WUPE-FM

WUPE-FM
Broadcast areaBerkshire County, Massachusetts; Bennington County, Vermont
Frequency100.1 MHz
BrandingWhoopee
Programming
FormatClassic hits
Ownership
Owner
WBEC, WBEC-FM, WNAW, WSBS, WUPE
History
First air date
July 12, 1964 (as WMNB-FM)
Former call signs
  • WMNB-FM (1964–1988)
  • WMNB (1988–2006)
Call sign meaning
Whoopie[1]
Technical information[2]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID4821
ClassA
ERP1,150 watts
HAAT158.8 meters (521 ft)
Transmitter coordinates
42°41′54.2″N 73°3′52.3″W / 42.698389°N 73.064528°W / 42.698389; -73.064528
Repeater(s)1110 WUPE (Pittsfield)
Links
Public license information
WebcastListen live
Websitewupe.com

WUPE-FM (100.1 MHz) is a classic hits radio station owned by Townsquare Media. Licensed to North Adams, Massachusetts, United States, WUPE-FM serves Pittsfield.[3]

History

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The station went on the air July 12, 1964,[4] as WMNB-FM, owned by the Hardman family along with WMNB (1230 AM) and the North Adams Transcript.[5] The Hardmans sold Northern Berkshire Broadcasting to Donald A. Thurston in 1966;[6] the company became Berkshire Broadcasting after the purchase of WSBS in Great Barrington in 1968.[7] By 1973, WMNB-FM had a beautiful music format, separately-programmed from the AM station[8] (though even at WMNB-FM's inception the two stations did not duplicate more than thirty percent of their programming[5]). The callsign was modified to simply WMNB on January 30, 1988,[9] after the AM station was renamed WNAW. During the mid-1990s, WMNB's format incorporated smooth jazz and soft adult contemporary programming;[10] as a whole, however, it remained one of the few remaining beautiful music stations.[11]

Vox Communications purchased Berkshire Broadcasting in November 2003,[12] with the sale closing in May 2004.[13] The next month, WMNB began simulcasting an oldies genre with another Vox station, WUPE (95.9).[14] The station took the WUPE-FM callsign two years later, as part of a larger shuffle resulting in WBEC-FM moving from 105.5 (now WWEI) to 95.9.[15] WUPE-FM's programming also began to be heard on an AM station in Pittsfield on 1110 AM.[16] Vox transferred most of its stations to Gamma Broadcasting in late 2012.[17] In August 2013, Gamma reached a deal to sell its Berkshire County radio stations, including WUPE-FM, to Reed Miami Holdings;[18] the sale was canceled on December 30, 2013.[19]

WUPE-FM's tower, along with an adjacent cell tower, collapsed on March 29, 2014, as a result of high winds, forcing the station off the air. The station stated that it would resume broadcasting with a temporary antenna by April 1. WUPE's simulcast on 1110 AM in Pittsfield and its web stream were not affected by the tower collapse.[20]

In October 2016, Gamma Broadcasting agreed to sell its stations to Galaxy Communications;[21] the sale fell through, and in 2017 the stations were acquired by Townsquare Media.[22]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Call Letter Origins". Radio History on the Web.
  2. ^ "Facility Technical Data for WUPE-FM". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  3. ^ "WUPE-FM Facility Record". United States Federal Communications Commission, audio division.
  4. ^ Broadcasting/Cable Yearbook 1989 (PDF). 1989. p. B-142. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 10, 2011. Retrieved May 8, 2010.
  5. ^ a b Broadcasting Yearbook 1965 (PDF). 1965. p. B-74. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 13, 2011. Retrieved May 8, 2010.
  6. ^ Broadcasting Yearbook 1967 (PDF). 1967. p. B-111. Retrieved May 8, 2010.
  7. ^ Broadcasting Yearbook 1971 (PDF). 1971. pp. B-99–100. Retrieved January 11, 2010.
  8. ^ Broadcasting Yearbook 1974 (PDF). 1974. p. B-100. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 8, 2010. Retrieved May 8, 2010.
  9. ^ "WUPE-FM Call Sign History". United States Federal Communications Commission, audio division.
  10. ^ Fybush, Scott (November 19, 1996). "MusicAmerica Returns". New England RadioWatch. Retrieved May 9, 2010.
  11. ^ Fybush, Scott (February 19, 1999). "Chaos at 'CVB...and CBC". North East RadioWatch. Retrieved May 9, 2010.
  12. ^ Fybush, Scott (November 10, 2003). "Christmas Keeps Getting Earlier..." NorthEast Radio Watch. Retrieved May 9, 2010.
  13. ^ Fybush, Scott (May 17, 2004). "Remembering Nick Berg". NorthEast Radio Watch. Retrieved May 11, 2010.
  14. ^ Fybush, Scott (June 28, 2004). "Millennium Adds Two in NJ". NorthEast Radio Watch. Retrieved May 11, 2010.
  15. ^ Fybush, Scott (April 24, 2006). "The Bell Tolls for Diamond Dave". NorthEast Radio Watch. Retrieved May 11, 2010.
  16. ^ Fybush, Scott (April 17, 2006). "WAVM, Living Proof Settle Dispute". NorthEast Radio Watch. Retrieved May 11, 2010.
  17. ^ "Same Principal, New Company For Vox Stations". All Access. October 23, 2012. Retrieved August 29, 2013.
  18. ^ "Western Massachusetts Cluster Sold". All Access. August 23, 2013. Retrieved August 29, 2013.
  19. ^ Venta, Lance (January 14, 2014). "Pittsfield Cluster Sale Withdrawn". RadioInsight. Retrieved March 30, 2014.
  20. ^ Lindsay, Dick (March 30, 2014). "Providers, broadcasters working to restore service after high winds down towers". The Berkshire Eagle. Retrieved March 31, 2014.
  21. ^ Venta, Lance (October 17, 2016). "Galaxy Communications Acquires Pittsfield Cluster". RadioInsight. Retrieved April 19, 2017.
  22. ^ Venta, Lance (July 18, 2017). "Townsquare Media Acquires Six In Massachusetts". RadioInsight. Retrieved November 14, 2017.
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