 | |
| |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Greater Boston |
| Frequency | 1570kHz |
| Branding | La Pantera 105.3 FM and 1570 AM |
| Programming | |
| Language | Spanish |
| Format | Hispanic rhythmic–Latin pop–reggaeton–regional Mexican |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Costa-Eagle Radio Ventures Limited Partnership |
| Operator | Costa Media Boston LLC |
| History | |
First air date | December 22, 1963 (61 years ago) (1963-12-22)[1] |
Former call signs |
|
Call sign meaning | "Big" (former format) |
| Technical information[2] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 22798 |
| Class | D |
| Power |
|
Transmitter coordinates | 42°40′26.3″N71°11′24.2″W / 42.673972°N 71.190056°W /42.673972; -71.190056 (WUBG) |
| Translator(s) | 105.3 W287CW (Methuen) |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen live |
| Website | www |
WUBG (1570kHz) is aSpanishLatin pop andreggaeton, andregional Mexican station licensed to serveMethuen, Massachusetts. It has an FM translator, W287CW, at 105.3 MHz. The station is called "La Pantera". The WUBG transmitter is located inAndover, while W287CW's transmitter is inMedford. The station is owned by Costa-Eagle Radio Ventures Limited Partnership—a partnership between Pat Costa andThe Eagle-Tribune.[3] Under alocal marketing agreement, WUBG is programmed by Costa Media Boston LLC, a similarly-named but separate company controlled by Jose Villafañe.
The station signed on the air as WMLO, a 500-watt radio station[1] originally licensed toBeverly, Massachusetts, on December 22, 1963.[4] It changed its call sign to WBVD on December 5, 1979, and to WNSH on July 1, 1984.[5] Its studios have been located inDanvers,[4] inSalem (at Pickering Wharf), in two different buildings at Endicott College inBeverly, and on the second floor of a hardware warehouse inHamilton.
In 2011, Willow Farm, Inc. sold WNSH for $400,000 to Costa-Eagle Broadcasting. In March 2011, Costa-Eagle changed the station to "Viva 1570". The format changed fromtropical music, simulcasting Costa-Eagle sister stationWNNW, to Spanishadult contemporary. On November 26, 2012, the call letters were changed to WMVX,[5] after the rights to the WNSH call sign were acquired byCumulus Media[6] for use onone of its stations in the New York City market.[7] WMVX switched to aBrazilian Portuguese music and talk format in July 2014. On October 8, 2014, theNew England Revolution soccer team announced that WMVX would become its Portuguese-languageflagship station.[8]
In January 2013, WMVX was granted aU.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC)construction permit to increase daytime power to 50,000 watts. Even with the anticipated increase to 50,000 watts, the maximum AM power allowed by the FCC, the permit required the station to reduce power at night to 85 watts because 1570 kHz is a Mexicanclear channel frequency and WMVX must protectXERF inCiudad Acuña, Coahuila, theClass A station on 1570. In 2016, the station switched itscity of license from Beverly to Methuen with its transmitter inAndover, Massachusetts.
The station changed its call sign to WCCM on April 1, 2017.[5] It swapped call letters with itssister station inSalem, New Hampshire.[9] Also in 2017, the Brazilian Portuguese programming, branded "Nossa Radio", was dropped from the station. Its programmer, theInternational Church of the Grace of God, boughtWBIX the following year, to air programming for the Boston area's Brazilian and Portuguese listeners.[10][11] WCCM then returned to simulcasting WNNW, and briefly ran a separate Spanish-language music format branded "Galaxia".
In March 2018, the station was heard simulcasting sister station WMVX (with anFM translator at 98.9 MHz), runningclassic hits as "Valley 98.9". On April 2, 2018, 1570 AM started broadcasting a classic hits format separate from WMVX as "Big 105.3", in reflection of its own FM translator.[12] On April 3, the call sign was changed to WUBG.[5]
On July 1, 2019, WUBG's classic hits format went online-only as "Boston's Big-FM", while 1570 AM and the 105.3 translator switched to theEducational Media Foundation (EMF)'s "K-Love"contemporary Christian format. At the time, K-Love only had a limited presence in the Boston market via W260AS (99.9) inLawrence andrimshot reception ofWLVO inProvidence, Rhode Island;[13] the affiliation with WUBG predated EMF's 2020 acquisition ofWAAF.[14]
On May 29, 2022, the station dropped K-Love programming for a simulcast of the "LatinX"Spanish CHR programming of sister stationWCCM, which is programmed by Jose Villafañe's Costa Media (a separate company from Costa-Eagle).[15][16] In January 2024, the stations rebranded to "Exitos Boston", with no change in format.[17]
In addition to the main station, WUBG is relayed by an FM translator.
| Call sign | Frequency | City of license | FID | ERP (W) | Class | Transmitter coordinates | FCC info |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W287CW | 105.3 FM | Methuen, Massachusetts | 139956 | 250 | D | 42°25′52.3″N71°05′17.2″W / 42.431194°N 71.088111°W /42.431194; -71.088111 (W287CW) | LMS |
The WMVX call letters have brought over from 1570 in Methuen MA, with the WCCM calls moved there.