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WWEI
Broadcast areaSpringfield, Massachusetts
Frequency105.5 MHz (HD Radio)
Branding105.5 WEEI
Programming
Language(s)English
FormatSports radio
SubchannelsHD2: "WAAF" (active rock)
Affiliations
Ownership
Owner
WHLL, WMAS-FM
History
First air date
October 1967 (1967-10)
Former call signs
  • WQRB-FM (1967)
  • WQRB (1967–79)
  • WBEC-FM (1979–2006)
  • WVEI-FM (2006–11)
Call sign meaning
similar to WEEI
Technical information[1]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID11295
ClassA
ERP720 watts (horizontal)
706 watts (vertical)
HAAT280 meters (920 ft)
Transmitter coordinates
42°14′29.3″N 72°38′55.3″W / 42.241472°N 72.648694°W / 42.241472; -72.648694 (WWEI) (NAD83)
Links
Public license information
Webcast
Website

WWEI (105.5 FM; "105.5 WEEI") is a radio station in Easthampton, Massachusetts, serving Springfield with a sports radio format. The station is owned by Audacy, Inc. Most programming is provided by Boston sister station WEEI-FM.

History

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The 105.5 MHz frequency used by WWEI was originally allocated to Pittsfield, Massachusetts, where it signed on in October 1967[2] as WQRB-FM.[3] It was co-owned with WBEC (1420 AM), though it offered its own programming;[3] this was a middle-of-the-road format by 1972.[4] The station became WBEC-FM in 1979, upon adopting an album-oriented rock format.[5] During the 1980s, the station shifted to more of a contemporary hit radio format.[2]

Vox Media acquired the WBEC stations in 2002.[6] Two years later, to accommodate then-sister station WNYQ (now WQBK-FM)'s move to Malta, New York, Vox filed to move WBEC-FM to Easthampton in 2004.[7] Vox then put the station up for sale, and after an unsuccessful attempt to sell it to Pamal Broadcasting,[8] it was sold to Entercom (forerunner to Audacy, Inc.) in 2006.[9] WBEC-FM signed off from Pittsfield that May,[10] with the format and call letters moving to 95.9 FM (a former frequency of WUPE-FM) at that time.[11] The current incarnation of the station signed on as WVEI-FM from Easthampton on October 26, 2006.[12] The call letters were changed to WWEI on September 14, 2011.[13]

On June 13, 2012, it was announced that WWEI would carry UMass Minutemen football and UMass Minutemen basketball games. In the event of conflicts with Boston Red Sox and Boston Celtics broadcasts, station manager David Oldread said "his station would prefer to keep UMass as the priority". As part of the deal, every Thursday at 7 p.m., WWEI airs The Coaches Show hosted by UMass Football analyst Matt Goldstein (with interviews with head UMass Football coach and head UMass Basketball coach) over WEEI programming.[14] Also, every Friday at 7 p.m. during Springfield Falcons hockey season, WWEI airs The Old Time Hockey Show, which discusses the Falcons, the Boston Bruins, and the NHL.

WWEI formerly carried Fox Sports Radio in the overnight hours, even after parent station WEEI switched to ESPN Radio in 2009; at that time, ESPN programming was heard in Springfield on WHLL. At midnight on January 1, 2013, WWEI assumed the ESPN Radio affiliation, after WHLL switched to CBS Sports Radio.

2020 signal hijacking

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During the 2020 United States Presidential Election, the station's signal received interference from a pirate radio station on the same frequency in Warren, looping a recording of a whispering voice that said "Don't be a chump, vote for Trump." As of November 4, 2020, attempts to contact the FCC were unsuccessful.[15][16]

References

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  1. ^ "Facility Technical Data for WWEI". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  2. ^ a b Broadcasting/Cable Yearbook 1989 (PDF). 1989. p. B-143. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 10, 2011. Retrieved April 19, 2010.
  3. ^ a b Broadcasting Yearbook 1968 (PDF). 1968. p. B-103. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 6, 2011. Retrieved April 19, 2010.
  4. ^ Broadcasting Yearbook 1973 (PDF). 1973. p. B-96. Retrieved April 19, 2010.
  5. ^ Broadcasting Yearbook 1980 (PDF). 1980. p. C-108. Retrieved April 19, 2010.
  6. ^ Fybush, Scott (July 29, 2002). "Vox buys WBEC (Really!)". North East RadioWatch. Retrieved April 19, 2010.
  7. ^ Fybush, Scott (December 6, 2004). "WAQX-Stern Feud Escalates". NorthEast Radio Watch. Retrieved July 25, 2009.
  8. ^ Fybush, Scott (May 1, 2006). "Unanswered Questions in Boston". NorthEast Radio Watch. Retrieved July 25, 2009. The deal with Pamal was never consummated…
  9. ^ Fybush, Scott (February 20, 2006). "WEEI heads west with WBEC-FM buy". NorthEast Radio Watch. Retrieved July 25, 2009.
  10. ^ Fybush, Scott (May 8, 2006). "Sox & Entercom: So Happy Together?". NorthEast Radio Watch. Retrieved July 25, 2009.
  11. ^ Fybush, Scott (April 17, 2006). "WAVM, Living Proof Settle Dispute". NorthEast Radio Watch. Retrieved July 25, 2009.
  12. ^ Fybush, Scott (October 30, 2006). "CC Cutbacks in Rochester Claim Five Jobs". NorthEast Radio Watch. Retrieved July 25, 2009.
  13. ^ "Call Sign History". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved September 14, 2011.
  14. ^ "105.5 FM WWEI Springfield talks details on new UMass football, basketball broadcast agreement". Masslive. The Springfield Republican. 13 June 2012. Retrieved October 8, 2012.
  15. ^ Ring, Kim. "Talk radio station frequency hijacked by Trump message in Warren". Telegram & Gazette. Retrieved 2020-11-08.
  16. ^ "Political Pirate Radio Operator Is Interfering With WWEI Signal". Inside Radio. November 2, 2020. Retrieved March 10, 2023.
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