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WTIC (AM)
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WTIC (AM)
WTIC (1080 kHz; "WTIC NewsTalk 1080") is a commercial AM radio station in Hartford, Connecticut. It airs a news/talk format and is owned by Audacy, Inc. The station's studios and offices are on Executive Drive in Farmington.
WTIC is a Class A clear-channel station with a transmitter power output of 50,000 watts, the maximum permitted for U.S. AM stations. Its transmitter site is a two-tower facility off Deercliff Road in Avon, Connecticut. WTIC has a single tower, non-directional signal in the daytime, providing at least secondary coverage to almost all of Connecticut, as well as large portions of southern Massachusetts and the outer suburbs of New York City. At night, when AM band signals travel much farther, WTIC uses both towers to create a directional pattern, primarily to protect KRLD in Dallas, Texas, the other Class A station on 1080 AM. Even with this restriction, WTIC can be heard at night over much of the eastern half of North America.
WTIC is the primary entry point (PEP) for the Emergency Alert System (EAS) in Connecticut.
WTIC is the second oldest radio station in Connecticut, after WDRC, which went on the air in 1922. WTIC was first authorized, by telegram, on December 17, 1924. The station was founded by the Travelers Insurance Company and its call sign reflected the initials of that corporation. The original studios were in the Travelers Insurance Building at 26 Grove Street in Hartford. WTIC began a series of test transmissions in late December 1924, and began regular programming with a debut broadcast on February 10, 1925.
The Federal Radio Commission (FRC) was formed in 1927. Its reauthorization a year later included the Davis Amendment, which specified a nationwide "equality of radio broadcasting service". The United States was divided into 5 zones, with 8 "clear channel" frequencies assigned to each zone. Zone 1 was in New England, and WTIC was assigned to one of its clear-channel allocations, 1060 kHz. On November 11, 1928, the FRC made a sweeping nationwide reallocation, based on its General Order 40. WTIC was temporarily assigned to 600 kHz, pending construction of a high-powered transmitter needed for broadcasting on its 1060 kHz assignment. WBAL, in Baltimore, Maryland, was also assigned to 1060 kHz, and this station was close enough to Hartford to require that it and WTIC share time.
WTIC was among the first affiliates of the NBC Red Network, carrying its schedule of dramas, comedies, news, sports, soap operas, game shows and big band broadcasts during the "Golden Age of Radio". However, its limitation as a half-time station made its operation uneconomical, and a test of synchronous operation with WEAF on 660 kHz in New York City caused too much interference. An eventual solution, adopted in 1934, moved WTIC to fulltime operation on 1040 kHz, where the nearest other occupant was KRLD in Dallas, Texas, 1500 miles (2400 km) away. In 1941, when the North American Regional Broadcasting Agreement (NARBA) went into effect, stations on 1040 kHz, including WTIC, were moved to 1080 kHz, WTIC's current frequency. WTIC and KRLD were both designated as "Class I-B" clear channel stations, required to use directional antennas at night to mutually protect each other from interference.
In 1940, WTIC began experimenting with FM radio, putting W1XSO on the air on 43.2 MHz. It later became 96.5 WTIC-FM, mostly simulcasting the AM station in its early years. In 1957, a television station was added, WTIC-TV on channel 3. As network programming moved from radio to television in the 1950s, WTIC-AM-FM switched to a full service, middle of the road format of popular music, talk, news and sports. In the 1960s, WTIC-FM started playing blocks of classical music in the afternoon and evening, eventually ending its simulcast of 1080 WTIC. By the early 1970s, WTIC became more of an adult contemporary full service format, with talk shows in the evening.
In the late 1960s, with declining night time listenership, WTIC management decided that there was a market for long-form shows that could be packaged and sold to sponsors. Two of those shows were The Golden Age of Radio and A One Night Stand with the Big Bands. They were broadcast monthly through the mid 1970s.
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WTIC (AM)
WTIC (1080 kHz; "WTIC NewsTalk 1080") is a commercial AM radio station in Hartford, Connecticut. It airs a news/talk format and is owned by Audacy, Inc. The station's studios and offices are on Executive Drive in Farmington.
WTIC is a Class A clear-channel station with a transmitter power output of 50,000 watts, the maximum permitted for U.S. AM stations. Its transmitter site is a two-tower facility off Deercliff Road in Avon, Connecticut. WTIC has a single tower, non-directional signal in the daytime, providing at least secondary coverage to almost all of Connecticut, as well as large portions of southern Massachusetts and the outer suburbs of New York City. At night, when AM band signals travel much farther, WTIC uses both towers to create a directional pattern, primarily to protect KRLD in Dallas, Texas, the other Class A station on 1080 AM. Even with this restriction, WTIC can be heard at night over much of the eastern half of North America.
WTIC is the primary entry point (PEP) for the Emergency Alert System (EAS) in Connecticut.
WTIC is the second oldest radio station in Connecticut, after WDRC, which went on the air in 1922. WTIC was first authorized, by telegram, on December 17, 1924. The station was founded by the Travelers Insurance Company and its call sign reflected the initials of that corporation. The original studios were in the Travelers Insurance Building at 26 Grove Street in Hartford. WTIC began a series of test transmissions in late December 1924, and began regular programming with a debut broadcast on February 10, 1925.
The Federal Radio Commission (FRC) was formed in 1927. Its reauthorization a year later included the Davis Amendment, which specified a nationwide "equality of radio broadcasting service". The United States was divided into 5 zones, with 8 "clear channel" frequencies assigned to each zone. Zone 1 was in New England, and WTIC was assigned to one of its clear-channel allocations, 1060 kHz. On November 11, 1928, the FRC made a sweeping nationwide reallocation, based on its General Order 40. WTIC was temporarily assigned to 600 kHz, pending construction of a high-powered transmitter needed for broadcasting on its 1060 kHz assignment. WBAL, in Baltimore, Maryland, was also assigned to 1060 kHz, and this station was close enough to Hartford to require that it and WTIC share time.
WTIC was among the first affiliates of the NBC Red Network, carrying its schedule of dramas, comedies, news, sports, soap operas, game shows and big band broadcasts during the "Golden Age of Radio". However, its limitation as a half-time station made its operation uneconomical, and a test of synchronous operation with WEAF on 660 kHz in New York City caused too much interference. An eventual solution, adopted in 1934, moved WTIC to fulltime operation on 1040 kHz, where the nearest other occupant was KRLD in Dallas, Texas, 1500 miles (2400 km) away. In 1941, when the North American Regional Broadcasting Agreement (NARBA) went into effect, stations on 1040 kHz, including WTIC, were moved to 1080 kHz, WTIC's current frequency. WTIC and KRLD were both designated as "Class I-B" clear channel stations, required to use directional antennas at night to mutually protect each other from interference.
In 1940, WTIC began experimenting with FM radio, putting W1XSO on the air on 43.2 MHz. It later became 96.5 WTIC-FM, mostly simulcasting the AM station in its early years. In 1957, a television station was added, WTIC-TV on channel 3. As network programming moved from radio to television in the 1950s, WTIC-AM-FM switched to a full service, middle of the road format of popular music, talk, news and sports. In the 1960s, WTIC-FM started playing blocks of classical music in the afternoon and evening, eventually ending its simulcast of 1080 WTIC. By the early 1970s, WTIC became more of an adult contemporary full service format, with talk shows in the evening.
In the late 1960s, with declining night time listenership, WTIC management decided that there was a market for long-form shows that could be packaged and sold to sponsors. Two of those shows were The Golden Age of Radio and A One Night Stand with the Big Bands. They were broadcast monthly through the mid 1970s.