attention and infamy.
In early 1995,Gregg "Opie" Hughes andAnthony Cumia were a newly established duo hosting a late-night program overWBAB inBabylon, New York.[71] WAAF program director Ron Valeri tuned into WBAB while visiting family inLong Island and called Hughes to offer them a job.[72] General manager Bruce Mittman later recounted he "almost drove off the road laughing" from listening to anaircheck assembled by Hughes,[73] and after a competing offer from a Dallas station, Hughes and Cumia were hired by WAAF in afternoon drive in March 1995, officially replacing Liz Wilde.[74] Shortly after the debut ofOpie and Anthony, Valeri left the station and was replaced by Dave Douglas; Cumia ignored directives from Douglas and dropped most of the music from their program. Despite this, Douglas cited their show as part of a high-profile airstaff where every daypart could easily be a well-performing morning show on another station.[75]
The duo had several publicity stunts throughout their tenure at WAAF, the most infamous one being "100 Grand" where after weeks of on-air promotions implying otherwise, the winning caller to a contest giveaway won a100 Grand Bar instead of $100,000.[76] In May 1997, Hughes and Cumia started one of their most notorious promotions: "Whip 'em Out Wednesday", where women engaged in "flashing" to any oncoming drivers that had a "WOW" sticker on their car.[77] The show was suspended for two weeks after a confidential memo from management was read aloud by the duo, while Bruce Mittman canceled the promotion after nine weeks when police contacted station management; Mittman denied the suspension was related.[78] A compilation album of their material from WAAF,Demented World, was released in October 1997.[79][80]
You can't really feel guilty about it. I don't know, you live by the sword, you die by the sword. I was picked on... because I was 5 foot 2, 91 pounds, in 10th grade, and I never minded it. I always liked the attention, good or bad. I don't care what people think about me. So negative, positive attention, who cares?
Hughes and Cumia further accelerated the rivalry between WAAF and WBCN, especially after Nik Carter replaced Mark Parenteau against their show on WBCN.[81] Carter, who was African-American, was targeted not only by Hughes and Cumia, but by nighttime host "Rocko" for his ethnicity; a rant onOpie and Anthony on November 17, 1997, also contained what were construed as threats of physical violence towards Carter, labeled with the pejorative "Disco Boy" by the duo.[82] Carter responded in kind by calling WAAF "the hate station in Worcester" and "We Are All Fonies", in addition to in-kind pejoratives against Hughes, Cumia and Rocko, both on-air and on the station's website.[82] Hughes responded by telling theBoston Globe, "Eventually it's gonna come down to talent and, not to sound cocky, (Carter's) not in our league... (WBCN is) trying to create talk for their guy, aHoward Stern wannabe with no talent to back what he does."[79]
WAAF would become the subject of unwanted national and international attention in April 1998 after anApril Fools' Day prank by Hughes and Cumia claimed that Boston mayorThomas Menino was killed in a car accident in Florida, accompanied by aHaitian prostitute.[71] This included staged phone-in reports from two people claiming to be a policeman and news reporter, respectively.[83] In reality, Menino was on a flight as the prank unfolded; when notified, he joked about "being back from the dead" but filed a complaint with the FCC over the hoax, saying WAAF "blatantly disregarded the personal and public turmoil they were causing my family and the city" after Hughes and Cumia jokingly offered on-air to allow themselves to be stockaded atBoston City Hall Plaza andpied by Menino.[84] While the FCC took no action,[83] the negative reaction causedAmerican Radio Systems (which had purchased the station, along with its AM counterpart, for $24.8 million on August 1, 1996)[85] to fire the duo and suspend Mittman for one month and Douglas for a week.[84] Mittman later claimed he had no advance knowledge of the prank, having taken the day off to celebrate his 20th wedding anniversary.[73]
Both Hughes and Cumia signed a deal to host afternoons atWNEW-FM inNew York City several weeks after the firing.[83] As part of the deal, Hughes and Cumia frequently appeared on Nik Carter's afternoon program through phone-in appearances on co-owned WBCN,[86] which later simulcast their WNEW-FM program beginning in August 2001.[73]
Competitors who get locked into one-on-one format battles often wind up resembling each other consciously and subconsciously... it was true in the Cold War, and it's true in the rock wars in Boston.
WAAF's rivalry with WBCN continued to escalate throughout the late 1990s. In February 1997, both stations engaged in a war of words over who had an advance copy of theAerosmith albumNine Lives first; WAAF offered to play it over the phone to anyone who would call in, while during a listening party for the CD, WBCN announcer Mark Parenteau ripped WAAF as "juvenile" and "trailer park trash bottom feeders".[87]WZLX, co-owned with WBCN, wound up playing the album first over the air and received acease and desist order.[88] That May, WAAF and WFNX management both accused WBCN and program director Oedipus of directing local bands away from functions hosted by either station. In aRadio & Records op-ed, WAAF program director Dave Douglas saw WBCN's booking ofPrimus—a band WAAF had played more than any other station in the Boston market—for a festival as insulting, along with a concert performed byTonic not sponsored by any station but co-opted by WBCN.[89]
The rivalry was justified. WBCN reported to industry trades as both an active rock and alternative hybrid at this period; WAAF shared as much as 59% of its audience with WBCN in the local ratings, while WBCN shared 32% of its audience with WAAF.[90] The overlap between the two stations became so pronounced that aBoston Globe story in 2000 pointed out directly how much WAAF and WBCN "sounded alike", with nearly identical music playlists and equally provocative air personalities, in what industry analyst Tom Taylor called "the rock wars in Boston". The competitiveness was especially notable as WBCN had several distinct advantages over WAAF: a signal centered inGreater Boston, the local rights toThe Howard Stern Show, and theflagship station designation for theNew England Patriots Radio Network.[86]
Another unseen factor took place on September 20, 1997, when WAAF owner American Radio Systems was purchased by WBCN ownerInfinity Broadcasting Corporation's parent company,Westinghouse Electric Corporation, for $1.6 billion.[91] Due to both American Radio and Infinity having multiple station holdings in the Boston market,Entercom purchased WAAF and WWTM, along withWEEI (850 AM),WRKO, andWEGQ, from the combined entity for $140 million on August 14, 1998.[92] After the sale, WAAF moved its studios from Worcester to Boston at a combined facility with the other Entercom acquisitions; the city of license remained Worcester.[93] Prior to the merger and divestiture, WAAF was briefly simulcast on the AM dial again, this time overWNFT (1150 AM) starting in June 1997, replacing a previous simulcast ofWKLB (96.9 FM) as a placeholder until ARS could determine a new format for WNFT.[94]
WAAF took credit for being the first radio station to playGodsmack in 1999, giving the band extensive airplay before landing a music deal.[95][96] In fact, WAAF had booked the band as a warm-up act for aDays of the New concert in December 1997, where they reportedly "stole the show" in aGlobe concert review.[97] On June 13, 1999, the station also hosted an impromptu concert headlined byLimp Bizkit on a parking garage rooftop across the street fromFenway Park; the start time was moved up by an hour after WBCN announced the location on-air 15 minutes before WAAF did, and the performance only lasted for 25 minutes before police ordered it to end.[98]
During the production of a WAAF compilation CD, an audio track by evening host Mistress Carrie that gave out a phone number to someone named "Mike" was inserted as an inside joke; the phone number given was the inside studio line to WBCN, forcing WBCN to change their hotline.[99] Mistress Carrie, who has never publicly disclosed hersurname, applied to be a producer forOpie and Anthony right before their dismissal in 1998, but was still hired full-time to the evening shift;[100] her involvement at the station dated back to a college internship seven years earlier.[101] Carrie eventually hosted both afternoon drive and middays.[102]
While it had been teased as early as 1999 when their studio was moved to downtown Boston,[93] WAAF was finally able to commence testing at a new transmission site at theWUNI (channel 27) tower on Stiles Hill inBoylston between October 31 and November 22, 2005, onprogram test authority from the FCC; along with this relocation, WAAF'scity of license designation was reassigned from Worcester toWestborough, Massachusetts. While the station's signal strength decreased in most parts of Connecticut and western Massachusetts, the move was an attempt to concentrate the signal into Greater Boston.[103]
WAAF resumed broadcasting at the Paxton site to address allegedmultipath issues, which were blamed on a faultyT1 line between the Brighton studios and the transmitter site.[104] These issues were resolved by the spring and summer of 2006, when WAAF resumed operations at the Boylston site.[105] The original program test authority lasted until May 26, 2011, when the FCC officially issued a license for the site.[106]
Radio One announced the sale ofBrockton-licensed WILD-FM (97.7) to Entercom for $30 million on August 21, 2006, in what Radio One President Alfred C. Liggins called "a very good start to our asset disposition process".[107] Entercom's purchase came after their purchase of 15 small-market stations fromCBS Radio earlier in the day; those stations and WILD-FM totaled $250 million.[108] Entercom entered into atime brokerage agreement several hours after the announcement, and switched WILD-FM to a simulcast of WAAF, enabling full-market coverage of WAAF's programming inDowntown Boston and other parts of the metro area.[109] Afterstunting with a computerized countdown sequence, the simulcast began at 5:30 p.m. the next day withAC/DC's "For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)".[110] WILD-FM's call sign was changed toWKAF on August 30, 2006.[111] The addition of WKAF was seen by industry analyst Scott Fybush as a way for WAAF to finally achieve signal parity with WBCN; Fybush considered the combination of WAAF's new Boylston signal and WKAF's signal as "the biggest FM coverage of any single Boston facility".[112]
In 2007, the station was nominated for theRadio & Records magazine active rock station of the year in a top 25 market award; other nominees includedWIYY in Baltimore,KBPI in Denver,WRIF in Detroit,WMMR in Philadelphia, andKISW in Seattle.[113] WAAF became the longest-running rock radio station in the Boston market on August 12, 2009, after a complicated series of simultaneous format changes by CBS Radio, where WBCN's call sign changed toWBMX and format from rock tohot adult contemporary; WBMX's call sign changed toWBZ-FM and format from hot AC tosports radio as "The Sports Hub";[114][115] and WBCN's rock format was moved to the "new" WBZ-FM's seconddigital subchannel.[116]
WKAF broke away from the WAAF simulcast on January 5, 2017, when Entercom debuted a separateurban adult contemporary format; a press release sent out by Entercom stated that WKAF "delivered little appreciable audience beyond (WAAF's) booming signal".[117][118] With the switch, WAAF added simulcasts on the second digital subchannel of WKAF and the third digital subchannel of WEEI-FM.[118] One month later, Entercom entered into an agreement to merge with CBS Radio via aReverse Morris Trust.[119] Entercom, the surviving entity, retained WAAF and divested WKAF (along with several other stations) toiHeartMedia, Inc.[120]
The finalHill-man Morning Show aired on WAAF on July 19, 2019.[121] Greg Hill and co-host Danielle Murr were transferred from WAAF to the morning-drive timeslot on WEEI-FM (and by extension, WVEI, due to it being a full-time affiliate ofWEEI-FM's regional network) in the wake ofGerry Callahan's dismissal from WEEI-FM over declining ratings.[122] Callahan's co-host, Mike Mutnansky, was reassigned to weeknights on WEEI-FM,[123] while Hill's other co-hostLyndon Byers and producer Mike Hsu were moved to afternoon drive on WAAF.[123] Byers abruptly quit on air in the middle of a show less than two months later. This left Hsu and Mistress Carrie as the lone remaining on air personalities on the station, along withThe Mens Room in evenings,[124] despite a "national search" for Hill's replacement announced by WAAF management when he left.[125]
In November 2019, the station announced a 50th anniversary concert for early April 2020 headlined byGodsmack, a band WAAF had championed 20 years earlier.[126] Intended as part of a year-long celebration, no other events were ever announced or scheduled.[3]
I found out, when Mike (Hsu) found out, after my show on Tuesday. We did our crossover break, and Joe asked us to come into his office. I cracked a smartass joke and said "I didn't do it" and when Joe didn't laugh, I knew something was wrong. Then I turned the corner and saw Mark Hannon—our GM—sitting there, and I got a pit in my stomach. Mark told us straight up what happened.
On February 18, 2020, Entercom announced that WAAF would be sold to theEducational Media Foundation for $10.75 million. Under a network affiliation agreement signed on February 14, the station would join EMF'sK-Love network on February 22.[128] Entercom would still provide two hours of programming for the station on Sunday mornings, so as to satisfyU.S. Federal Communications Commission-mandatedpublic affairs requirements.[129] This agreement ended WAAF's 50-year run as a rock station; Entercom'spress release regarding the sale stated that "WAAF"-branded rock programming would continue to air on the secondHD Radio channels ofWWBX and WEEI-FM (both channels had been simulcasting WAAF), as well as on Entercom'sRadio.com platform.[3] Despite the K-Love network affiliation agreement having been officially signed four days earlier, on a Friday, Mistress Carrie and Mike Hsu were not informed of the transaction until two hours before the press release was issued, in between both of their respective airshifts.[127]
While still a Worcester-market station, the sale also effectively marked EMF's entry into the Boston market,[3] which had previously received K-Love programming via a lease ofMethuen-licensedWUBG (1570 AM),[130] along with twoFM translators in Boston's northern suburbs[131] and reception in the southern end of the market of the network's station inProvidence, Rhode Island,WLVO (95.5 FM).[130] EMF vice president of signal development Joe Miller said that Boston was "one of the last major markets we haven't been able to get a major signal into until now".[132]
The final day of WAAF's rock format consisted of a 14-hour farewell program co-hosted by program director Joe Calgaro, Mistress Carrie, and Mike Hsu. Among the in-studio guests was Aerosmith bass playerTom Hamilton, who personally reminisced about the first time he heardDream On played anywhere on radio while driving in his car, listening to WAAF.[133] Other guests on the program includedBob Rivers, Peter Zipfel, Greg Hill, Gregg "Opie" Hughes, Anthony Cumia, and Rebecca Pratt.[134][a] Mistress Carrie would later say of the offer by Entercom to do such a long farewell program, "that is a gift that we were given that we will never be able to repay. It's like being awake and attending your own wake and funeral... that you are there to hear all the nice things people would say about you if you were dead, it was overwhelming."[100]
We worked so hard to build the WAAF that everyone told us they wanted us to be. The listeners, we heard you. We got all your criticisms and your suggestions, and trust us when we tell you, we built that station for you, and it's in a computer right now. We were so close.
During the final hour, all three hosts stated on-air that internal plans had been in place to "relaunch the station" on March 2. These plans were to have included re-hiring station veteran Mike Brangiforte as the new morning show host, cancelingThe Mens Room for a local night host, teaming up Hsu with Calgaro, and a revamped music playlist curated by Mistress Carrie. All of these purported plans were immediately aborted once the sale to EMF was announced, with the ensuing "WAAF"-branded rock programming operating without any air personalities.[135] Mistress Carrie and Mike Hsu exhorted listeners to "keep their heads high, shoulders back, and horns up" and declared that "we're goin' out proud, because we were all part of something special"[136] before playing the last song on WAAF prior to joining the K-Love network, "Black Sabbath", fromBlack Sabbath'sself-titled debut album.[137] The selection was intentional, as Mistress Carrie explained, "the album came out weeks before we signed on the air, and Ozzy released a new album (Ordinary Man) the day we signed off, and is the only artist to stay current for all 50 years of our history, and well... SATAN. If EMF was going to take our beloved signal, they were going to have to endure Satan first." Hsu also quipped, "I was hoping they (EMF) had to throw someholy water on the stick when (the clock) turned."[127] Following the switchover, around 150 fans, former employees and staff members celebrated the station's legacy outside of the Brighton studios with an outdoorchampagnetoast in the parking lot.[100][101]
Upon the takeover, Entercom "parked" the WAAF call sign ona station in Scranton, Pennsylvania;[135] that station's previous WBZU calls were transferred to WAAF in a temporary move, effective February 26, 2020.[138][b] The WBZU call letters had themselves been parked in Scranton 15 years earlier when anotherEntercom-owned station inMadison, Wisconsin, changed formats and call letters.[141] Entercom then changed the station's call sign to WKVB on March 6;[142] EMF had previously used the WKVB call sign onthe K-Love station atPort Matilda, Pennsylvania. EMF's purchase of WKVB was completed on April 21, 2020.[143]
Despite the sale, WAAF's planned "Big Gig" concert was still scheduled to be held on April 25, 2020; however, on March 27, Entercom announced that it would be postponed to April 24, 2021, due to theCOVID-19 pandemic.[144]
After taking over, EMF applied to move the WKVB transmitter to theWUNI (channel 66) tower inHudson;[145][146][c] while the move would further reduce the station's coverage ofWorcester County, the affected areas could still receive K-Love programming viaWCCC (106.9 FM) inHartford, Connecticut, orWKMY (99.9 FM) inAthol.[146] WKVB also was authorized to constructbooster stations in Boston,Lexington, andWaltham—all at locations where two other area stations,WXRV andWXLO, had earlier established boosters.[145] In July 2022, EMF purchased a second Boston-area station,WBOQ (104.9 FM) inGloucester, to bring K-Love programming to portions of Boston's northeast suburbs not served by WKVB.[148]
WKVB does not air local programming; all content is transmitted via satellite by the Educational Media Foundation's K-Love network based out ofRocklin, California. This excludes one hour of public affairs programming produced for the station by EMF on Sunday nights.[129]
| Call sign | Frequency | City of license | FID | ERP (W) | Class | Transmitter coordinates | FCC info |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WKVB-FM1 | 107.3 FM | Boston, Massachusetts | 755567 | 13 | D | 42°20′57″N71°4′29″W / 42.34917°N 71.07472°W /42.34917; -71.07472 (WKVB-FM1) | LMS |
| WKVB-FM2 | 107.3 FM | Lexington, Massachusetts | 755568 | 630 | D | 42°24′51.1″N71°12′37.2″W / 42.414194°N 71.210333°W /42.414194; -71.210333 (WKVB-FM2) | LMS |
| WKVB-FM3 | 107.3 FM | Waltham, Massachusetts | 755569 | 1,400 | D | 42°22′42.4″N71°16′3.1″W / 42.378444°N 71.267528°W /42.378444; -71.267528 (WKVB-FM3) | LMS |
