WMAS-FM

WMAS-FM
City Enfield, Connecticut (Originally Springfield, Massachusetts)
Broadcast area Pioneer Valley
Branding 94.7 WMAS
Frequency 94.7 MHz (also on HD Radio)
First air date 1947
Format Adult Contemporary
Christmas music (Nov.-Dec.)
ERP 50,000 watts, Stereo
HAAT 55 meters (180 ft)
Class B
Facility ID 36543
Callsign meaning Moffat, Alfred S.
(Station's original owner) or
MASsachusetts
Former callsigns WMAS-FM (1947-1971)
WHVY (1971-1973)
Owner Cumulus Media
(Radio License Holding CBC, LLC)
Sister stations WHLL
Webcast Listen Live
Website 947wmas.com

WMAS-FM (94.7 MHz) is a commercial radio station licensed to Enfield, Connecticut. It is owned by Cumulus Media and airs an adult contemporary radio format. While WMAS-FM primarily serves the Pioneer Valley of Western Massachusetts, it is also heard in Northern and Central Connecticut.

WMAS-FM's studios and offices are in The James Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, a major attraction in Springfield, a city credited as the birthplace of the game of basketball. Visitors to the Hall of Fame can watch the hosts of both the AM and FM stations, from studios in the northern entrance hall.. The transmitter is also located in Springfield, along U.S. Route 20, near the Connecticut River.[1] While its effective radiated power (ERP) is 50,000 watts, the maximum power for non-grandfathered FM radio stations in Massachusetts, WMAS-FM's tower is only 180 feet (55 meters) in height above average terrain (HAAT). Its signal is somewhat limited because co-owned WNSH in Newark, New Jersey, also broadcasts on 94.7 MHz.

History

Early Years

In 1947, the station signed on as the FM counterpart of AM 1450 WMAS (now WHLL). Both stations were owned by WMAS, Inc. and mostly simulcast their programming.[2] Studios were in the Hotel Stonehaven and the stations' city of license was Springfield.

WMAS AM 1450 is the oldest radio station still on the air in Springfield. Because WMAS-AM-FM were CBS Radio Network affiliates, the two stations carried CBS's schedule of dramas, comedies, news, sports, soap operas, game shows and big band broadcasts during the "Golden Age of Radio."

Progressive Rock Era

The simulcast ended in the late 1960s. WMAS-FM became an "underground" radio station, playing a freeform radio format of progressive rock. The programs were hosted by youthful disc jockeys (DJs) who could choose whatever they wanted to play.

Advertising revenue came from the hippie boutiques, head shops, concert venues, and music stores that catered to the counter-cultural youth of the day. This freeform radio format ended in September 1969 after complaints were made about expletives in a Wild Man Fischer song. A protest movement, in part organized by the DJs, failed to save the format. From 1971-1973, the station programmed a tamer album rock sound, using the call sign WHVY.

MOR and Disco

In the mid 1970s, the WMAS-FM call letters returned. Both the AM and FM stations were mostly simulcast once again, with a full service, middle of the road music format. In 1978, WMAS-FM hopped on the bandwagon of the disco music sound, although it was short-lived.

Adult Contemporary

In 1979, WMAS-FM began airing a soft adult contemporary format, a forerunner of what the station is today. In June 2004, WMAS-AM-FM were sold to Citadel Broadcasting for $22 million.[3] Citadel merged with Cumulus Media on September 16, 2011.[4]

The station won the Massachusetts Broadcasters Association Award for "Station of the Year" in 2012 and 2014. The Kellogg Krew Morning Show won the Massachusetts Broadcasters Association "Air Talent of the Year" award in 2013.

Current Air Personalities

WMAS-FM has air personalities broadcasting around the clock.[5]

  • The Kellogg Krew with Chris Kellogg, Dina and Lopez: Weekday mornings from 5:30 to 10 a.m.
  • Bridget Lynott: Weekdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
  • Brett Provo: Weekdays from 2 to 6 p.m.
  • Drew Hastings: Weeknights from 6 p.m. to Midnight
  • Mark Hastings: Weeknights from Midnight to 5:30 a.m.
  • Val Turco, Ralphe Conte, Bill Michaels, Jim Brickman: Weekends


Coordinates: 42°06′32″N 72°36′40″W / 42.109°N 72.611°W / 42.109; -72.611


  1. ↑ Radio-Locator.com/WMAS-FM
  2. ↑ Broadcasting Yearbook 1951 page 169
  3. ↑ Broadcasting & Cable Yearbrook 2006 page D-254
  4. ↑ "Cumulus now owns Citadel Broadcasting". Atlanta Business Journal. September 16, 2011. Retrieved September 16, 2011.
  5. ↑ Personalities on WMAS-FM
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