WVBF
Broadcast areaMiddleborough–Taunton
Frequency1530 kHz
BrandingAM 1530 WVBF
Programming
FormatNews/talk, radio reading service
AffiliationsUSA Radio News
Massachusetts Reading Network
Ownership
Owner
History
First air date
March 31, 1992[1][2]
Former call signs
WCEG (1992–1997)
Call sign meaning
Virginia B. Fairbanks, wife of owner of unrelated WVBF (now WROR-FM)[3]
Technical information
Facility ID63403
ClassD
Power5,000 watts day
4 watts night
Transmitter coordinates
41°52′56″N 71°3′50″W / 41.88222°N 71.06389°W / 41.88222; -71.06389
Translator(s)99.7 W259DD (Middleborough Center)
Links
WebcastListen live
Websitewww.hometowntalkradio.com

WVBF (1530 AM) is a radio station broadcasting a news/talk format. Licensed to Middleborough Center, Massachusetts, United States, the station serves the Middleborough/Taunton area. The station is currently owned by Massachusetts state senator Marc R. Pacheco through his MRP Communications and Consulting, LLC.[4] WVBF carries the Massachusetts Reading Network when not airing local programming. USA Radio News plays at the top of the hour during locally produced programs.

History

The station went on the air as WCEG on March 31, 1992.[1][2] Original owner Steven J. Callahan sold the station to Metro South Broadcasting, owner of WMSX in Brockton, on January 7, 1993.[5] The new owners dropped WCEG's music programming in favor of a simulcast of WMSX; separate programming was subsequently introduced in Portuguese.[6] However, the station had been silent for several years by 1996, when Callahan reached a deal to repurchase the station.[7][8] Soon after reassuming control on January 5, 1997,[7] Callahan brought WCEG back on the air with radio reading service programming;[6] the call letters were changed to WVBF on March 21, 1997.[9] The WVBF call sign had previously been used by 105.7 FM in Framingham from 1971 until 1993, while broadcasting top 40 and adult contemporary formats; that station is now WROR-FM.

From the station's inception, WCEG/WVBF only broadcast during daytime hours with 1,000 watts;[1] however, 2-watt nighttime service was inaugurated in 2002.[10] In 2006, the station's daytime power was increased to 2,200 watts.[11][12] On August 7, 2007, WVBF began to air several local talk shows from studios in Taunton; these shows moved from WPEP (1570 AM), which was in the process of closing down to accommodate a power increase at WNSH in Beverly. The radio reading service programming continues when talk programming does not air.[13]

Translator

WVBF is relayed on translator station W259DD, which transmits on 99.7 MHz. It received its license to cover on April 10, 2019.[14]

Broadcast translator for WVBF
Call signFrequencyCity of licenseFIDERP (W)HAATClassTransmitter coordinatesFCC info
W259DD 99.7 FMMiddleborough Center, Massachusetts200670200 m (0 ft)D41°52′55″N 71°3′51″W / 41.88194°N 71.06417°W / 41.88194; -71.06417LMS

References

  1. 1 2 3 Bickelhaupt, Susan (May 15, 1992). "The little AM station that thinks it can". The Boston Globe. Archived from the original on June 29, 2014. Retrieved June 30, 2013.
  2. 1 2 "WCEG reception verification" (PDF). April 1, 1992. Retrieved May 17, 2014.
  3. ↑ "Call Letter Origins". Radio History on the Web.
  4. ↑ "WVBF Facility Record". United States Federal Communications Commission, audio division.
  5. ↑ "Application Search Details (1)". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved June 30, 2013.
  6. 1 2 Fybush, Scott (January 26, 1997). "Back From the Dead..." North East RadioWatch. Retrieved June 30, 2013.
  7. 1 2 "Application Search Details (2)". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved June 30, 2013.
  8. ↑ Fybush, Scott (November 19, 1996). "MusicAmerica Returns". New England RadioWatch. Retrieved June 30, 2013.
  9. ↑ "WVBF Call Sign History". United States Federal Communications Commission, audio division.
  10. ↑ Fybush, Scott (May 13, 2002). "North East RadioWatch". North East RadioWatch. Retrieved June 30, 2013.
  11. ↑ "APPLICATION FOR CONSTRUCTION PERMIT FOR COMMERCIAL BROADCAST STATION". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. February 2, 2004. Retrieved June 30, 2013.
  12. ↑ "Application Search Details (3)". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved June 30, 2013.
  13. ↑ Winokoor, Charles (August 6, 2007). "Local talk radio gets 2nd wind". Taunton Daily Gazette. Retrieved June 30, 2013.
  14. ↑ F.C.C. information for facility 200670; retrieved June 20, 2019.
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