WCIB (101.9

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 ...

"Cool 102") is a

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FM radio FM broadcasting is a method of radio broadcasting that uses frequency modulation (FM) of the radio broadcast carrier wave. Invented in 1933 by American engineer Edwin Armstrong, wide-band FM is used worldwide to transmit high fidelity, high-f ...

station

licensed A license (American English) or licence (Commonwealth English) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit). A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another part ...

Falmouth, Massachusetts Falmouth ( ) is a New England town, town in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 32,517 at the 2020 census, making Falmouth the second-largest municipality on Cape Cod after Barnstable, Massachusetts, Barnstable. T ...

, and serving

Cape Cod Cape Cod is a peninsula extending into the Atlantic Ocean from the southeastern corner of Massachusetts, in the northeastern United States. Its historic, maritime character and ample beaches attract heavy tourism during the summer months. The ...

Martha’s Vineyard Martha's Vineyard, often simply called the Vineyard, is an island in the U.S. state of Massachusetts, lying just south of Cape Cod. It is known for being a popular, affluent summer colony, and includes the smaller peninsula Chappaquiddick Isla ...

and the South Coast area. It airs a classic hits

radio format A radio format or programming format (not to be confused with broadcast programming) describes the overall content broadcast on a radio station. The radio format emerged mainly in the United States in the 1950s, at a time when Radio broadcasting, ...

and is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. The studios and offices are on Barnstable Road in Hyannis. WCIB 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 12,000 watts

horizontal polarization , or , is a property of transverse waves which specifies the geometrical orientation of the oscillations. In a transverse wave, the direction of the oscillation is perpendicular to the direction of motion of the wave. One example of a polarize ...

and 11,340 watts vertical. The

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is on Spring Bars Road in Falmouth, near the local

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History

Top 40, AC and Country

The WCIB call letters stand for Cape and Islands Broadcasting, the original company that signed the station on in August 1970 (not to be confused with WGBH-owned public radio station

WCAI WCAI (90.1 FM) in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, WNAN (91.1 FM) in Nantucket, and WZAI (94.3 FM) in Brewster, are NPR member radio stations serving the Cape Cod and Islands area of southeast Massachusetts. They broadcast primarily news and info ...

, which has the same call sign meaning). For several years, WCIB programmed 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. "Top ...

format, but by late 1974 (after losing the top-40 battle to

WCOD-FM WCOD-FM (106.1 MHz) is a hot adult contemporary formatted radio station licensed to Hyannis, Massachusetts. It is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. WCOD's sister stations include WEII, WCIB, and WXTK. Its transmitter and studio are located separately ...

) the station switched to an "Adult Gold" format. The station was later home to a

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 ...

format known as "Lite 102 WCIB", owned by Boston radio personality Larry Justice. After a short stint as "

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Thunder 101", the station was rebranded by its new owner, Al Makkay, as Cool 102, which quickly established itself as the market's ratings leader. Makkay Broadcasting sold WCIB, with its sister stations WRZE and WCOD-FM, to Qantum Communications in 2003 for $32M.

Clear Channel ownership

On May 15, 2014, Qantum Communications announced that it would sell its 29 stations, including WCIB, to Clear Channel Communications (now iHeartMedia), in a transaction connected to Clear Channel's sale of WALK AM- FM in

Patchogue, New York Patchogue ( ) is a Administrative divisions of New York#Village, village in Suffolk County, New York. The population was 12,408 at the time of the 2020 census. The Incorporated Village of Patchogue is an incorporated community in the Town (New ...

Connoisseur Media Connoisseur Media LLC is an American media company. It is based in Westport, Connecticut and led by Jeff Warshaw. As of May 2024, Connoisseur operates 13 radio stations and digital assets in four U.S. markets: Frederick, MD, Nassau-Suffolk, NY, Ne ...

via Qantum. The transaction was consummated on September 9, 2014. WCIB programs

Christmas music Christmas music comprises a variety of Music genre, genres of music regularly performed or heard around the Christmas and holiday season, Christmas season. Music associated with Christmas may be purely instrumental, or in the case of Christmas ...

during the holiday season. The station usually makes this change in the last week of November, but in 2017 did so on November 1. iHeartMedia Cape Cod market manager Allison Davis said that "Given the general malaise around the country, we decided this was the right time to launch a feel-good format." It later discontinued the flip to Christmas music, except for Christmas Eve and Day.

Signal reduction and coverage change

On August 6, 2014, Clear Channel filed a contingent application involving WCIB, WBWL and

WWBB WWBB (101.5 FM, "B101") is a radio station in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. The station plays classic hits from the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. WWBB's offices and studios are located on Oxford Street in Providence, on the 3rd and 4th flo ...

. It would eliminate the directional pattern of WBWL in nearby Boston, giving WBWL a better signal. The application called for the reduction of WCIB's signal from a full 50,000 watts down to 13,000 watts with a directional null away from Boston, which also reduced their signal in the

Providence, Rhode Island Providence () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Rhode Island, most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. The county seat of Providence County, Rhode Island, Providence County, it is o ...

market and the Outer Cape area. The application was approved on October 6, 2014. WCIB's reduced power transmitter was put on the air December 9, 2014. In August 2015, WCIB’s power was reduced to 12,000 watts to become a Class B1 (25,000-watt equivalent) radio station.

References

External links

Cool 102 WCIB official website
* {{IHeartMedia Falmouth, Massachusetts CIB Classic hits radio stations in the United States Radio stations established in 1970 1970 establishments in Massachusetts IHeartMedia radio stations