WCRB
Woods Hole) | |
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Public license information | |
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WCRB (99.5 FM) is a non-commercial radio station licensed to
WCRB was a commercial station from the early 1950s to December 2009, when it was acquired by the WGBH Educational Foundation. Since then, the station has relied on the listener-supported method of funding, which dominates public radio stations in the United States: minor government funding is supplemented by tax-deductible gifts from individuals and by payments that corporations and other groups make.
WCRB programming is simulcast on the second HD Radio channel of WGBH, allowing WCRB to reach some portions of the Boston area that cannot receive 99.5, and on two other stations: WJMF, in Smithfield, Rhode Island, serving nearby Providence and the second HD Radio channel of WCAI, in Woods Hole.
History of WCRB intellectual property
WCRB began broadcasting on 1330 kHz in
Around the time Jones acquired the station, WBMS, a daytime AM radio station that had played classical music, changed format. Jones decided to change WCRB's format from that of a typical suburban AM station of the era to full-time classical music. FM service at 102.5 MHz was added by 1954 upon the purchase of the WHAV FM transmitter. FM brought WCRB's classical music to parts of the Boston area that did not get good reception of WCRB's directional AM signal, and improved the quality of the sound.
In 1961, WCRB-FM became the first Boston-area station to broadcast in multiplex stereo; for a few years before that, WCRB had broadcast some of its programming in stereo by carrying one channel on AM, the other on FM. WCRB was directly involved in the development of FM multiplex stereo.[2] Station WCRB and H. H. Scott, then of Maynard, Massachusetts, developed prototype stereophonic equipment that was used to prove the General Electric multiplex method being evaluated by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). H. H. Scott was an early stereophonic-receiver manufacturer and developed and built high-quality home stereo equipment. Once the FCC approved stereo broadcasting, WCRB created a special "stereo" studio in downtown Boston, the first in the world. There was no dual channel (stereo) studio equipment at the time. Much of the equipment was handmade by the engineering staff.
WCRB is noted for many other innovations. It was the first radio station to obtain a permanent waiver of the FCC rules requiring average modulation in excess of eighty-five percent. This was necessary to preserve the dynamic range of the concert music broadcasts. The station also obtained a permanent waiver of the FCC rule that required a station identification announcement every thirty minutes. This meant that a live concert performance no longer had to be interrupted for station identification.
The WCRB engineering staff worked with the
Although Charles River Broadcasting had acquired other radio stations, WCRB remained as the company's flagship station.
In 1975, WCRB ended simulcasting of WCRB-FM, changing callsigns to WHET, and its format to big-band/adult standards. In 1978, Charles River Broadcasting sold off WHET (later renamed WRCA), but retained WCRB, which became increasingly successful over the years as a 24/7 classical music station.
WCRB was under a long-term commitment by Charles River Broadcasting Trust, established by Theodore Jones, to continue to air classical music in perpetuity, and it carried no non-classical music programs. However, the decision to interpret the commitment as a request rather than a demand resulted in the announced sale of the station to Greater Media on December 19, 2005. The trustees of the Charles River Broadcast Trust had already sold off portions of the trust's property so that there was little physical property and real estate left. The AM transmitter site in Waltham was sold to a developer who built the Watermill Complex. This, and the sales of stations such as WCRQ in Providence, Rhode Island, marked the beginning of the gradual dissolution of the Theodore Jones trust. It was upon the death of Richard L. Kaye,[3] an early manager, minority stockholder, and trusted associate of Jones, that the Charles River Trust would no longer maintain the commitments made by its founder.[4]
Greater Media already owned five FM stations in the Boston market—the maximum allowed by the FCC and one of Greater Media's Boston stations would have to be sold before the company could acquire WCRB. Speculation arose that Greater Media would sell off 99.5
It was announced on September 21, 2009 that the WGBH Educational Foundation would acquire WCRB from Nassau and convert the station to non-commercial operation, complementing sister station WGBH.[5] The sale was completed on December 1, 2009. Since assuming control of WCRB, WGBH has sought to expand the reach of the station, particularly to areas that had been served by the station prior to the frequency shift in 2006, WCRB's programming was added to WNCK, which formerly simulcast WGBH, concurrent with the sale's completion, and April 8, 2010, W242AA also switched from carrying WGBH to WCRB, via the 89.7 HD2 simulcast.[6] WJMF began carrying WCRB programming in September 2011, since the frequency change in 2006, Providence had been one of the largest markets without access to a full-time classical music station.[7] Because of this expanded reach, the station rebranded from 99.5 All Classical (the branding used since the sale to WGBH) to Classical New England on October 3, 2011.[8] By 2015, the station was branded as "Classical Radio Boston, 99.5 WCRB". In 2020, the station announced it would rebrand as "CRB Classical 99.5", as part of a wider rebranding of WGBH and its stations to remove the letter "W".[9]
History of the 99.5 FM broadcast license
The 99.5 FM broadcast license began broadcasting October 6, 1948, as WLLH-FM,[10] the FM counterpart to WLLH, programming a full-service format to the Merrimack Valley.
During the 1970s, 99.5 became WSSH (for Wish 99.5), which programmed a format of chiefly soft instrumental renditions of pop tunes with a few vocalists an hour, consisting of soft AC (
However, in the early 1990s, ratings went from excellent to mediocre; part of the reason was the perception that WSSH was still an
Then, in 1997, Granum sold WOAZ and
The 99.5 frequency was spun off to
Audience
WCRB claimed to have about 500,000 listeners who tune into the live
Community and innovation
WCRB engineers worked with Bell Telephone to develop frequency and phase matching technology for using pairs of 15 kHz
They were also at the center of the development of modern multiplexed FM stereo technology and its approval by the FCC, in cooperation with FM receiver manufacturer H. H. Scott, Inc.
Translators
WCRB was formerly carried on a separately-owned translator in Manchester, New Hampshire, W295BL (106.9); this ended after the translator was sold by Basic Holdings to Saga Communications in September 2019.[15][16] In January 2020, W295BL began carrying the third HD Radio channel of Saga-owned WZID.[17]
WCRB was also carried on translator W242AA (96.3) in
References
- ^ "Facility Technical Data for WCRB". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
- ^ "Stereo development at Scott". Vintage H.H. Scott Hi-Fi Stereo archive. Retrieved 2006-12-21.
- ^ Fybush, Scott (December 4, 2006). "WCRB, WKLB Make the Big Switch". NorthEast Radio Watch. Retrieved 2006-12-21.
- ^ Simon, Clea (November 3, 2005). "WCRB sale would have a classical twist". The Boston Globe. p. F5. Retrieved 2006-12-21.
- ^ "Public media leader WGBH to acquire WCRB Radio" (PDF) (Press release). WGBH Boston. September 21, 2009. Retrieved September 21, 2009.
- ^ Fybush, Scott (April 26, 2010). "NJN Braces for Loss of State Support". NorthEast RadioWatch. Retrieved May 15, 2010.
- ^ Nesi, Ted (June 2, 2011). "Classical music coming back to the radio dial in Providence". WPRI.com. Retrieved June 2, 2011.
- ^ Fybush, Scott (October 3, 2011). "Nassau Stares Down Chapter 7". NorthEast Radio Watch. Retrieved October 4, 2011.
- ^ DeCosta-Klipa, Nik (August 31, 2020). "WGBH is dropping the 'W' from its name. Here's why. | Boston.com". boston.com. Retrieved September 3, 2020.
- ^ "WLLH-FM Lowell, Mass. Starts on Channel 258" (PDF). Broadcasting. October 18, 1948. Retrieved 17 January 2015.
- ^ Jazzy WOAZ whisks mellow WSSH away
- ^ (p. 3)
- ^ Simon, Clea (November 30, 2006). "It's time for 'KLB, 'CRB fans to change presets". The Boston Globe. p. E6. Retrieved 2006-12-22.
- ^ "Radio-Info.com". Archived from the original on 2009-01-08.
- ^ RBR.com
- ^ news.radio-online.com
- ^ Venta, Lance (January 5, 2020). "Double The Outlaw In New Hampshire". RadioInsight. Retrieved January 5, 2020.
External links
- Official website
- WCRB in the FCC FM station database
- WCRB in Nielsen Audio's FM station database