WBEC-FM (95.9

MHz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), often described as being equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose formal expression in terms of SI base u ...

) is a

commercial radio Commercial broadcasting (also called private broadcasting) is the broadcasting of television programs and radio programming by privately owned corporate media, as opposed to state sponsorship, for example. It was the United States' first model ...

station in

Pittsfield, Massachusetts Pittsfield is the most populous city and the county seat of Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the principal city of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Berkshire County. Pittsfi ...

. It is owned by

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and broadcasts a

Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is a list of the 40 currently most popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "To ...

format. WBEC-FM has an

effective radiated power Effective radiated power (ERP), synonymous with equivalent radiated power, is an IEEE standardized definition of directional radio frequency (RF) power, such as that emitted by a radio transmitter. It is the total power in watts that would ha ...

(ERP) of 1,000 watts. The

transmitter In electronics and telecommunications, a radio transmitter or just transmitter (often abbreviated as XMTR or TX in technical documents) is an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna (radio), antenna with the purpose of sig ...

is off Alpine Trail in Pittsfield, near South Street ( U.S. Route 20).Radio-Locator.com/WBEC-FM
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History

In 1975, the station

signed on A sign-on (or start-up in Commonwealth countries except Canada) is the beginning of operations for a radio broadcasting, radio or television station, generally at the start of each day. It is the opposite of a sign-off (or closedown in Commonw ...

as WGRG-FM, airing a free form

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog) is a broad genre of rock music that primarily developed in the United Kingdom through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early-to-mid-1970s. Initially termed " progressive pop", the ...

sound. At that time, it was not associated with WBEC (1420 AM). WBEC had an FM station on 94.3 MHz dating back to the late 1940s, but gave it up in an era when few people owned FM receivers. It later put another FM station on the air on 105.5 MHz; that station moved to

Easthampton, Massachusetts Easthampton is a city in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. The city is in the Pioneer Valley, near the five colleges in the college towns of Northampton and Amherst. The population was 16,211 at the 2020 census. History E ...

, becoming WVEI-FM, in 2006. From 1977 to 2006, the station was known as WUPE-FM. WUPE began operations in 1977

simulcast Simulcast (a portmanteau of "simultaneous broadcast") is the broadcasting of programs or events across more than one resolution, bitrate or medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at exactly the same time (that is, simultaneously) ...

ing the

top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is a list of the 40 currently most popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "To ...

sound heard on WUPE (1110 AM). WUPE-AM-FM later switched to

soft adult contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul ...

and then

oldies Oldies is a term for musical genres such as pop music, rock and roll, doo-wop, surf music from the second half of the 20th century, specifically from around the mid-1950s to the 1980s, as well as for a radio format playing this music. Since 2 ...

. After oldies, the WUPE-FM call sign and format were moved to 100.1 FM. In August 2013, Gamma Broadcasting reached a deal to sell its

Berkshire County Berkshire County (pronounced ) is the westernmost county in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. As of the 2020 census, the population was 129,026. Its largest city and traditional county seat is Pittsfield. The county was founded in 17 ...

radio stations, including WBEC-FM, to Reed Miami Holdings. The sale was canceled on December 30, 2013. In October 2016, Gamma agreed to sell its stations to Galaxy Communications. That sale also fell through, and in 2017 the stations were acquired by

HD Radio

In March 2025, WBEC-FM added a second

HD Radio HD Radio (HDR) is a trademark for in-band on-channel (IBOC) digital radio broadcast technology. HD radio generally simulcast, simulcasts an existing analog radio station in digital format with less noise and with additional text information. HD R ...

channel to simulcast WUPE-FM; the subchannel is in turn relayed on

translator station A broadcast relay station, also known as a satellite station, relay transmitter, broadcast translator (U.S.), re-broadcaster (Canada), repeater (two-way radio) or complementary station (Mexico), is a broadcast transmitter which repeats (or tran ...

W277CJ (103.3 FM). The subchannel serves as a replacement for WUPE (1110 AM), which surrendered its license on March 25 and had previously served as W277CJ's primary station.

References

External links

* * * * BEC Hot adult contemporary radio stations in the United States Pittsfield, Massachusetts Mass media in Berkshire County, Massachusetts Radio stations established in 1975 Townsquare Media radio stations {{Massachusetts-radio-station-stub