WMAS-FM (94.7

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 ...

), branded 94.7 WMAS, 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 licensed to

Enfield, Connecticut Enfield is a New England town, town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States, first settled by John and Robert Pease of Salem, Massachusetts Bay Colony. The town is part of the Capitol Planning Region, Connecticut, Capitol Planning Region. ...

, and serving the Springfield metropolitan area and

Pioneer Valley The Pioneer Valley is the colloquial and promotional name for the portion of the Connecticut River Valley that is in Massachusetts in the United States. It is generally taken to comprise the three counties of Hampden County, Massachusetts, Ha ...

Western Massachusetts Western Massachusetts, known colloquially as "western Mass," is a region in Massachusetts, one of the six U.S. states that make up the New England region of the United States. Western Massachusetts has diverse topography; 22 colleges and univ ...

. It broadcasts an

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 ...

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

Audacy, Inc. Audacy, Inc. is an American broadcasting company based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1968 as Entercom Communications Corp., it is the second largest radio company in the United States, owning over 220 radio stations across 47 media ...

In the evening, it carries '' Intelligence for Your Life with John Tesh''. On Sunday mornings, it airs '' The Jim Brickman Show''. The studios are at the

Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and pre ...

in Springfield. WMAS-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 50,000 watts, the maximum for most stations in Massachusetts. It uses a

directional antenna A directional antenna or beam antenna is an antenna that radiates or receives greater radio wave power in specific directions. Directional antennas can radiate radio waves in beams, when greater concentration of radiation in a certain directio ...

and broadcasts from a shorter

tower A tower is a tall Nonbuilding structure, structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant factor. Towers are distinguished from guyed mast, masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting ...

than most Springfield FM outlets to avoid interference with co-owned

WXBK WXBK (94.7 FM broadcasting, FM, "94.7 The Block") is a classic hip-hop-formatted radio station that is City of license, licensed to Newark, New Jersey, and serves the New York City area. The station is owned by Audacy, Inc. WXBK's studios are ...

, also on 94.7 FM, in the New York City radio market. WMAS-FM's

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 in Springfield's Brightwood neighborhood, off Plainfield Avenue ( U.S. Route 20) and near the

Connecticut River The Connecticut River is the longest river in the New England region of the United States, flowing roughly southward for through four states. It rises 300 yards (270 m) south of the U.S. border with Quebec, Canada, and discharges into Long Isl ...

History

Early years

WMAS-FM

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 ...

the air in 1947 as the FM counterpart of WMAS (1450 AM). Both stations were owned by WMAS, Inc. and mostly simulcast their programming. WMAS-FM was one of the first FM stations in Western Massachusetts. The studios were in the Hotel Stonehaven and the stations'

city of license In U.S., Canadian, and Mexican broadcasting, a city of license or community of license is the community that a radio station or television station is officially licensed to serve by that country's broadcast regulator. In North American broadcast ...

was Springfield.

Progressive rock and disco

The simulcast ended in the late 1960s. WMAS-FM became a " freeform" radio station, playing a

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 ...

format. The programs were hosted by youthful disc jockeys (DJs) who could choose whatever they wanted to play. The progressive format was initiated by Hamilton K. Agnew, with an air name of "The Doktor". Brian Kreizenbeck joined the staff several months later. When Roy Cohn bought the station, Ham Agnew quit. He and Roy did not get along from the start. Advertising revenue came from the

hippie A hippie, also spelled hippy, especially in British English, is someone associated with the counterculture of the 1960s, counterculture of the mid-1960s to early 1970s, originally a youth movement that began in the United States and spread to dif ...

boutiques, head shops, concert venues, and music stores that catered to the counter-cultural youth of the day. This freeform radio format ended in September 1969 after complaints were made about expletives in a Wild Man Fischer song. A protest movement, in part organized by the DJs, failed to save the format. From 1971 to 1973, the station programmed a tamer

album rock Album-oriented rock (AOR, originally called album-oriented radio) is an FM broadcasting, FM radio format created in the United States in the late 1960s that focuses on the full repertoire of Rock music, rock albums and is currently associated ...

sound, using the

call sign In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign (also known as a call name or call letters—and historically as a call signal—or abbreviated as a call) is a unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be formally as ...

WHVY. Another reason for the impending failure was that Tony Gazzana wanted to change the format to milque-toast "Top Forty" format in addition to the stations call sign WHVY. Ham Agnew was also the licensed Chief Engineer of the station in addition to being the architect of the "Progressive-Free Form" format, and resigned shortly after a meeting with Roy Cohn and Tony Gazzana. In the mid 1970s, the WMAS-FM call letters returned. Both the AM and FM stations were mostly simulcast once again, with a full service, middle of the road music format. In 1978, WMAS-FM hopped on the bandwagon of the

disco music Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightlife, particularly in African-American, Italian-American, Gay and Latino communities. Its sound features four-on-the-floor ...

sound, although it was short-lived.

Adult contemporary

In 1979, WMAS-FM began airing 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, a forerunner of what the station is today. In June 2004, WMAS-AM-FM were sold to

Citadel Broadcasting Citadel Broadcasting Corporation was a Las Vegas, Nevada-based broadcast holding company founded and developed by Larry Wilson. Citadel owned 243 radio stations across the United States and was the third-largest radio station owner in the count ...

for $22 million; In January 2011, WMAS-FM agreed to change its city of license from Springfield to

, to facilitate the relocation of WPKX (97.9) from Enfield to

Windsor Locks Windsor Locks is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. The town is part of the Capitol Planning Region. As of the 2020 census, its population was 12,613. It is the site of Bradley International Airport, which serves the Greate ...

; the deal, which allowed Citadel to use a generator owned by WPKX owner

Clear Channel Communications iHeartMedia, Inc., or CC Media Holdings, Inc., is an American mass media corporation headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It is the holding company of iHeartCommunications, Inc., formerly Clear Channel Communications, Inc., a company founded by ...

Albuquerque, New Mexico Albuquerque ( ; ), also known as ABQ, Burque, the Duke City, and in the past 'the Q', is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Bernalillo County, New Mexico, Bernal ...

, did not require any changes to WMAS-FM's physical and studio facilities. Citadel merged with

Cumulus Media Cumulus Media, Inc. is a broadcasting company of the United States and is the second largest owner and operator of AM and FM radio stations in the United States ahead of Audacy and behind iHeartMedia iHeartMedia, Inc., or CC Media Holdi ...

on September 16, 2011. The station won the Massachusetts Broadcasters Association Award for "Station of the Year" in 2012 and 2014. The Kellogg Krew Morning Show won the Massachusetts Broadcasters Association "Air Talent of the Year" award in 2013. On February 13, 2019, Cumulus and

Entercom Audacy, Inc. is an American broadcasting company based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1968 as Entercom Communications Corp., it is the second largest radio company in the United States, owning over 220 radio stations across 47 media ...

announced an agreement in which WMAS-FM and WHLL, as well as WNSH in New York City, would be swapped to Entercom in exchange for Entercom's Indianapolis stations. Under the terms of the deal, Entercom began operating WMAS-FM under a

local marketing agreement In North American broadcasting, a local marketing agreement (LMA), or local management agreement, is a contract in which one corporation, company agrees to operate a radio station, radio or television station owned by another party. In essence, it ...

on March 1, 2019. The station's web presence moved to Radio.com a month later, along with its streaming. The swap was completed on May 9, 2019. Both Entercom and Radio.com changed their names to Audacy in 2021.

References

External links

* {{Audacy MAS-FM Mainstream adult contemporary radio stations in the United States Audacy, Inc. radio stations Radio stations established in 1947 1947 establishments in Massachusetts Enfield, Connecticut