WNEB

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title: "WNEB" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["catholic-radio-stations", "radio-stations-established-in-1946", "radio-stations-in-worcester,-massachusetts", "1946-establishments-in-massachusetts", "christian-radio-stations-in-massachusetts", "catholic-church-in-massachusetts"] topic_path: "society/religion" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WNEB" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::data[format=table title="Infobox radio station"]

Field	Value
name	WNEB
city	Worcester, Massachusetts
country	US
area	Worcester, Massachusetts
branding	The Station of the Cross
frequency	1230 kHz
airdate
format	Catholic radio
network	The Station of the Cross
power	1,000 watts unlimited
class	C
facility_id	249
licensing_authority	FCC
coordinates
callsign_meaning	New England Broadcasting (original owner)
owner	Holy Family Communications
sister_stations	WESO
webcast
website
affiliations	EWTN Radio
::

WNEB (1230 AM) is a Catholic radio station broadcasting religious programming. Licensed to Worcester, Massachusetts, United States, the station serves the Worcester area. The station is owned by Holy Family Communications, and operates as part of The Station of the Cross.

History

WNEB signed on December 16, 1946, under the ownership of the New England Broadcasting Company. It was Worcester's fourth radio station (after WTAG, WORC, and WAAB), and its first independent station. around this time, WNEB had a middle of the road (MOR) format. Its independent status ended in 1963, when the station joined the CBS Radio Network.

Glidden took full control of WNEB in 1975, shortly after Steffy's death; soon afterward, the station shifted to a country music format. The CBS affiliation had also ceased by this time, and moved to WAAB. Segal reverted the station to MOR and affiliated it with the ABC Entertainment network. WNEB shifted to a big band format in 1981; the next year, it rejoined CBS. AAMAR Communications bought the station in 1986. Financial problems soon forced AAMAR to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on December 4, 1990; on August 23, 1991, WNEB went dark.

Bob Bittner, owner of WJIB in Cambridge, purchased WNEB in 1994, and brought the station back on the air October 24, 1996, with a simulcast of WJIB's beautiful music format. A year later, Bittner sold the station to Heirwaves, Inc., which relaunched the station with a contemporary Christian music format on November 29, 1997. Heirwaves sold WNEB to Great Commission Broadcasting in 1999, which implemented a simulcast of similarly-formatted WJLT from Natick (which Great Commission programmed at that time) soon afterward. Great Commission later changed its name to Grace Broadcasting.

A financial dispute with Windsor Financial Corporation led to Windsor assuming control of WNEB's license in 2003. The station's format and staff then migrated to WYCM (90.1 FM) (its station manager, Stephen Binley, had founded Heirwaves and remained with WNEB after the sale to Great Commission), and Windsor operated WNEB with an automated contemporary Christian music format for several months before switching it to a simulcast of Leicester's WVNE (760 AM), a religious station owned by Blount Communications, that fall; as WVNE is a daytimer, WNEB continued the format on its own during that station's off-air hours. Blount bought WNEB outright soon afterward.

WNEB began moving away from religious programming in June 2007 with the addition of The Sean Hannity Show; in March 2008, it switched to a full-time conservative talk format. This format ended in April 2009, and the station went silent for one week before the launch of a Spanish language talk format, also incorporating some inspirational music, on May 4.

Blount sold WNEB to Emmanuel Communications, with plans to relaunch the station with Catholic radio programming, in October 2010. Upon taking over on January 14, 2011, WNEB temporarily left the air once more while relocating to new studios; it returned to the air with the new format on May 1. As with most Catholic radio stations, WNEB was an EWTN Radio affiliate, though it intended to produce some local programming as well.

Holy Family Communications, owner of WQOM in Natick and stations in New York, Pennsylvania, and Ohio, began operating WNEB and WESO under a local marketing agreement on January 1, 2022. The stations became part of Holy Family's The Station of the Cross network. In early 2024, Holy Family bought the stations outright for $1,000. Holy Family agreed to sell WNEB, WESO, and WACE in Chicopee to Journey For Life Media for $150,000 in May 2025; the sale was withdrawn that August.

References

"Call Letter Origins". Radio History on the Web.
(December 28, 1946). "WNEB Takes the Air". [[Billboard (magazine).
(1948). "Broadcasting Yearbook 1948".
(May 9, 1960). "Changing hands". [[Broadcasting & Cable.
(November 13, 1961). "Many Top Radio Outlets Moving Toward Moderate Music, News". Billboard.
(1964). "Broadcasting Yearbook 1964".
(January 27, 1975). "For the Record". Broadcasting.
(1976). "Broadcasting Yearbook 1976".
(May 30, 1977). "For the Record". Broadcasting.
(July 2025). "Broadcasting Yearbook 1980".
(July 2025). "Broadcasting/Cablecasting Yearbook 1982".
(1983). "Broadcasting/Cablecasting Yearbook 1983".
(September 22, 1986). "For the Record". Broadcasting.
(August 24, 1991). "Financial problems force WNEB off the air". [[Telegram & Gazette]].
(July 2025). "Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 1995".
Fybush, Scott. (October 29, 1996). "New England RadioWatch".
Fybush, Scott. (August 7, 1997). "A Change of Sale". North East RadioWatch.
Fybush, Scott. (December 4, 1997). "North East RadioWatch".
Fybush, Scott. (March 5, 1999). "We Will Never Make Fun of Boston Weather Again...". North East RadioWatch.
Fybush, Scott. (June 4, 1999). "The End of CBL Is Near". North East RadioWatch.
"Application Search Details". [[Federal Communications Commission]].
Fybush, Scott. (August 18, 2003). "Back from the Blackout". NorthEast Radio Watch.
Richards, Stephanie. (April 2009). "Mortgage paid, local Christian radio station marks milestone". The Sturbridge Times Magazine.
Fybush, Scott. (November 3, 2003). "WABC-DT Returns to Air". NorthEast Radio Watch.
Fybush, Scott. (November 24, 2003). "Willcox Applies for 50kW at WNSH". NorthEast Radio Watch.
Fybush, Scott. (June 18, 2007). "Barnicle Out at Boston's WTKK". NorthEast Radio Watch.
Fybush, Scott. (March 24, 2008). "NBC Wants to Sell WVIT - Again". NorthEast Radio Watch.
Fybush, Scott. (April 27, 2009). "On The Death of WARM*". NorthEast Radio Watch.
Fybush, Scott. (May 4, 2009). "Severin Off Air, CC Keeps Cutting". NorthEast Radio Watch.
Fybush, Scott. (November 1, 2010). "KDKA Turns 90". NorthEast Radio Watch.
(January 21, 2011). "Notification of Suspension of Operations". Federal Communications Commission.
Kush, Bronislaus B.. (May 2, 2011). "WNEB converts to Catholicism". Telegram & Gazette.
O'Connell, Patricia. (January 21, 2011}}{{dead link). "Two groups to bring EWTN Radio into Worcester Diocese". Catholic Free Press.
(June 28, 2014). "Worcester Catholic radio to buys WESO station". [[Worcester Telegram & Gazette]].
(December 9, 2021). "Holy Family Communications Expands In Massachusetts". RadioInsight.
(January 5, 2024). "Station Sales Week of 1/5". RadioInsight.
(May 9, 2025). "Station Sales Week Of 5/9: Cumulus Sells Buffalo AM". RadioInsight.
"Station Sales Week Of 8/8: Family Life Expands Into Harrisburg". RadioInsight.

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