WBEA
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| City | Southold, New York |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Eastern Long Island, southern Connecticut |
| Branding | 101.7 The Beach |
| Slogan | Today's Hottest Music |
| Frequency | 101.7 MHz |
| First air date | 1981 (as WBAZ) |
| Format | Top 40 Mainstream |
| ERP | 6,000 watts |
| HAAT | 86.4 meters (283 ft) |
| Class | A |
| Facility ID | 52060 |
| Transmitter coordinates | 40°52′10.00″N 72°34′37.00″W / 40.8694444°N 72.5769444°W |
| Callsign meaning | W BEAch, W BEAt (former name) |
| Former callsigns | WBAZ (1980-2001) WCSO (2001) |
| Owner | Lauren and Roger Stone (LRS Radio, LLC) |
| Sister stations | WBAZ, WEHM & WEHN |
| Webcast |
Listen Live Listen Live (via TuneIn) |
| Website | beach1017 |
WBEA (101.7 FM, "101.7 The Beach") is a Top 40 Mainstream radio station licensed to Southold, New York and serving the east end of Long Island plus southern Connecticut. The station is owned by Lauren and Roger Stone, through licensee LRS Radio, LLC, and broadcasts from a tower west of Hampton Bays.
Unlike many stations on Long Island's East End, WBEA's signal is one of the less impeded as there is only one adjacent channel (WFAN-FM in New York City) to hamper its coverage to the north and west. The station's signal to the north also gives it a rimshot status into the New Haven, Connecticut area where it has shown in the ratings in the past.
It broadcasts from studios in Water Mill, New York shared by WBAZ and WEHM & WEHN.
WBEA signed on in 1981 as WBAZ, the second FM station on Long Island east of Riverhead. The station was founded by broadcasting consultant Joe Sullivan, Jr. doing business as Peconic Bay Broadcasting Company.
WBAZ would for many years feature an Adult Contemporary format known as Lighting up the Bays (or Z-Light on the Bays) which for most of its existence was satellite-fed through Transtar's (now Westwood One) "Special Blend" format. Sullivan later sold WBAZ to Mel Kahn in the late 90's, along with then-sister station WLIE-FM.
When Kahn sold WBAZ and sister WBSQ to AAA Entertainment in 2000, the group would soon undergo a realignment given that AAA's WBEA and Kahn's WBSQ were competitors with different varieties of the Hot Adult Contemporary format. With WBEA, then at 104.7 MHz, outperforming WBSQ with a poorer signal, the decision was made to move WBAZ to WBSQ's 102.5 MHz location while moving WBEA to WBAZ's 101.7 MHz frequency. WBAZ and WBSQ would simulcast for most of May 2001 with the 101.7 frequency gaining the temporary WCSO calls in the process. After this period, the WBEA format was simulcasted on 101.7 and 104.7 with 101.7 gaining the WBEA calls and Beach Radio format that June. At that time, 104.7 would enter a deal with the Mohegan Sun casino and become a cross-Sound rimshot into New London, Connecticut.
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