WAAF Sold, Will Become Christian Contemporary Station

WORCESTER, MA — Come Saturday, one of the oldest rock stations in New England will be gone from the FM dial. In a deal announced Tuesday, WAAF owner Entercom sold the station to Educational Media Foundation for $10.75 million.

The sale means WAAF will switch to a Christian-contemporary format — a far cry from the station's modern alt-rock format with shock jocks like Opie and Anthony. Following the demise of stations like WBCN and WFNX, WAAF was one of the last Boston-area stations with roots in classic and modern rock.

The station got its start in Worcester in the 1940s, but didn't use the WAAF call sign until the late 1960s. The station adopted a rock format in the 1970s and went through a variety of format changes through the decades. In the early 1990s, the station settled on a hard rock and alternative format with the rise of grunge music.

Gregg Hughes and Anthony Cumia started their "Opie and Anthony" show on WAAF in 1995 — until they were fired in 1998 for an April Fools' Day prank where they announced that former Boston Mayor Thomas Menino was killed in a car crash.

The rock-style WAAF station will still broadcast on HD channels 104.1 HD2 and 93.7 HD2. The format change will happen on Feb. 22, according to a press release.

Educational Media Foundation operates hundreds of Christian format stations across the U.S. through its Air1 and KLove brands, but this will be its first in Massachusetts. The company owns stations in Providence, Rhode Island, and Maine.

WAAF will hold an April 25 concert at the DCU Center in Worcester featuring Godsmack and other bands.