WBLM
| Broadcast area | Northern New England |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 102.9 MHz |
| Branding | 102.9 WBLM |
| Programming | |
| Format | Classic rock |
| Affiliations | Patriots Rock Radio Network |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| WCYY, WHOM, WJBQ | |
| History | |
First air date | 1973 (107.5) 1989 (102.9) see History below |
Former call signs | WLOB-FM (?-1966) WGAN-FM (1966-1985) WTHT (1985-1989) |
Call sign meaning | The BLiMp |
| Technical information | |
| Facility ID | 22878 |
| Class | C0 |
| ERP | 100,000 watts |
| HAAT | 435 meters |
| Links | |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | wblm.com |
WBLM 102.9 FM is a classic rock radio station servicing the central and southern Maine and southeastern New Hampshire listening areas from Portland, Maine. The station has a studio in One City Center, along with WJBQ, WCYY and WHOM. During football season, the station broadcasts New England Patriots games.
In the movie City Slickers, Billy Crystal's character claimed to have been a sales executive for the fictional station "WBLM Radio."
History
WBLM signed on the air on March 1, 1973 on 107.5 MHz. It played Beautiful Music (often derogatorily referred to as elevator music) from 6 AM to 6 PM and free-form progressive rock from 6 PM to 6 AM. The station was licensed to Lewiston, Maine and its antenna was located in Litchfield, Maine -- also the site of the original studio, which was a double-wide mobile home. By later that year, WBLM was a full time progressive rocker. Given that the transmitter site was some 40 miles away from Portland, the station's signal was somewhat spotty in Portland and beyond. In 1979, it modified its format to main stream album oriented rock, after being challenged in the ratings by what at the time was a new 3,000 watt album rock station, 100.9-WLOB-FM known as "FM 101." On December 6, 1989 it switched frequencies with 102.9 WTHT. 102.9 was previously beautiful music station WGAN-FM from 1966 until 1985. Prior to that 102.9 was a different WLOB-FM. The 107.5 frequency is now WFNK, ironically a direct competitor to WBLM with a classic rock format.
WBLM's colorful connection to Frank Zappa & Captain Beefheart. WBLM's nickname is "The Rock and Roll Blimp". The stations on air catchphrase is: "its The Blimp Frank its The Blimp!" both refer to the Captain Beefheart track off the album Trout Mask Replica "The Blimp" which is where the catchphrase comes from (the catchphrase is a portion of the beginning of that song). It's The Blimp "Frank" is in reference to Frank Zappa as the portion of the song used for the catchphrase is a recording of a phonecall made from Beefheart's recording session back to their record label owner Frank Zappa about their new song titled " The Blimp". The "Cosmic Muffin " astrological forecast which was a daily report on WBLM for years also used as its theme song Muffin Man by Frank Zappa , specifically the vocal portion proclaiming " The man thought he was a man but he was a muffin."
On August 30, 2013, a deal was announced in which Townsquare Media would acquire 53 stations from Cumulus Media, including WBLM, for $238 million. The deal is part of Cumulus' acquisition of Dial Global; Townsquare and Dial Global are both controlled by Oaktree Capital Management.[1][2] The sale to Townsquare was completed on November 14, 2013.[3]
Howard Stern once applied for a part-time job at WBLM. His application was rejected and he did not get the job.
On-air lineup
Mon-Fri
| On-air staff | Time
|
|---|---|
| K.L. Jack's Middle of the Damn Night Morning Show | 3:00 AM–5:30 AM |
| WBLM Morning Show: The Captain and Celeste |
5:30 AM–9:00 AM |
| Tommy C. | 9:00 AM–1:00 PM |
| The Guru | 1:00 PM–6:00 PM |
| Dominic | 6:00 PM–12:00 AM |
References
- ^ "Official: Cumulus Buys Dial Global, Spins Some Stations To Townsquare; Peak Stations Sold To Townsquare, Fresno Spun To Cumulus". All Access. August 30, 2013. Retrieved August 30, 2013.
- ^ "Cumulus Makes Dial Global And Townsquare Deals Official". RadioInsight. August 30, 2013. Retrieved August 30, 2013.
- ^ "Cumulus-Townsquare-Peak Deal Closes". All Access. November 15, 2013. Retrieved November 16, 2013.
External links
- WBLM website
- Facility details for Facility ID WBLM ({{{2}}}) in the FCC Licensing and Management System
- {{{2}}} in Nielsen Audio's FM station database
43°55′30″N 70°29′28″W / 43.925°N 70.491°W
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