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WBAB

Babylon, New York United States
Broadcast area	Long Island
Frequency	102.3 MHz (HD Radio)
Branding	102.3 WBAB
Programming
Language(s)	English
Format	Classic rock
Ownership
Owner	Cox Media Group (CMG NY/Texas Radio, LLC)
Sister stations	WBLI, WHFM
History
First air date	August 27, 1958; 66 years ago (1958-08-27)
Former call signs	WBAB-FM (1958–2003)
Call sign meaning	Babylon Bay Shore Broadcasting (original owner)
Technical information
Licensing authority	FCC
Facility ID	71199
Class	A
ERP	6,000 watts (analog) 240 watts (digital)
HAAT	82 meters (269 ft)
Transmitter coordinates	40°47′58″N 73°20′8″W / 40.79944°N 73.33556°W / 40.79944; -73.33556 (WBAB)
Repeater(s)	95.3 WHFM (Southampton)
Links
Public license information	Public file LMS
Webcast	Listen live
Website	www.wbab.com

WBAB (102.3 FM) is a classic rock radio station licensed to Babylon, New York and owned by Cox Radio. The station is also simulcast on WHFM (95.3 FM) licensed to Southampton, New York and serving eastern Long Island.

History

WBAB first went on the air August 27, 1958, as WBAB-FM. It simulcast WBAB (1440 AM), until September 1975 when 1440 AM adopted a Gospel music format.

2006 signal hijacking

On the morning of Wednesday, May 17, 2006, the station's signal was hijacked for about 90 seconds while the signal jammers broadcast the song "Nigger Hatin' Me" by the 1960s-era white supremacist country music singer Johnny Rebel. Roger Luce, the station's morning host, said at the time, "I've never seen this in 22 years at this radio station... Whatever that was - it was very racist."

The next morning, it made the front page of Newsday with the headline "JACKED FM". The station's new general manager, John Shea, said, "I've only been here a week and we get hijacked." Former program director John Olsen said, "This was not some child's prank, this was a federal offense."

The hijack was likely accomplished by overpowering the studio transmitter link (STL) signal to the transmitter in Dix Hills, New York. A signal hijacking with the same song happened to WBAB's sister station WBLI about two weeks earlier.

Discography

• WBAB Homegrown Album (1981)
• WBAB Son of Homegrown (1984)

References

1. "WBAB Call Sign History". CDBS Public Access Database. FCC Media Bureau. Retrieved April 29, 2013.
2. "Facility Technical Data for WBAB". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
3. "Gospel for New York Suburbs" (PDF). Record World. October 1, 1977. Retrieved March 15, 2020.
4. ^ "WBAB/Long Island Claims Someone "Hijacked" Signal". allaccess.com. All Access Music Group. May 18, 2006. Retrieved August 22, 2022.
5. "WBAB Hijacked By Pirates - 5/17/06". Retrieved August 22, 2022 – via YouTube.
6. Lamberty, Reid (May 18, 2006). "WBAB-FM Airwaves Hijacked By Pirates: Long Island Radio Station Has Offensive Material On Its Air". WCBS-TV. Archived from the original on November 10, 2006.
7. "Pirate hijacks New York radio signal". United Press International. May 18, 2006. Retrieved May 16, 2020.

External links

• Official website
• Facility details for Facility ID 71199 (WBAB) in the FCC Licensing and Management System
• WBAB in Nielsen Audio's FM station database
• "History Cards for WBAB". Federal Communications Commission. (Guide to reading History Cards)

• HD Radio stations
• 1958 establishments in New York (state)
• Babylon (town), New York
• Classic rock radio stations in the United States
• Cox Media Group
• Mass media in Suffolk County, New York
• Radio stations established in 1958
• Radio stations in New York (state)