WUCS (97.9 FM) is a commercial

sports Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, ...

formatted radio station licensed to

Windsor Locks, Connecticut Windsor Locks is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population was 12,613. It is the site of Bradley International Airport, which serves the Greater Hartford-Springfield region and occupies approxi ...

. It is owned by

iHeartMedia, Inc. iHeartMedia, Inc., formerly CC Media Holdings, Inc., is an American mass media corporation headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It is the holding company of iHeartCommunications, Inc. (formerly Clear Channel Communications, Inc.), a company fou ...

and serves as the

Hartford Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since t ...

media market A media market, broadcast market, media region, designated market area (DMA), television market area, or simply market is a region where the population can receive the same (or similar) television and radio station offerings, and may also incl ...

ESPN Radio ESPN Radio, which is alternately platform-agnostically branded as ESPN Audio, is an American sports radio network and extension of the ESPN television network. It was launched on January 1, 1992, under the original banner of "SportsRadio ESPN ...

network affiliate In the broadcasting industry (particularly in North America, and even more in the United States), a network affiliate or affiliated station is a local broadcaster, owned by a company other than the owner of the network, which carries some or ...

. WUCS acts as the technical

flagship station In broadcasting, a flagship (also known as a flagship station or key station) is the broadcast station which originates a television network, or a particular radio or television program that plays a key role in the branding of and consumer loyalt ...

for the network because its signal covers

Bristol, Connecticut Bristol is a suburban city located in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States, southwest-west of Hartford. The city is also 120 miles southwest from Boston, and approximately 100 miles northeast of New York City. As of the 2020 census, th ...

, home of ESPN's headquarters. The station broadcasts from studios and offices are located on Columbus Boulevard in Hartford. The station first signed on in July 1990 as WPKX, a

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

station licensed to

Enfield, Connecticut Enfield is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States, first settled by John and Robert Pease of Salem, Massachusetts Bay Colony. The population was 42,141 at the 2020 census. It is bordered by Longmeadow, Massachusetts, and East Long ...

and targeting

Springfield, Massachusetts Springfield is a city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States, and the seat of Hampden County. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers: the western Westfield River, th ...

. It was owned by SFX Broadcasting in the late 1990s, then Capstar. AMFM owned it briefly before being acquired by Clear Channel Communications (now iHeartMedia) in 2000. The station had an

HD Radio HD Radio (HDR) is a trademark for an in-band on-channel (IBOC) digital radio broadcast technology. It generally simulcasts an existing analog radio station in digital format with less noise and with additional text information. HD Radio is used ...

HD2 station broadcasting

Americana music Americana (also known as American roots music) is an amalgam of American music formed by the confluence of the shared and varied traditions that make up the musical ethos of the United States, specifically those sounds that are emerged from the ...

since early 2006. In March 2010, Clear Channel Communications filed an application with the FCC to move the WPKX

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 ...

from

Provin Mountain Provin Mountain is a very narrow traprock mountain ridge located in the Connecticut River Valley of Massachusetts. It is part of the Metacomet Ridge which extends from Long Island Sound near New Haven, Connecticut, north through the Connecticut R ...

in Feeding Hills, Massachusetts to the top of

City Place City Place is a mixed-use facility featuring two 20-story buildings in central Fort Worth, Texas. The complex was formerly known as Tandy Center and served as the corporate headquarters for RadioShack (formerly Tandy Corporation) for many year ...

Downtown Hartford Downtown Hartford, Connecticut is the primary business district and the center of Connecticut's state government. Due to the large number of insurance companies headquartered downtown, Hartford is known as the "Insurance Capital of the World". B ...

, effectively moving the station from the Springfield

Arbitron Nielsen Audio (formerly Arbitron) is a consumer research company in the United States that collects listener data on radio broadcasting audiences. It was founded as the American Research Bureau by Jim Seiler in 1949 and became national by merging ...

market to the larger and more lucrative Hartford Arbitron market. In January 2011, the move was refiled with a city of license change to Windsor Locks; this followed an agreement with WMAS-FM, which agreed to change its city of license from Springfield to Enfield as part of a deal involving a Clear Channel-owned generator in

Albuquerque, New Mexico Albuquerque ( ; ), ; kee, Arawageeki; tow, Vakêêke; zun, Alo:ke:k'ya; apj, Gołgéeki'yé. abbreviated ABQ, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Its nicknames, The Duke City and Burque, both reference its founding i ...

. The previous country format has moved to WRNX (100.9 FM). On January 27, 2012, at 6 a.m., the station switched to a

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, simul ...

of ESPN Radio affiliate

WPOP WPOP (1410 AM) is a commercial radio station in Hartford, Connecticut, broadcasting a news/talk/sports radio format. The station is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. The studios and offices are located on Columbus Boulevard in Hartford. WPOP broadcas ...

(1410 AM). The call sign was changed to WUCS on February 7, 2012. WPOP switched to

Fox Sports Radio Fox Sports Radio is an American sports radio network. Based in Los Angeles, California, the network is operated and managed by Premiere Networks in a content partnership with Fox Corporation's Fox Sports division and iHeartMedia, parent compan ...

in March 2012, with ESPN Radio remaining on WUCS. As of the 2018–19 academic year, WUCS serves as the flagship station for

Connecticut Huskies The UConn Huskies (or Connecticut Huskies) are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Connecticut, located in Storrs. The school is a member of the NCAA's Division I and the Big East Conference. The university's fo ...

radio play-by-play, including the school's

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...

hockey Hockey is a term used to denote a family of various types of both summer and winter team sports which originated on either an outdoor field, sheet of ice, or dry floor such as in a gymnasium. While these sports vary in specific rules, numbers o ...

, and men's and

women's basketball Women's basketball is the team sport of basketball played by women. It began being played in 1892, one year after men's basketball, at Smith College in Massachusetts. It spread across the United States, in large part via women's college compet ...

programs. Coverage is produced for the school by

IMG Media IMG, originally known as the International Management Group, is a global sports, events and talent management company headquartered in New York City. It has been owned by Endeavor since 2013. Trans World International (TWI) is an event and pro ...

References

External links

* Mass media in Hartford County, Connecticut UCS ESPN Radio stations Radio stations established in 1990 1990 establishments in Connecticut IHeartMedia radio stations {{Connecticut-radio-station-stub