Broadcast area Cape Cod ERP 50,000 watts Facility ID 17066 City of license Chatham Owner Cape Cod Broadcasting Branding Classical 107.5 | First air date March 24, 1987 HAAT 104 meters Frequency 107.5 MHz Format Classical music Area Cape Cod Slogan The Classical Station | |
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Callsign meaning W First Class Communications (the original owners) | ||
WFCC-FM is a 50,000-watt effective radiated power radio station licensed to Chatham, Massachusetts on Cape Cod, with studios and offices in Hyannis and transmitter facilities in Brewster. It broadcasts on 107.5 MHz with a classical format.
Current hosts on WFCC include Steve Murphy, Dave Read, Don Spencer, and Larry King.
History
The station started broadcasting on March 24, 1987 from state-of-the-art facilities on Route 28 in West Chatham. It was owned at the time by First Class Communications, run by Joseph A. Ryan and his family, who all worked at the station, including wife Pauline (receptionist), son Kevin (sales manager), and daughter Justine (sales). Joe Ryan, who worked at NBC as a writer for Today during Dave Garroway's tenure, then at WCVB-TV (channel 5) in Boston, hired WCVB personalities to be on his staff at WFCC, including newsman Jack Hynes, meteorologists Bob Copeland (a Chatham resident) and Bill Hovey, and sportscaster Bill O'Connell, complemented by local classical announcers Janice Gray, Dick Eressy, Paul Jimerson, Paul Nossiter, Steve Murphy, Don Lawrence, Pierre Paquin, Don Merna, and Dick O'Connor. The station played mostly classical music weekdays, with the afternoon drive show being big band, hosted by Lou Dumont. On the weekends, classical was complemented by the Metropolitan Opera radio broadcasts and other syndicated classical shows, as well as local specialty shows Jazz on the Half-Shell and Folk Roots and Branches with Paul Jimerson, and a program devoted to classical piano, Klavier, produced by Jimerson and hosted by his wife, pianist and teacher Melinda Isaacson.
The stock market crash of 1987 had a devastating effect on the Cape's economy, and WFCC lost significant advertising revenue. As a result, stronger rated classical music programming replaced the evening folk and jazz shows. Pierre Paquin, a well-known southern New England classical music recording engineer and broadcaster, was hired in 1989 to help bring up the ratings. His Sunday morning broadcasts earned the highest ratings for the station and his special programs garnished several Massachusetts Broadcasters Association awards, including the award for Best Station I.D., featuring his daughter, actress MaryAnne Paquin. Don Merna was also hired in 1989 to host weekdays as well as weekend evenings. Both Paquin and Merna broadcast for WFCC until 1995 and 1996 respectively and are still Cape Cod residents.
In 1991, the station's offices and studios were moved to new facilities on Route 6A in Brewster. WFCC was subsequently sold in 1992 to Dolphin Communications, owned by Allan Stanley.
WFCC was purchased by Charles River Broadcasting (then owners of Boston's WCRB) in 1996, with its studios and offices moving to a former bank building on Route 28 in West Yarmouth. WFCC's programming became automated full-time as a result.
WFCC has been the flagship station of the World Classical Network syndicated service (started by Charles River Broadcasting) since 1998. The station and the network were sold in 2007 to Sandab Communications (doing business as Cape Cod Broadcasting Media), owners of Cape Cod radio stations WQRC, WOCN-FM, and WKPE-FM), and now broadcast from studios and offices in Hyannis.
Original WFCC staff member Steve Murphy returned to the station's airwaves as morning host on September 16, 2008 after an 18-year absence.