WBAZ
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| City | Bridgehampton, New York |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Eastern Long Island, southeastern Connecticut |
| Slogan | The Lite on the Bays |
| Frequency | 102.5 MHz |
| First air date | 1996 (as WLIE) |
| Format | Adult Contemporary |
| ERP | 4,800 watts |
| HAAT | 106 meters (348 ft) |
| Class | A |
| Facility ID | 52061 |
| Transmitter coordinates | 40°53′58.00″N 72°23′6.00″W / 40.8994444°N 72.3850000°W |
| Callsign meaning | W BAZ="Bays" |
| Former callsigns | WAFV (1993-1994) WLIE (1994-1998) WBSQ (1998-2001) WCSO (2001) |
| Owner | Lauren and Roger Stone (LRS Radio, LLC) |
| Sister stations | WBEA, WEHM & WEHN |
| Webcast |
Listen Live Listen Live (via TuneIn) |
| Website | wbaz |
WBAZ (102.5 FM) is an adult contemporary radio station licensed to Bridgehampton, New York and serves the east end of Long Island and southeastern Connecticut. The station is owned by Lauren and Roger Stone, through licensee LRS Radio, LLC, and broadcasts from a tower in Southampton. It broadcasts from studios in Water Mill, New York shared by WEHM & WEHN and WBEA.
The 102.5 frequency first signed on in 1996 as WLIE (no relation to the current holder of the calls in Islip), put on the air by WBAZ-owner Mel Kahn and his MAK Communications. At the outset, the new frequency went through some difficulties as a planned launch with AP All News Radio went awry and the station instead signed on with a satellite-fed country music format. Less than a year later, the country format was replaced with classic rock
In early 1998, the 102.5 frequency changed again as it took on new calls, WBSQ, and a new Hot Adult Contemporary format (again satellite-fed) as Q-(Bright)102.5. Launched as a compliment to WBAZ at 101.7 FM, and not much else, the station remained an afterthought in the scheme of East End radio.
When Kahn sold WBAZ and WBSQ to AAA Entertainment, owner of locally-run rival WBEA at 104.7 FM in 2000, the future of WBSQ's Hot AC format was limited. Studies by AAA showed that the majority of WBAZ's listeners were concentrated in the Southampton/Bridgehampton area and that the slightly worse 102.5 FM signal would be ideal for the station. In April 2001, WBSQ took the WCSO calls used by AAA as placeholders and would simulcast and assume WBAZ's format and calls that May. The 101.7 frequency soon became home to WBEA whereas WBEA's former home at 104.7 FM became home to a classic hits station targeted to New London, Connecticut.
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