WYBC was established as Yale's undergraduate radio station in the winter of 1940-1941 through alumni financial support. The station's original call letters were WOCD, standing for "Oldest College Daily," because the station was operated by the Yale Daily News and housed in the Daily's building. WOCD broke off its relationship with the Daily in 1944-1945 and changed its call letters to WYBC (Yale Broadcasting Company). On April 16, 1948, the Yale Broadcasting Company (YBC) was incorporated in the state of Connecticut as a non-profit, tax-exempt organization. During the 1950s, WYBC produced record albums, had a brief venture into television, and operated another AM station, WYBC-A. In 1959, WYBC began broadcasting from WYBC-FM (FM 94.3).
In 1968, a reassessment of WYBC's broader community role brought non-students into the station staff for the first time. News and political programs expanded as well as African-American programming intended to increase coverage of African-American news stories and to appeal to minority communities. During the trials of Black Panther leaders in spring of 1970, station reporters conducted live broadcasts from the New Haven Green during widespread student protests.
During the late 1970s and 1980s, WYBC fell into financial trouble due to declining student interest and lower advertising revenues. In 1992, WYBC relocated its transmitter to West Rock and hired a professional staff to increase the station's professionalism and audience size. In 1994, WYBC signed a joint sales agreement with General Broadcasting of Connecticut, Inc. to improve advertising sales and ensure WYBC's financial stability. Currently, WYBC operates FM and AM stations and broadcasts original music, news, and sports programs.
