WPOR (101.9 FM) is a

radio station Radio broadcasting is the broadcasting of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based rad ...

Portland, Maine Portland is the List of municipalities in Maine, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine and the county seat, seat of Cumberland County, Maine, Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 at the 2020 census. The Portland metropolit ...

, that broadcasts a

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

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, ...

. It is owned by Saga Communications.

History

WPOR has had the same format since it signed on as an FM

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) ...

of 1490 WPOR, now WBAE, on October 31, 1967. WPOR was owned by Hildreth Broadcasting Corporation at that time. On March 2, 1971 WPOR and WPOR-FM were sold to Ocean Coast Properties. 25 years later in March 1996 WPOR and WPOR-FM were sold again, this time to current owner Saga Communications for $10 million. Through most of its history, the AM and the FM stations either simulcast, or for some years, the AM station used a satellite-delivered country music service, while live local announcers continued on the FM station. In March 1999, 1490 AM changed its call letters to WBAE. The reason for the new call letters was made clear on May 24, 1999 when it changed its format to

adult standards Adult standards (also sometimes known as the nostalgia or Big Band format) is a North American radio format heard primarily on AM or class A FM stations. Adult standards started in the 1950s and is aimed at "mature" adults, meaning mainly tho ...

and became known on air as The Bay. WPOR's Jon Shannon has hosted the POR Morning Crew since March 2001. WPOR-FM had the greatest market share of any Maine radio station into the early 2000s, at which time it was still Portland's only country music station. For many years, WPOR-FM and

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

station 102.9

WBLM WBLM (102.9 FM) is a classic rock radio station licensed to Portland, Maine. The station has a studio in One City Center, along with co-owned Townsquare Media stations WJBQ, WCYY and WHOM. The station also serves as the Portland market af ...

were consistently Portland's top two stations, with each vying for the lead in the ratings. The situation changed with the debut of

WTHT WTHT (99.9 FM; "The Wolf") is a radio station broadcasting a country music format. Licensed to Auburn, Maine, the station serves Greater Portland. It is owned by Binnie Media, with studios on Thomas Drive in Westbrook. Programming was simulc ...

in Portland, another country station.

References

External links

* {{Authority control POR Country radio stations in the United States Radio stations established in 1967 1967 establishments in Maine