WATD-FM (95.9 FM) is a radio station carrying local news and features for the South Shore of

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

(comprising

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

and

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

counties), with an

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 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul ...

music format. Founded and owned by local entrepreneur Edward Perry and licensed to

Marshfield, Massachusetts Marshfield is a town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States, on Massachusetts's South Shore (Massachusetts), South Shore. The population was 25,825 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It includes the census-designated places ...

, the station went live on December 6, 1977.

Programming

WATD-FM airs a news program in

morning drive Drive time is the daypart in which radio broadcasters can reach the most people who listen to car radios while driving, usually to and from work, or on public transportation. Drive-time periods are when the number of radio listeners in this c ...

on weekdays, with features from

CBS News Radio CBS News Radio, formerly known as CBS Radio News and historically known as the CBS Radio Network, is a radio network that provides news to more than 1,000 radio stations throughout the United States. The network is owned by Paramount Global. It ...

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 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul ...

hits from the 1960s to today predominate in the midday hours and in afternoon drive on weekdays, while

oldies Oldies is a term for musical genres such as pop music, rock and roll, doo-wop, surf music from the second half of the 20th century, specifically from around the mid-1950s to the 1980s, as well as for a radio format playing this music. Since 2 ...

classic alternative Classic alternative is a radio format focusing on alternative music from the late 1970s to early 1990s, with particular focus on the early days of MTV. Typical genres * New wave: A major part of this category, especially early bands like The Cars ...

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

, and

talk shows A talk show is a television programming, radio programming or podcast genre structured around the act of spontaneous conversation.Bernard M. Timberg, Robert J. Erler'' (2010Television Talk: A History of the TV Talk Show', pp.3-4Erler, Robert (20 ...

fill the rest of the programming week. WATD-FM's midday and afternoon music programming featured a classic hits format until

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

, when the addition of current music shifted the format to adult contemporary. It was later added to the

Nielsen BDS Broadcast Data Systems (also known as Nielsen BDS, BDS or Luminate BDS) was a service that tracks radio, television and internet airplay of songs. The service, which is a unit of MRC Data, is a contributing factor to North American charts publishe ...

AC indicator panel. WATD-FM is one of three AC stations in the

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

market, along with

WMJX WMJX (106.7 FM) – branded Magic 106.7 – is a commercial adult contemporary radio station licensed to Boston, Massachusetts. Owned by Audacy, Inc., the station serves Greater Boston and much of surrounding New England. The WMJX studios are ...

and

WPLM-FM WPLM-FM (99.1 FM broadcasting, FM, "Easy 99.1") is a soft adult contemporary music station licensed to Plymouth, Massachusetts. It is owned by Plymouth Rock Broadcasting Co.. Its transmitter is located in Plymouth. With a 50,000 watt signal, WPLM ...

. Much of WATD-FM's programming was simulcast by WBMS (1460 AM) and FM translator station W266DA (101.1) in

Brockton, Massachusetts Brockton is a city in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States; the population was 105,643 at the 2020 United States census. Along with Plymouth, Massachusetts, Plymouth, it is one of the two county seats of Plymouth County, Massachusetts, ...

, a station which Marshfield Broadcasting acquired in 2015 and held the callsign WATD (AM) from 2016 to 2019. WBMS was sold in 2024. WATD-FM also carries live broadcasts of local high-school football and boys' basketball games involving high schools in the station's coverage area. WATD-FM has previously broadcast some high-school hockey playoff games over the course of many years.

References

External links

* * ATD-FM Radio stations established in 1977 Marshfield, Massachusetts Mass media in Plymouth County, Massachusetts Full service radio stations in the United States 1977 establishments in Massachusetts {{Massachusetts-radio-station-stub