greater boston branding 101.7 the bull slogan boston s new hit country frequency 101.7 mhz first air date august 5 1963 1963 08 05 as wlyn fm 1 format country erp 13 500 watts haat 138 meters 453 ft class b1 facility id 40824 transmitter coordinates 42 21 8.00 n 71 3 25.00 w 42.3522222 n 71.0569444 w 42.3522222 ; 71.0569444 wbwl callsign meaning bwl bull former callsigns wlyn fm 1963 1977 wlyn 1977 1979 wlyn fm 1979 1983 wfnx 1983 2012 whba 2012 2013 wedx 2013 2014 owner iheartmedia amfm radio licenses llc sister stations wjmn wkox wxks wxks fm webcast listen live via iheartradio website www.thebull1017.com wbwl 101.7 fm ; 101.7 the bull is an american radio station licensed to serve the community of lynn massachusetts . established in 1963 wbwl is owned by iheartmedia and serves the boston metropolitan area . the station broadcasts a country music format . the station s studios are located in medford and the transmitter site is on murray hill also in medford . history edit for a more detailed history see wfnx wbwl signed on august 5 1963 1 as wlyn fm owned by puritan broadcasting service along with wlyn 1360 am . at the outset wlyn fm largely simulcast its am sister station during hours in which the am was on the air . 2 during the 1970s the simulcast was cut to drive time with wlyn fm brokering the remaining time to ethnic programmers ; 2 by 1974 the station s english language programming included country music . 1 although wlyn changed its call letters to wnsr in 1977 wlyn fm retained its call sign but dropped the fm suffix ; 3 both changes were reversed on december 31 1979 . 4 5 wlyn fm began to devote its nighttime programming to new wave music in 1981 ; the following year the station had become a full time modern rock station known as y102 with the ethnic programming moving to the am station . 2 in september 1982 puritan announced that it would sell wlyn fm to stephen mindich publisher of the boston phoenix ; 6 the station eventually became part of the phoenix media communications group . 2 mindich retained the modern rock format upon assuming control in march 1983 relaunching it on april 11 as boston phoenix radio 7 with the wfnx call letters coming into use ten days earlier . 5 wfnx would subsequently become one of the earliest alternative rock stations . 7 wfnx broadened its focus to greater boston after the sale to mindich opening a sales office at the phoenix offices in boston but its studios remained in the same building as wlyn in lynn . the station did move its transmitter from wlyn s tower in lynn to medford in 1987 and to one financial center in boston in 2006 to provide a better signal within the market ; from 1998 to 2006 a translator station w276ai 101.3 fm was operated from the john hancock tower to improve wfnx s reception in boston but was discontinued when the move to one financial center rendered it redundant . 2 during 1999 and 2000 phoenix media communications group also acquired wcdq 92.1 fm renamed wphx fm in sanford maine wnhq 92.1 fm renamed wfex in peterborough new hampshire and wwrx fm 103.7 fm in westerly rhode island to serve as wfnx simulcast stations . 2 wwrx fm was sold to entercom eventually becoming wvei fm in 2004 2 while wphx fm was sold to aruba capital partners becoming wxex fm in 2011 . 8 even with these expansions wfnx broadcast at a lower power than other boston market stations limiting wfnx s signal in the outer portions of the market . 7 whba s logo as 101.7 the harbor used from july 24 2012 through december 20 2012 phoenix media communications group announced on may 16 2012 that it would sell wfnx to iheartmedia then known as clear channel communications after finding it difficult to sustain its continued operation . 9 wfex was sold to blount communications which would rename that station wder fm the next day . 10 live programming ended on july 20 2012 11 with the last song being let s go to bed by the cure the first song on wfnx in 1983 ; 12 an automated version of wfnx remained available online until march 2013 when the boston phoenix publication shut down citing huge financial losses and was also heard on 101.7 fm 11 until 4 00 pm on july 24 when clear channel assumed control of the station . at that time after playing shake it out by florence and the machine 101.7 began stunting with a loop of the boston famous song dirty water by the standells . at approximately 4 28 pm wfnx relaunched as whba an adult hits station branded as 101.7 the harbor . 13 the first song on the harbor was sweet emotion by locally founded band aerosmith . the launch of whba marked the return of the adult hits format to the boston market ; a similar format aired on wmkk 93.7 fm from march 2005 until it became weei fm in september 2011 . wedx s logo as evolution 101.7 used from december 20 2012 through june 13 2014 on december 20 2012 at 6 pm the station flipped to dance branded as evolution 101.7 ; the format had been launched as an online station on clear channel s iheartradio service six weeks earlier . the final song on the harbor was sweet caroline by neil diamond while the first song on evolution was don t you worry child by swedish house mafia . as evolution the station claimed to be the first real edm station in the country . 14 the call letters were changed to wedx on january 2 2013 . 5 on january 14 2013 sisanie who provides voicetracks for several top 40 and rhythmic top 40 stations also owned by clear channel including wedx s sister station wxks fm became the first airstaffer to be added to wedx s daily lineup voicetracking in afternoons . 15 in december 2013 the station began simulcasting on wxks fm s hd2 channel which previously broadcast an all comedy format . the move was because of wedx s limited signal which is nulled to the south to protect providence based sister station wwbb 101.5 fm . on june 13 2014 at noon after playing how you love me by 3lau wedx began airing a country music stunt and asking listeners to go online and use the hashtag countryon1017 to vote on what artists the station should play . at 3 pm wedx officially flipped to country branded as 101.7 the bull . the first song on the bull was this is how we roll by florida georgia line . the new format competes against established country station wklb fm 102.5 fm and serves as the boston affiliate of the syndicated bobby bones show . evolution remains available through wxks fm s hd2 channel the iheartradio mobile application and in early morning blocks on saturdays and sundays on wxks fm . 16 17 18 19 the call letters were changed to wbwl on june 30 2014 to match the new format . 5 19 iheartmedia had filed with the fcc to downgrade the signals of stations it owns in rhode island wwbb and on cape cod wcib which enabled wbwl to offer a non directional upgraded signal from the previous transmitter site in medford . the modifications were completed in august of 2014 . 20 21 22 references edit a b c broadcasting yearbook 1975 pdf . 1975 . p. c 89 . retrieved july 25 2012 . a b c d e f g the boston radio dial wfnx fm . the archives bostonradio.org . retrieved july 25 2012 . call letters pdf . broadcasting . february 21 1977 . p. 84 . retrieved july 25 2012 . call letters pdf . broadcasting . january 21 1980 . p. 74 . retrieved july 25 2012 . a b c d call sign history . cdbs public access . federal communications commission . retrieved june 30 2014 . changing hands pdf . broadcasting . october 4 1982 . p. 55 . retrieved july 25 2012 . a b c listening to wfnx 1983 2012 . the boston phoenix . july 24 2012 . retrieved july 25 2012 . sbs buys another tv station while sacramento am station sells for 1.39 million . all access . may 9 2011 . retrieved july 25 2012 . van der pool lisa may 16 2012 . clear channel to acquire wfnx ; lays off kramer santoro and 15 others . boston business journal . retrieved july 25 2012 . wfnx s nh side 92.1 fm bought by christian radio station wder in derry . the telegraph . may 18 2012 . retrieved july 25 2012 . a b shea andrea july 20 2012 . wfnx goes jockless before going dark . wbur . retrieved july 25 2012 . shanahan mark ; goldstein meredith july 23 2012 . celebrities spotted in and around boston . the boston globe . retrieved july 25 2012 . gottleib jed july 24 2012 . wfnx signal to become clear channel s the harbor . boston herald . retrieved july 25 2012 . sisario ben december 20 2012 . boston radio station switches to electronic dance format . the new york times . retrieved december 21 2012 . from sisanie s twitter account january 14 2013 wright emily june 13 2014 . evolution 101.7 transitioning off fm . boston.com . retrieved june 13 2014 . wedx boston flips to country . all access . june 13 2014 . retrieved june 13 2014 . clear channel dumps edm for country in boston . radio ink . june 13 2014 . retrieved june 13 2014 . a b chesto john june 13 2014 . clear channel brings a new country music station to boston . boston business journal . retrieved june 14 2014 . https licensing.fcc.gov cgi bin ws.exe prod cdbs forms prod cdbsmenu.hts context 25 & appn 101684549 & formid 1 & fac num 40824 http radioinsight.com blog headlines 89644 clear channel to modify three signals to upgrade 101 7 boston clear channel to modify three signals to upgrade 101.7 boston https licensing.fcc.gov cgi bin ws.exe prod cdbs forms prod cdbsmenu.hts context 25 & appn 101642700 & formid 301 & fac num 40824 external links edit official website query the fcc s fm station database for wbwl radio locator information on wbwl query nielsen audio s fm station database for wbwl v t e radio stations in boston including eastern massachusetts by am frequency 590 650 680 740 800 850 890 950 9802 10301 10602 1090 1120 1150 1200 12302 1260 1300 1330 1360 13902 1410 1430 14602 3 1470 14902 1510 1550 15702 1600 by fm frequency 88.1 88.9 89.7 90.3 90.9 91.5 91.5 91.52 91.5 91.7 91.9 92.52 92.9 93.7 94.5 95.3 95.92 96.9 97.7 98.5 99.12 99.5 99.9 100.1 100.7 101.7 102.5 103.3 104.1 104.52 104.92 104.9 105.7 106.7 107.32 107.9 via fm subcarrier 67 khz radio maria estados unidos spanish talking information center radio reading service tnt radio boston vietnamese 92 khz radio voie du salut haitian creole english religion by noaa weather radio frequency 162.425 162.475 digital radio by frequency & subchannel 1030 1430 88.9 1 89.7 1 89.7 2 89.7 3 90.9 1 92.9 1 92.9 2 94.5 1 94.5 2 96.9 1 96.9 2 97.7 1 97.7 2 97.7 3 98.5 1 98.5 2 98.5 3 100.7 1 100.7 2 100.7 3 102.5 1 103.3 1 104.1 1 104.1 2 104.1 3 104.1 4 105.7 1 106.7 1 106.7 2 107.3 1 107.3 2 107.3 3 107.9 1 107.9 2 by callsign khb35 waaf2 wamg watd2 watd fm2 wazn wbix wbmx wbnw2 wboq2 wbos wbqt wbrs