Hall Communications, Inc. is a broadcasting company based in

Lakeland, Florida Lakeland is a city in Polk County, Florida, United States. Located along Interstate 4, I-4 east of Tampa and southwest of Orlando, Florida, Orlando, it is the List of municipalities in Florida, most populous city in Polk County. As of the 2020 ...

. The company currently owns 17 radio stations in

Polk County, Florida Polk County () is a County (United States), county located in the Central Florida, central portion of the U.S. state of Florida. The county population was 725,046, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, and estimated to be 818,330, as ...

; eastern

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

;

New Bedford, Massachusetts New Bedford is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. It is located on the Acushnet River in what is known as the South Coast region. At the 2020 census, New Bedford had a population of 101,079, making it the state's ninth-l ...

; and Burlington, Vermont.

History

The company was founded in 1964 when Robert M. Hall, founder of The Hall Syndicate (a major newspaper syndicate), purchased WICH, his first radio station in Connecticut. In 1967, Hall would sell off his syndication company to

Field Enterprises Field Enterprises, Inc. was a private holding company that operated from the 1940s to the 1980s, founded by Marshall Field III and others, whose main assets were the '' Chicago Sun'' and '' Parade'' magazine. For various periods of time, Field En ...

, in order to concentrate more on broadcasting. By 1971, Hall Communications, Inc. had grown to include WICH and WICH-FM in

Norwich, Connecticut Norwich ( ) is a city in New London County, Connecticut, United States. The Yantic River, Yantic, Shetucket River, Shetucket, and Quinebaug Rivers flow into the city and form its harbor, from which the Thames River (Connecticut), Thames River f ...

;

WNBH WNBH (1340 AM broadcasting, AM) is a radio station in New Bedford, Massachusetts, owned by Hall Communications and broadcasting a classic hits Radio format, format. The station's branding refers to its FM translator station, W267CY. The station i ...

and WNBH-FM in

; WMMW in

Meriden, Connecticut Meriden ( ) is a city in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States, located halfway between the regional cities of New Haven, Connecticut, New Haven and Hartford, Connecticut, Hartford. The city is part of the South Central Connecticut Planni ...

; WETE in

Knoxville, Tennessee Knoxville is a city in Knox County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located on the Tennessee River and had a population of 190,740 at the 2020 United States census. It is the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division ...

; WUSJ in

Lockport, New York Lockport is both a city and the town that surrounds it in Niagara County, New York, United States. The city is the Niagara county seat, with a population of 21,165 according to 2010 census figures, and an estimated population of 20,305 as of 20 ...

; and

WBVP WBVP (1230 AM) is a commercial radio station based in Beaver County, Pennsylvania. It had simulcast a news/talk radio format with WMBA. On September 16, 2023, WMBA switched to a country-rock hybrid called The Beaver. WBVP is owned by St. Ba ...

and WBVP-FM,

Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania Beaver Falls is a city in Beaver County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 9,005 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located 31 miles (50 km) northwest of Pittsburgh, the city lies along the Beaver River (Pennsylvan ...

. WMMW was sold at some point in the early 1970s. WETE was sold in 1976 to Basic Media, Inc. That same year, Hall purchased

WGAL WGAL (channel 8) is a television station licensed to Lancaster, Pennsylvania, United States, serving the Susquehanna Valley region as an affiliate of NBC. Owned by Hearst Television, the station maintains studios on Columbia Avenue ( PA 462) in ...

and WGAL-FM,

Lancaster, Pennsylvania Lancaster ( ) is a city in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 58,039 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, eighth-most populous ci ...

. Hall resigned as President in 1991 and Chair in 1998, turning the company over to his daughter Bonnie Hall Rowbotham and her husband Art. Hall Communications, Inc. operates a wholly owned subsidiary: Nutmeg Broadcasting Company, licensee of WILI and

WILI-FM WILI-FM (98.3 FM, "Hit Music i-98.3") is a radio station broadcasting a Top 40 format. Licensed to the village of Willimantic, Connecticut, it serves eastern Connecticut. It is the sister station to WILI (1400 AM). The station is currently ow ...

, which was purchased from the Rice family in 2005. In addition to their 21 radio stations, Hall Communications is also the 60% majority owner of Cross Country Communications, formerly licensee of

WKZA WKZA (106.9 FM broadcasting, FM) is a radio station broadcasting an oldies format. Licensed to Lakewood, New York, United States, the station serves the Jamestown, New York area. The station is currently owned by MediaOne Radio Group. History ...

Lakewood, New York Lakewood is a village in Chautauqua County, New York, United States. The population was 2,993 at the 2020 census. The village is in the northern part of the town of Busti. Geography Lakewood is located at (42.100989, -79.321919), at the south ...

and WLKW-FM,

Celoron, New York Celoron ( ) is a village in Chautauqua County, New York, United States. It is part of the town of Ellicott and sits on the west boundary of the city of Jamestown. The population of Celoron was 1,082 at the 2020 census. History Celoron Park ...

Acquisitions and sales

WLVL Lockport was sold in 1981. Also in 1981, Hall relocated to

, following the acquisition of its first two Florida properties,

WONN WONN (1230 Hertz, kHz) is a commercial radio, commercial AM broadcasting, AM radio station broadcasting a sports radio, sports radio format. City of license, Licensed to Lakeland, Florida, the station is owned by Hall Communications, Inc. WONN ...

and

WPCV WPCV (97.5 MHz) is a commercial FM radio station, licensed to Winter Haven and serving Central Florida. It has a country music radio format and is owned and operated by Hall Communications. The radio studios and offices are in Lakeland. W ...

, in 1981. In 1983,

WJOY WJOY (1230 Hertz, kHz) is a commercial AM broadcasting, AM radio station broadcasting an adult standards and soft adult contemporary Radio format, format. City of license, Licensed to Burlington, Vermont, the station is owned by Hall Communicati ...

and WQCR (FM) in

Burlington, Vermont Burlington, officially the City of Burlington, is the List of municipalities in Vermont, most populous city in the U.S. state of Vermont and the county seat, seat of Chittenden County, Vermont, Chittenden County. It is located south of the Can ...

were purchased for $2.2 million. WBVP and WWKS, Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania were sold to M.T. Communications in 1985. In 1995, Hall purchased now-silent WNLC and WTYD in

New London, Connecticut New London is a seaport city and a port of entry on the northeast coast of the United States, located at the outlet of the Thames River (Connecticut), Thames River in New London County, Connecticut, which empties into Long Island Sound. The cit ...

. WXZR,

East Lyme, Connecticut East Lyme is a New England town, town in New London County, Connecticut, United States. The town is part of the Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region, Connecticut, Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region. The population was 18,693 at the 2020 ...

was purchased in 1998 to replace WNLC. Also in 1995, stations WWRZ

Fort Meade, Florida Fort Meade is a city in Polk County, Florida, United States. , the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau is 5,100. It is part of the Lakeland– Winter Haven Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city was named for George Meade, a ...

and WLKF

were added to the company's Lakeland cluster and

WKOL WKOL (105.1 FM; "Kool 105") is a radio station broadcasting a classic hits format. The station, which signed on in 1994 as WEXP-FM, is licensed to Plattsburgh, New York, United States, and serves the Burlington / Plattsburgh area. WKOL is own ...

Plattsburgh, New York Plattsburgh is a city in and the county seat of Clinton County, New York, United States, situated on the north-western shore of Lake Champlain. The population was 19,841 at the United States Census, 2020, 2020 census. The population of the sur ...

was added to the Burlington, Vermont cluster. In 2001, WHRC in

West Warwick, Rhode Island West Warwick is a town in Kent County, Rhode Island, Kent County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 31,012 at the United States Census, 2020, 2020 census. West Warwick was incorporated in 1913, making it the youngest town in the s ...

was added to the station's New Bedford/Providence cluster. In 2005,

WIZN WIZN (106.7 MHz) is a commercial FM radio station licensed to Vergennes, Vermont, serving the Champlain Valley and Burlington-Plattsburgh radio market. The station broadcasts a classic rock radio format branded as ''The Wizard''. It is own ...

and

WBTZ WBTZ (99.9 MHz "99.9 The Buzz") is a commercial FM radio station in Plattsburgh, New York, and serving the Plattsburgh area, the Burlington, Vermont metropolitan area and Greater Montreal. The station is owned by Hall Communications, and airs ...

were purchased and added to the company's Vermont holdings. Hall Communications sold WKZA to Media One Group (owners of all of the other commercial stations in the area) and WLKW to

Educational Media Foundation Educational Media Foundation (formerly EMF Broadcasting, abbreviated EMF) is an American nonprofit Christian media ministry based in Franklin, a suburb of Nashville. EMF is the parent company of K-LOVE and Air1—the world's largest contempor ...

in August 2018. Hall sold WROZ, Lancaster, Pennsylvania to the Educational Media Foundation on July 13, 2021 for $1.725 million. Hall Communications has sold the rest of its Central Pennsylvania cluster to Forever Media. Forever purchased the Sports simulcast “ESPN 92.7” WONN-FM Starview and 1490 WLPA/92.5 W223CH Lancaster for $400,000.

References

External links

Hall Communications (official site)
Radio broadcasting companies of the United States Companies based in Lakeland, Florida Mass media companies established in 1964 {{US-media-company-stub