| Type | Radio network |
|---|---|
Broadcast area | New England |
| Headquarters | Boston, Massachusetts |
| Ownership | |
| Parent | Shepard Stores (1925–1942) General Tire (1942–1967) |
Key people | John Shepard III Robert Shepard |
| History | |
| Launch date | Varied dates; test transmissions began in the mid-1920s, network establishment took place between 1929 and 1930 |
| Closed | February 26, 1967 |
| Coverage | |
| Availability | regional |
| Stations | 27 (peak) |
The Yankee Network was an American radio network, based in Boston, Massachusetts, with affiliate radio stations throughout New England.[1] At the height of its influence, the Yankee Network had as many as twenty-four affiliated radio stations.[2] The network was co-founded by John Shepard III and his brother Robert, in 1929–1930.[3] The beginnings of what became the Yankee Network occurred in the mid-1920s, when John Shepard's Boston station WNAC linked by telephone land lines with Robert Shepard's station in Providence, Rhode Island, WEAN, so that the two stations could share or exchange programming.[4] Those two stations became the first two Yankee Network stations. In 1930, they were joined by the first affiliated radio stations, including WLBZ in Bangor, Maine; WORC in Worcester, Massachusetts; WNBH in New Bedford, Massachusetts; and WICC in Bridgeport, Connecticut. During the 1930s, the network became known for developing its own local and regional news bureau, the Yankee News Service.[5] The Yankee Network and the Yankee News Service operated until February 1967.[6]