Until 1999, WBAE had the call signWPOR. It first went on the air in March 1946 and was for much of its history associated with country music. When sister station 101.9 WPOR-FM debuted in October 1967, the two stations were the primary source of country music in the Portland radio market. The AM and FM stations were mostly simulcast, although for a time 1490 WPOR aired a satellite-delivered syndicated country music format while WPOR-FM featured local announcers and locally programmed country music. WPOR-FM continues as a country station but in 1999, WPOR-AM switched its call letters to WBAE. The original format for WBAE was adult standards, initially provided by the Music of Your Life network, and later Dial Global's Adult Standards service. WBAE was later simulcast with 1400 WVAE Biddeford, Maine to give listeners in York County, Maine a better signal. WBAE and WVAE had an affiliation with ABC News Radio, and were the local outlets for Paul Harvey, Portland Pirates and the Portland Sea Dogs. . The stations adopted a hot talk format, dropping Adult Standards on March 4, 2009. Hot talk had been heard on co-owned 970 WZAN before that station shifted to a political talk format. Hot talk later was replaced with an advice-oriented talk format on January 18, 2010. The advice-talk programming included the syndicated morning show Bob and Tom from Indianapolis, syndicated family finance shows from Clark Howard and Dave Ramsey, psychological advice from The Dr. Laura Program and Dr. Joy Browne, as well as Loveline, NASCAR racing from the Motor Racing Network, and NFL football from Westwood One. On September 15, 2009, it was announced that WBAE and WVAE would begin to broadcast the Boston Bruins. On January 16, 2012, it was announced that WBAE and WVAE would begin to broadcast the New York Yankees. In February 2013, 1400 WVAE split from its simulcast with 1490 WBAE. The 1400 signal began simulcasting the news-talk programming of co-owned WGAN560 AM Portland, Maine, to help WGAN better cover York County. 1400 took on the call letters WGIN to echo its originating station. After 4 years under the Talk format, WBAE flipped back to an Adult Standards format, under its original branding as 1490 The Bay on October 21, 2013, utilizing programming from Westwood One’s Adult Standards network, "America's Best Music." Dave Ramsey and Clark Howard moved to WZAN. Dr. Joy Browne is heard on 1270 WTSN in nearby Dover, New Hampshire. Artists heard on WBAE included The Beatles, The Carpenters, Frank Sinatra and Dionne Warwick. On December 16, 2015 1490 began simulcasting WZAN's talk format. WZAN's talk programming moved exclusively to 1490 on January 1, 2016, with WZAN becoming a sports radio station carrying the programming of ESPN Radio. In May 2016, WBAE began simulcasting on FM translator 107.1 W296CZ. On May 7, 2018, WBAE and WVAE flipped to soft adult contemporary, once again under the branding The Bay. WVAE is simulcast on a second FM translator in Biddeford, W228EE 93.5, which concurrently launched with the flip.
