WTIC-FM (96.5

MHz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose expression in terms of SI base units is s−1, meaning that one he ...

) is a

commercial Commercial may refer to: * a dose of advertising conveyed through media (such as - for example - radio or television) ** Radio advertisement ** Television advertisement * (adjective for:) commerce, a system of voluntary exchange of products and s ...

radio station Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radi ...

in Hartford, Connecticut. It is owned by

Audacy, Inc. Audacy, Inc. is an American broadcasting company based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1968 as Entercom Communications Corporation, it is the second largest radio company in the United States, owning 235 radio stations across 48 media ...

and broadcasts a

hot adult contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quiet ...

radio format A radio format or programming format (not to be confused with broadcast programming) describes the overall content broadcast on a radio station. The radio format emerged mainly in the United States in the 1950s, at a time when radio was compelle ...

. The station's studios and offices are located on Executive Drive in

Farmington Farmington may refer to: Places Canada *Farmington, British Columbia * Farmington, Nova Scotia (disambiguation) United States *Farmington, Arkansas *Farmington, California *Farmington, Connecticut *Farmington, Delaware * Farmington, Georgia * ...

. WTIC-FM has an

effective radiated power Effective radiated power (ERP), synonymous with equivalent radiated power, is an IEEE standardized definition of directional radio frequency (RF) power, such as that emitted by a radio transmitter. It is the total power in watts that would h ...

(ERP) of 20,000

watt The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named after James ...

s, with its signal heard throughout most of

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...

and into

Western Massachusetts Western Massachusetts, known colloquially as “Western Mass,” is a region in Massachusetts, one of the six U.S. states that make up the New England region of the United States. Western Massachusetts has diverse topography; 22 colleges and u ...

. Its

transmitter In electronics and telecommunications, a radio transmitter or just transmitter is an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna. The transmitter itself generates a radio frequency alternating current, which is applied to the ...

is located off Deercliff Road in Avon, the same site as sister station

WTIC (AM) WTIC (1080 kHz "WTIC NewsTalk 1080") is a commercial AM radio station in Hartford, Connecticut. It airs a news/talk radio format and is owned by Audacy, Inc. The station's studios and offices are on Executive Drive in Farmington. The transmi ...

and former co-owned TV station

WFSB WFSB (channel 3) is a television station licensed to Hartford, Connecticut, United States, serving the Hartford–New Haven market as an affiliate of CBS. Owned by Gray Television, the station maintains studios on Denise D'Ascenzo Way in Rocky ...

. WTIC-FM broadcasts in the HD Radio (hybrid) format. The HD2 subchannel carries the

news/talk Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues and consisting entirely or almost entirely of original spoken word content rather than outside music. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often featur ...

format of WTIC (AM).

History

Early years

WTIC-FM is the second oldest FM station in Hartford, after

WHCN WHCN (105.9 MHz) is a commercial FM radio station licensed to Hartford, Connecticut. It broadcasts a classic hits radio format and is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. It is called "The River 105.9," a reference to the Connecticut River. The studios ...

. They were the only pre-

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

FM stations in Connecticut, with WTIC-FM signing on the air originally as W1XSO on February 5, 1940, and using a frequency of 43.5 MHz. In December 1941, it became a commercial operation using the

call sign In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign (also known as a call name or call letters—and historically as a call signal—or abbreviated as a call) is a unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be formally assign ...

W53H. In 1943, the call letters were changed to WTIC-FM, representing its original owner, The Travelers Insurance Company. On April 17, 1948, the station moved to 96.5 MHz where it has remained to this day. It mostly

simulcast Simulcast (a portmanteau of simultaneous broadcast) is the broadcasting of programmes/programs or events across more than one resolution, bitrate or medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at exactly the same time (that is, simulta ...

WTIC in its early years, carrying WTIC's local shows and NBC Radio Network programming, during the 1940s and 1950s. Just like their AM sister station, it carried NBC's dramas, comedies, news, sports,

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

game show A game show is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment (radio, television, internet, stage or other) where contestants compete for a reward. These programs can either be participatory or demonstrative and are typically directed by a host, ...

s and

big band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s ...

broadcasts during the " Golden Age of Radio". 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, news and sports. During the 1960s, WTIC-FM broke away from its AM counterpart for most of the day, playing classical music. In the early 1970s, it ran

beautiful music Beautiful music (sometimes abbreviated as BM, B/EZ or BM/EZ for "beautiful music/easy listening") is a mostly instrumental music format that was prominent in North American radio from the late 1950s through the 1980s. Easy listening, elevator mu ...

by day and classical music at night.

Hot Hits

In 1974, Travelers Insurance sold the TV station to Post-Newsweek Stations while the radio stations were sold to a group of their managers, going by the name "The 1080 Corporation". On May 12, 1977, WTIC-FM made a dramatic switch by flipping to a

Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or "cont ...

/ CHR format, as "

Hot Hits Hot Hits was a radio format created by consultant Mike Joseph in the 1970s. That concept, which helped spur the birth of what is now known as CHR, also revitalized the Top 40 format and would play a role in bringing the format to the FM band throug ...

". The station was consulted by Mike Joseph who installed a playlist of all current hits, the 30 to 40 songs on the current charts were repeated frequently, with upbeat DJs and numerous jingles by the legendary TM Studios. Once a Hot Hit fell off the charts, even million-sellers, it wasn't played anymore. After a couple of years, WTIC-FM moved to a more conventional Top 40/CHR direction.

Hot AC

From the mid-1980s to the early 1990s, WTIC-FM was locked in a Top 40/CHR battle with

WKSS WKSS (95.7 FM) is an American radio station operated by iHeartMedia, Inc. in the Hartford- New Britain- Middletown, Connecticut, radio market. It broadcasts from its original transmitter site in Meriden, and has a rare dual city of license of Ha ...

, which had converted from an

easy listening Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to 1970s. It is related to middle-of-the-road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit songs, n ...

station. WTIC-FM management decided not to aim as young as WKSS, removing the rap music and other harder edged songs from its playlist, switching to its current

hot AC Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quiet sto ...

format on June 15, 1994. Initially, the station's playlist moved a bit softer; since then, the hot AC format as a whole has embraced more upbeat music, and so has the station. Since its days as a Top 40/CHR station in 1977, WTIC-FM has referred to itself on the air variously as "Your Music Connection 96 TICS WTIC FM", "96 TICS WTIC-FM", "Hot Hits! 96 TICS WTIC-FM", "96 TIC-FM", and "The New 96.5 TIC-FM". In 1998, WTIC-AM-FM were acquired by

Infinity Broadcasting Infinity Broadcasting Corporation was a radio company that existed from 1972 until 2005. It was founded by Michael A. Wiener and Gerald Carrus. It became associated with popular radio personalities like Howard Stern, Opie and Anthony, Don Imus ...

, which was renamed CBS Radio in December 2005. CBS also acquired then-

adult contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quie ...

station

WZMX WZMX (93.7 FM "Hot 93.7") is an urban-leaning rhythmic contemporary radio station licensed to Hartford, Connecticut, in the United States. The station is owned by Audacy, Inc. The station's current slogan is "Hartford's #1 for Hip-Hop and R& ...

(now rhythmic contemporary) and

WRCH. On February 2, 2017, CBS Radio announced it would merge with

Entercom Audacy, Inc. is an American broadcasting company based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1968 as Entercom Communications Corporation, it is the second largest radio company in the United States, owning 235 radio stations across 48 media ...

. The merger was approved on November 9, 2017, and was consummated on the 17th.

References

External links

*
www.wticalumni.com: A site that was created by Bill Clede and *carried on by David Kaplan featuring pictures, audio, information and trivia about the old *WTIC AM/FM/TV before its sale by the Travelers in 1974.Steve McVie Solomon's Hot Hits tribute site including clips of *WTIC-FM as 96 TicsAircheck_of_WTIC-FM_*change_to_"Today's_Top_40
_Without_the_Rap",_6/15/1994.html" ;"title="Top 40">Aircheck of WTIC-FM *change to "Today's Top_40">Aircheck_of_WTIC-FM_*change_to_"Today's_Top_40
_Without_the_Rap",_6/15/1994 {{Entercom Radio_stations_in_Hartford,_Connecticut.html" ;"title="Top 40
Without the Rap", 6/15/1994">Top 40">Aircheck of WTIC-FM *change to "Today's {{Entercom Radio_stations_in_Hartford,_Connecticut">TIC-FM Hot_adult_contemporary_radio_stations_in_the_United_States.html" ;"title="Top 40
Without the Rap", 6/15/1994 {{Entercom Radio stations in Hartford, Connecticut">TIC-FM Hot adult contemporary radio stations in the United States">Top 40
Without the Rap", 6/15/1994 {{Entercom Radio stations in Hartford, Connecticut">TIC-FM Hot adult contemporary radio stations in the United States Radio stations established in 1940 1940 establishments in Connecticut Audacy, Inc. radio stations