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WBAB (102.3 FM) is a classic rock radio station licensedtoBabylon, New York and owned by Cox Radio. The station is also simulcastonWHFM (95.3 FM) licensed to Southampton, New York and serving eastern Long Island.
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| Broadcast area | Long Island |
| Frequency | 102.3 MHz (HD Radio) |
| Branding | 102.3 WBAB |
| Programming | |
| Language(s) | English |
| Format | Classic rock |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
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| WBLI, WHFM | |
| History | |
First air date | August 27, 1958; 65 years ago (1958-08-27) |
Former call signs | WBAB-FM (1958–2003)[1] |
Call sign meaning | Babylon Bay Shore Broadcasting (original owner) |
| Technical information[2] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 71199 |
| Class | A |
| ERP |
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| HAAT | 82 meters (269 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 40°47′58″N 73°20′8″W / 40.79944°N 73.33556°W / 40.79944; -73.33556 (WBAB) |
| Repeater(s) | 95.3 WHFM (Southampton) |
| Links | |
Public license information |
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| Webcast | Listen live |
| Website | www |
WBAB first went on the air August 27, 1958, as WBAB-FM. It simulcast WBAB (1440 AM), until September 1975 when 1440 AM adopted a Gospel music format.[3]
On the morning of Wednesday, May 17, 2006, the station's signal was hijacked for about 90 seconds[4] while the signal jammers broadcast the song "Nigger Hatin' Me" by the 1960s-era white supremacist country music singer Johnny Rebel. Roger Luce, the station's morning host, said at the time, "I've never seen this in 22 years at this radio station... Whatever that was - it was very racist."[5]
The next morning, it made the front page of Newsday with the headline "JACKED FM". The station's new general manager, John Shea, said, "I've only been here a week and we get hijacked." Former program director John Olsen said, "This was not some child's prank, this was a federal offense."[4][6]
The hijack was likely accomplished by overpowering the studio transmitter link (STL) signal to the transmitter in Dix Hills, New York. A signal hijacking with the same song happened to WBAB's sister station WBLI about two weeks earlier.[7]