WCRB

WCRB
Broadcast areaGreater Boston
Frequency99.5 MHz (HD Radio)
BrandingCRB Classical 99.5
Programming
FormatClassical
Ownership
OwnerWGBH Educational Foundation
History
First air date
  • October 5, 1948; 76 years ago (1948-10-05) (license, as WLLH-FM)
  • 1954; 70 years ago (1954) (WCRB-FM on 102.5; operated on AM since 1948)
Former call signs
  • WLLH-FM (1948–1970)
  • WSSH (1970–1987)
  • WSSH-FM (1987–1995)
  • WOAZ (1995–1997)
  • WKLB-FM (1997–2006)
Call sign meaning
Charles River Broadcasting, former owner of the previous WCRB on 102.5; backronym for the slogan "Classical Radio Boston"
Technical information[1]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID23441
ClassB
ERP27,000 watts
HAAT199 meters (653 ft)
Transmitter coordinates
42°39′14.3″N 71°13′0.2″W / 42.653972°N 71.216722°W / 42.653972; -71.216722 (WCRB)
Repeater(s)
Links
Public license information
WebcastListen live
Websitewww.classicalwcrb.org

WCRB (99.5 FM) is a non-commercial radio station licensed to Lowell, Massachusetts, which serves the Greater Boston area. It broadcasts classical music. The station's studios are located in Brighton, and its transmitter is located west of Andover.

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.

  1. ^ "Facility Technical Data for WCRB". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.