WAEB (AM)

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WAEB is a news, talk and sports radio station in Allentown, Pennsylvania, in the Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania, in the United States. WAEB broadcasts at 790 MHz AM.

The station's call letters, AEB, stand for the cities in its service area, Allentown, Easton and Bethlehem.

The station is owned by Clear Channel Communications, a media conglomerate.

[edit] History

WAEB began operations in 1949. They were sold to Rust Broadcasting in 1957, employed a Top 40 format, and was known as Music Radio 79 WAEB.

In 1983, the station began to evolve into more of a Hot Adult Contemporary format, and by 1985, more of a straight Adult Contemporary format beginning to emphasise Oldies. In 1986 WAEB added evening syndicated Talk shows. Overnight talk was added by 1989 and the station was playing oldies during the day at that point.

WAEB and WAEB-FM were sold to CRB Broadcasting in the late 1980's. In 1993 WAEB evolved into a Talk Format, and in 1995 the station along with WAEB were sold to Capstar along with WZZO and WKAP. The stations all went to AM/FM Broadcasting as a result of the Chancellor/Capstar merger in 1999.

When AM/FM merged with Clear Channel (which owned WODE and WEEX), the company would be forced to sell an AM and FM station to be under legal ownership limits. Clear Channel would give Nassau cash plus WODE and WEEX in exchange for New Jersey stations WSUS, WNNJ, WNNJ-FM, WHCY, WDLC LMA, and WTSX LMA. As a result WAEB, WAEB FM, WZZO and WKAP were now Clear Channel Stations.

In January 2007, after another Clear Channel-owned station, WKAP (former Allentown radio station), dropped the Oldies format in favor of religious programming (also changing its call letters to WYHM), WAEB launched an Internet radio station playing Oldies music on its Web site.