Reprinted by permission from the Connecticut Broadcaster's Association
Written by Michael Collins © ® 2005
The following is from a pamphlet entitled "TIME LINE FOR CONNECTICUT BROADCASTING" released in November, 2005 by the Connecticut Broadcaster's Association to commemorate their 50th anniversary. It is one of the only comprehensive lists of its kind that we are aware of, and serves only as a companion to the WWUH History documents elsewhere within this website.
1921 Earliest Stations In CT Begin
WCJ New Haven, owned by A.C. Gilbert toy company, the third radio license in the U.S.; also WDAK Hartford, Hartford Courant, and WAAQ Greenwich, New England Motors (none of these survive more than a few years).
1922
WPAJ New Haven begins, founded by Franklin Doolittle, later becoming WDRC, Connecticut's oldest radio station.
1923 WCAC Storrs, CT Agricultural College station begins as CT's first educational station.
1925 WTIC Hartford begins, owned by Travelers Insurance Company.
1926 WTIC becomes 4th affiliate nationally of NBC. WICC Bridgeport begins, oldest station in Fairfield County.
1930 WDRC moves from New Haven to Hartford and becomes CBS affiliate. WICC Bridgeport becomes CBS affiliate
1931 WTIC synchronizes broadcasts on 660 khz with NBC's WEAF New York City certain evenings each week, which continues until 1934.
1934 WATR Waterbury begins as Waterbury's first station, and which today is oldest continuously owned station in the state, never having been sold, owned by the descendants of the founder Harold Thomas.
1935 WNLC New London begins, first station east of the Connecticut River. WCAC Storrs, sharing time with WICC on 600 khz, shuts down, leaving Connecticut with no educational radio station for 20 years until WHUS 90.5 Storrs, - owned by the same school - now the University of CT -- opens on the FM band in 1956. Later WHUS moves to 91.7 and 90.5 becomes available for Connecticut Public Broadcasting.
1939 W1XPW begins broadcasting from West Peak, Meriden, as state's first FM station, becoming WDRC-FM in 1943 and WHCN in 1956. 1940 WXSO Hartford begins as states second and its only other pre-World War II FM station, becoming WTIC-FM in 1940.
1941 Every AM station in Connecticut except WICC 600 changes frequency in March as new international radio agreement with Canada, Cuba, the Bahamas and Mexico takes effect. WTIC 1080 Hartford becomes fully protected Class I-B clear channel station under new treaty, covering much of the northeast, Midwest, upper south as well as eastern Canada with a clear signal during hours of darkness. WTIC is one of only two clear channel AM stations in New England and one of only 59 in the United States with wide area coverage. The other in New England is WBZ 1030 Boston. WSRR 1400 begins as Stamford's first station, later becoming WSTC.
1946-1949 Small cities in Connecticut get own stations, Greenwich, Norwalk, Danbury, Torrington, Bristol, New Britain, Meriden, Middletown and Norwich.
1947 Don Russell sings on Fairfield County's first FM station, WSTC-FM 96.7 Stamford (in 1950s Russell will be announcer for Jackie Gleason Show and anchor Dumont Television Network's McCarthy hearings). WBIB 100.7 New Haven signs on, becoming Connecticut's first FM "stand alone" station with no AM sister; WBIB will shut down in 1954. Weekly Bridgeport Herald announces plans for WITE-FM 97.5 Bridgeport which will provide faxes of updated newspaper pages to special receivers in homes, hotels and other public locations, system is put into operation at Philadelphia Inquirer and Miami Herald but does not actually begin in Bridgeport. WNLC-FM 99.5 New London with 20,000 watts signs on, first FM east of the Connecticut River. WLCR 990 Torrington signs on as Litchfield County's first radio station, operating until 1964. The 990 channel is then assigned to Southington where the Rice family launches WNTY (now WXCT) in 1969.
1948 WNHC-TV channel 6 in New Haven, New Haven's Window on the World, begins as Connecticut's first TV stations and New England's second station, daily newspaper in New Haven and Hartford carry no accounts of it. William Shearer, CBS correspondent who covered the surrender of France to the Nazis live on CBS in 1940, is now living in Torrington assembling his book "Rise and Fall of the Third Reich" and is interviewed several times by Peg Graham on WTOR 1490 Torrington (now WSNG 610). WGCH 95.9 Greenwich begins as first FM stand alone station in Fairfield County, and will broadcast until shutting down in 1952. Rural Radio Network, first full-time FM format for farmers and agricultural interests, begins in WKNB-FM 103.7 New Britain and WLAD-FM 98.3 Danbury. Connecticut has 13 FM stations on the air, including 5 which will survive: WSTC-FM 96.7 Stamford, WNHC-FM 99.1 New Haven, WMMW-FM 95.7 Meriden, WDRC-FM 93.7 Hartford and WTIC-FM 96.5 Hartford. Eight will not survive: WAVZ-FM 95.1, WBIB 100.7 and WELI-FM 107.9 all in New Haven, WNLC-FM 99.5 New London, WKNB-FM 103.7 New Britain and WTHT-FM, 106.1 of the Hartford Times.
1949 Ed Coleman becomes first black disc jockey in Bridgeport on WLIZ 1300, and possible the first in CT, playing "subdued" bop. WAVZ 1260 AM and 95.1 FM New Haven feature "Newspapers of the Air" segments, very early forerunner of the "all news" concept. First UHF television broadcasts in the world are conducted in Stratford, to test the viability of UHF for television broadcasting, station KC2XAK operated by RCA, and simulcasting NBC's channel 4 in New York City; transmitter is on success Hill in northwest Stratford.
1950 WHAY 910 New Britain signs on, and is then acquired by DeDominicis family and has an all-Italian format most of the day during the 1950s and 1960s (now WLAT).
1950s Putnam, Willimantic, Groton, Old Saybrook, Manchester and Ansonia all get their own radio stations.
1952 Bob Crane is host at WBIS 1440 Bristol (now WPRX 1120), then joins WICC 600 Bridgeport as long-time morning host; will later star in CBS-TV's "Hogan's Heroes." First UHF transmitter is Stratford is sold to Portland, Oregon's KPTV channel 27 and is trucked to Oregon in pre-interstate highway America. The truck and crew are out of contact several times but successfully completes the trip. This enables WPTV to become the first commercial UHF station in the world, signing on in September 1952, thus giving it a four month jump on other early UHF stations in the US which sign on starting in December 1952, when manufactured transmitters become available.
1953 WKNB-TV channel 30 New Britain begins as Connecticut's second TV station, first station in Hartford County, and ends WNHC-TV's nearly 5 year monopoly status as Connecticut's only TV station. Channel 30 is a CBS affiliate. WICC-TV channel 43 Bridgeport begins as Fairfield County's first TV station and Connecticut's 3rd station. It is an ABC and Dumont affiliate. WATR-TV channel 53 Waterbury begins as Waterbury's first TV station and state's 4th station. It is an ABC affiliate. WDRC 1360 and WDRC-FM 93.7 broadcasting stereo on certain programs, with AM and FM signals used as the left and right channels. WPCT 1350 Putnam goes on the air as northeast Connecticut's first radio station (now WINY).
1954 WGTH-TV channel 18 Hartford begins as state's 5th TV station, and is an ABC and Dumont affiliate. Channel 30 runs ad in Hartford Courant with friendly welcome to channel 18. WNHC-TV switches from channel 6 to channel 8, broadcasting 'This 'N That" hosted by Dick Alexander, a very early regularly scheduled television program with a black host. Low point of FM; Only 5 of Connecticut's original 13 FM station are on the air, and survive; it is this year that the inventor of FM, Major Edwin Armstrong, takes his own life in Manhattan, thinking FM is a failure.
1955 Connecticut Broadcasters Association (CBA) founded - A group of broadcasters gathered at the studios of WNHC-AM/FM/TV in New Haven. Following a movement by broadcasters in Ohio, it was quickly agreed that there was a need for a statewide trade organization to represent and advance the common interests of Connecticut's broadcasters. WNHC GM Howard Maschmeier hosted the meeting. Among those in attendance were John Ellinger, then with WNAB Bridgeport (currently GM of WJMJ Bloomfield), Jim Stoltz, owner of WNLK Norwalk, Julian Schwartz, GM of WSTC Stamford Max Ryder, WBRY Waterbury and Paul Morency, President and GM of WTIC Hartford, Ryder was elected the first president of the CBA.
1956 WELI 960 New Haven introduced Saturday Night Juke Box, with Carl Loucks, a very early rock and roll program in Connecticut. When CBS and NBC decide to own UHF stations, they purchase channel 18 and channel 30 in Connecticut, operating them for several years. CBS's channel 18 become WHCT and channel 30 becomes WNBC, simultaneously standing for NBC and New Britain, CT (NBC's NYC stations have the call letters WRCA AM-FM-TV during this time). WHUS 90.5 Storrs begins at the University of CT, state' first educational FM station (today there are more than 30 educational FM stations in CT). WPOP 1410 Hartford Broadcasts Hound Dog evenings, very early rock and roll program in Hartford. The original WDRC-FM is sold to the Concert Network and becomes WHCN (the current WDRC-FM 102.9 begins in 1959).
1957 WTIC-TV channel 3 begins after proposals to make channel 3 educational in Hartford or move it to New London or Westerly, RI are rejected. WGHF 95.1 Brookfield begins as Fairfield County's first high power 20,000 watts FM station and begins testing the modern day system of FM stereo broadcasting, using a single stations and a single stereo receiver, this system -- multiplex stereo - is approved for use by FM stations starting in 1961 as one way to give a boost to FM radio.
1959 WICC goes rock in its music format, surprising staid Fairfield County, and also becomes a top news and information station. WICC employs a man to sit at the Greenwich train station and watch the trains come in, for accurate train reports, and introduced a weekend weather boat on Long Island Sound, one of the first two in the nation, the other being Seattle (WMMM 1260 Westport, WELI 960 New Haven and WNLC 1510 New London later have boats on Long Island Sounds. WICC subsequently introduced airplane reporter - Morgan Koolian - for weekend reports and for traffic during the week. Yale University's WYBC 94.3 New Haven signs on and becomes the first college station to operate commercially in Connecticut. Buckley family acquires WDRC 1360 and WDRC-FM 102.9 Hartford, early stations along with Providence's WHIM; Buckley group evolves into a major group of AM and FM stations nationwide today, including clear channel 50,000 watt WOR in NYC. The Rice family buys WILI 1400 Willimantic and establishes a group of radio stations in Connecticut noted for their strong community service. These stations WILI 1400 and WILI-FM 98.3 Willimantic WINY 1350 Putnam, WNTY 990 Southington (now WXCT) and WLIS 1420 Old Saybrook. Pat Sheehan is among those who started at WILI, and who goes on the be an icon in Ct TV news and WMRD 1150 owner Don DeCesare also was at WILI. Wayne Norman, known statewide for his Uconn basketball broadcasts, is with WILI 35 years, and is there currently. WFNQ 93.7 Hartford begins with all storecast music format, music for supermarkets, operated weekly from 9 am to 9 pm and Saturdays 9 am to 6 pm. This format was on several other stations in the 1950s, but WFNQ has it full-time from 1959 to 1962. his service is called the "simplex" system of using the main FM channel for supermarket music, and is replaced by multiplex where these services are carried on FM sub carrier signals, requiring special receivers.
Reprinted by permission from the Connecticut Broadcaster's Association
Written by Michael Collins © ® 2005
The preceding is from a pamphlet entitled "TIME LINE FOR CONNECTICUT BROADCASTING" released in November, 2005 by the Connecticut Broadcaster's Association to commemorate their 50th anniversary. It is one of the only comprehensive lists of its kind that we are aware of, and serves only as a companion to the WWUH History documents elsewhere within this website.
1960s WINF 1230 Manchester is CBS for Hartford, with Connecticut's first all talk format, which continues during most of the decade (station is now WKND). WICC-TV channel 43 Bridgeport makes an offer 35 times a week: the first person to call WICC-TV wins $100, and not a single viewer calls. This is because virtually no viewer's home TV sets are equipped with UHF in the area. This is reported in Newsweek in an article entitled "Eyeballs Wanted" and in other media. WICC-TV is trying to make a case to gain permission to move to the VHF band. WICC-TV is in an area covered by 9 VHF stations, and viewers must pan an additional $100 to have UHF on their sets. Also, WICC-TV is an ABC affiliate and there are two ABC affiliates on the VHF band, channel 7 in New York and channel 8 in New Haven. WICC-TV has full listings in the New York section of the TV Guide, the only station to have this, but it does not help. WICC-TV does not get a VHF channel, but Congress acts and starting in 1964 all TV sets sold in the U.S. must be equipped with UHF. WDRC 1360 ends CBS affiliation and goes rock full-time, shocking the staid in Hartford County. WDRC-FM 102.9 simulcasts this rock format, with WDRC becoming one of the first full-time rock stations in the northeast. WJZZ 99.9 Bridgeport (now WEZN) signs on as an all-jazz station, with jazz composer Dave Brubeck of Wilton as program director.
1961 WATR-FM 92.5 Waterbury begins as Waterbury's first FM station, in a short time it will broadcast live coverage of a major fatal tornado to strike Waterbury.
1962 WHCT channel 18 launches pay TV, with viewers choosing codes for movie and sporting telecasts on specially installed box atop the TV set. This is the fist pay TV station in the world and the general manager is Charles Osgood. WEDH channel 24 Hartford begins as the states first educational TV station. WRYM 840 New Britain, "Rhyme", becomes first all-beautiful music station in the state. WBMI 95.7 Hartford (now WKSS) and WGHF 95.1 (now WRKI) become first stations to broadcast in multiplex FM stereo, the first modern day system of stereo utilizing one station and one stereo receiver. WSCH 93.7 Hartford (now WZMX) is operated by the Hartford South Congregational Church as a public educational FM station with live broadcasts of the Hartford Symphony, and affiliated with the Eastern Educational Network (which also includes Riverside Church's WRVR 106.7 NYC and Boston's WGBH 89.7). This network is the forerunner of National Public Radio. The format on WSCH lasts 2 years. WMMM-FM 107.9 Westport (now WEBE) begins, with the licensing of WMMW-FM, all the available commercial FM stations in Fairfield, New Haven and Hartford counties are taken up, signaling the revival and dramatic turnaround for FM broadcasting.
1963 WPKN 88.1 Bridgeport begins at University of Bridgeport, as Fairfield County's first educational FM station. WPKN, now 89.5, evolves into major community and alternative programming station for the region, becoming a stand-alone station separate from the University of Bridgeport, after the university is acquired by the Rev. Sun Myung Moon in the early 1990s.
1964 WJZZ 99.9 (now WEZN) begins broadcasting Top 100, the 100 most popular classical works based on number of times performed live in concert halls, composer Leonard Bernstein of Fairfield helps compile the list.
1965 WFIF 1500 Milford begins at Connecticut's first country and western music station. (Later in the 1980s, WFIF adopted a religious format for southern Connecticut). Merv Griffin acquires WWCO 1240 Waterbury, the first station in a major national group he will build and expand.
1967 Educational/Public television comes to New London County with the opening of WEDN channel 53 Norwich, and to Fairfield County with the opening of WEDW channel 49 Bridgeport. Merv Griffin puts WWCO-FM 104.1 (now WPHH) on the air as the state's first FM station with a full time format of country and western music. The New England-wide Yankee Network closes down after 39 years; it offered many entertainment shows and in the 1960s was offering 10 minute newscasts every other hour, with several affiliates in Connecticut including WCCC 1290 and WCCC-FM 106.9 Hartford and WNLC 1510 New London.
1968 -- WWUH 91.3 West Hartford begins at the University of Hartford as the first stereo educational station in New England. Adopting the slogan "Public Alternative Radio" WWUH evolves into a major venue for alternative music and community affairs programming. "The Gothic Blimp Works" program is the first progressive rock program in the state (the program still exists today). WDRC 1360 and 102.9 Hartford introduces "The Scene of the Unheard", progressive album rock nightly program hosted by Ken Griffin, fist such show on commercial radio in Connecticut. WDEE-FM 101.3 Hamden (now WKCI) is sold for $50,000 showing FM still has not made it financially; 18 years later the same station will sell for $30 million. WICH-FM 97.7 Norwich (now WCTY) begins as first modern-day FM station in New London County and eastern Connecticut. WHCN 105.9 Hartford goes progressive rock flume, first flume commercial album rock station in the state.
1969 WLVH-FM 93.7 Hartford (now WZMX) becomes first minority owned station in Connecticut, with Hispanic ownership and full-time Spanish format that will be broadcast for 20 years. WKND 1480 Windsor adopts black urban format, first in state, later becoming first black owned station in Connecticut (WKND call letters and format are now on 1230 Manchester, and 1480 is occupied by WNEZ with all gospel format). WIHS 104.9 Middletown begins, and becomes first all religious station in Connecticut.
Reprinted by permission from the Connecticut Broadcaster's Association
Written by Michael Collins © ® 2005
The preceding is from a pamphlet entitled "TIME LINE FOR CONNECTICUT BROADCASTING" released in November, 2005 by the Connecticut Broadcaster's Association to commemorate their 50th anniversary. It is one of the only comprehensive lists of its kind that we are aware of, and serves only as a companion to the WWUH History documents elsewhere within this website.
1971 WPLR 99.1 New Haven (formally WNLC-FM) becomes first progressive rock FM station in southern Connecticut.
1972 First cable television subscriber in Connecticut is hooked up, in Danbury.
1973 CRN, the Connecticut Radio Network, begins. 1974 WNHC 1340 New Haven begins morning all-news program, first in state. WTIC-TV channel 3 Hartford is sold to the Washington Post for $34 million and becomes WFSB-TV (named for Frederick S. Beebe, the Washington Post attorney who negotiated the sale with former owner Travelers Insurance).
1975 WPOP 1410 Hartford goes all news, the fist all news station in Connecticut.
1976 WJMJ 88.9 Hartford, is put on the air by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Hartford, one of the only diocese-owned stations in the station.
1978 WDJZ 1530 Bridgeport begins, with Music of Your Life format, which is created here by Al Ham; his is the first modern-day nostalgia music station. WOMN 1220 Hamden (now WQUN) starts new format as "Woman" with format devoted to women's features and news, and music that precludes songs with sexist lyrics. Connecticut Public Radio goes on the air after a channel (90.5) is found by CPTV's head Paul K. Taft. The station's call letters (WPBH) are subsequently changed to WPKT to honor Paul. Satellite stations WNPR 89.9 Norwich and WEDW-FM 88.5 Stamford are added later to the CPR chain.
1979 ESPN, the Entertainment, Sports and Programming Network begins, from facilities in Bristol. Howard Stern joins WCCC 1290 and WCCC-FM 106.9 as a local DJ, early in his career; later his national show will be carried on his old alma mater WCCC.
1980 Faith Middleton begins her popular talk show on Connecticut Public Radio, a show which continues to this day.
1982 Satellite News Channel, all news Cable TV channel operated by ABC and Westinghouse, opens in Stratford. In 1983 it is sold to Ted Turner who folds it, merging it into Cable News Network, CNN. WATR-TV channel 20 Waterbury is sold and becomes WTXX channel 20. major independent statewide TV station. Keith Brown begins weekly Gay Spirit show on WWUH 91.3 West Hartford, oldest all gay show in Connecticut that continues to this day.
1983 WMNR 88.1 Monroe begins yearly broadcasting of Boston Symphony Orchestra Tanglewood concerts live, on Friday and Saturday evenings and Sunday afternoons, these broadcasts continue to this day. American Comedy Network, created by Dick Ferguson, providing comedy bits to hundreds of stations nationwide, begins in Bridgeport at WEZN 99.9. WEZN and New City group of radio stations create first in-house radio sales training division for the entire group of stations, headed by Steven Marx, with first national conference held the following years in Southbury.
1984 WTIC-TV channel 61 Hartford begins, becoming charter affiliate of Fox Network when Fox opens in 1986. President Jimmy Carter is special guest and Eddie Albert is the master of ceremonies for the opening night telecast. FCC releases Docket 80-90 ruling, which creates thousands of new FM channels nationally. Connecticut gets 7 new channels that will ultimately become WQQQ 103.3 Sharon, WKZE 98.1 Sharon (sister to WKZE 1020), WZBG 97.3 Litchfield, WPKX 97.9 Enfield, WNLC 98.7 East Lyme, WBMW 106.5 Ledyard and WWRX 107.7 Pawcatuck. 1985 WMMM 1260 goes all comedy for a time.
1986 WTNH-TV channel 8 is sold for $170 million. WTWS (now WHPX) channel 26 begins as first commercial TV station in New London County. In the 1990s this station become WHPX, the Pax Network affiliate for Connecticut. W13BF channel 13 in Hartford begins as Connecticut's first Low Power TV station, originating own programming; station's efforts enable it to win carriage on several cable TV systems in CT, through cable systems are not required to carry LPTV signals.
1987 WBCT channel 43 Bridgeport (now WSAH) is telecasting as nationals first woman-controlled TV stations headed by the late Laurel Vlock of Woodbridge.
1988 WMMM 1260 Westport, WXCT 1220 Hamden, WFNW 1380 Naugatuck and WLVH 1290 Manchester all have all-business formats, but format does not survive. WFNW 1380 goes on to be all Portuguese station during the 1990s and to this day.
1989 WCUM 1450 Bridgeport becomes first all Spanish station in Fairfield County. WMMW 1470 Meriden broadcasts all-motivational format for a time. W28AJ channel 28 West Haven becomes first low power TV station in Southern Connecticut originating own programming. WLVH 93.7 (now WZMX) broadcasts all-weather format, the NOAA public service band all weather station, for about a year while legal details of sale of WLVH are worked out by attorneys.
Reprinted by permission from the Connecticut Broadcaster's Association
Written by Michael Collins © ® 2005
The preceding is from a pamphlet entitled "TIME LINE FOR CONNECTICUT BROADCASTING" released in November, 2005 by the Connecticut Broadcaster's Association to commemorate their 50th anniversary. It is one of the only comprehensive lists of its kind that we are aware of, and serves only as a companion to the WWUH History documents elsewhere within this website.
1991 Michael Harrison, who in 1990 founded Talkers magazine, the bible of talk radio today, hosts talk show on WTIC 1080 Hartford, helping WTIC transform from music station to talk-news station.
1992 Barney is introduced to PBS after being discovered by CPTV programming VP Larry Rifkin on a video rented from the Prospect, CT Video Store on Super Bowl Sunday. He sees the love his four year old daughter has for Barney, and brings Barney to television on PBS. ESPN radio network is launched, in Bristol.
1993 WVIT channel 30 begins nightly 10 p.m. newscast telecast on another channel, rather than its own. The WVIT newscast is telecast on WTXX channel 20, one of the first such arrangements in the nation. WCNX 1150 Middletown (now WMRD) begins all-traffic format in December, just before beginning of what will turn out to be the snowiest winter in Hartford since weather records have been kept.
1994 Play-by-Play telecasting of the University of Connecticut women's basketball is introduced on CPTV and UConn Women's Basketball becomes the highest rated program in public television history nationally.
1995 WTVU channel 59 New Haven begins telecasting after holding an FCC Construction Permit for 42 years. The original CP was granted in 1953. The station begins with a Lease Marketing Agreement with WTHX channel 8. The initial broadcasts include daily wall-to-wall coverage of the O.J. Simpson trial, relayed by satellite from KTLA channel 5 in L.A.
1996 Telecommunications Act of 1996 is passed, allowing one company to own as many as 8 stations in large markets, and a wave of consolidation of ownership begins. These clusters are formed in Connecticut by the early and mid 2000s: -Clear Channel Communications owns WWYZ 92.5, WKSS 95.7, WPKS 97.9, WKCI 101.3, WPHH 104.1, WHCN 105.9 and on AM WAVZ 1300 and WELI 960 in New Haven and in Hartford WPOP 1410. -Cumulus owns WEBE 107.9 Westport, WICC 600 Bridgeport, WRKI 95.1 Brookfield and WINE 940 Brookfield. -Infinity owns WTIC 1080, WTIC-FM 96.5, WZMX 93.7 and WRCH 100.5. -Cox owns WPLR 99.1 New Haven, WEZN 99.9 Bridgeport, WEFX 95.9 and WNLK 1350 Norwalk and WKHL 96.7 and WSTC 1400 Stamford. -Hall owns WCTY 97.7 Norwich, WNLC 98.7 Easy Lyme, WKNL 100.9 New London, WICH 1310 Norwich, and WILI 1400 and WILI-FM 98.3. -Citadel owns WSUB 980 Groton, WXLM 102.3 Mystic, WQGN 105.5 Groton and WMOS 104.7 Montauk, Long Island which is marketed as New London. 1996/1997/1998 WDRC 1360 and owner Buckley Broadcasting acquire 3 AM stations and set up a statewide network of AM stations, WDRC 1360, WSNG 610, WWCO 1240 Waterbury and WMMW 1470 Meriden. This provided a wider coverage area and wider audience for one of the best known morning drive talk hosts-Brad Davis, familiar to the 1960s generation as the host of the TV bandstand show on Channel 3's "The Brad Davis Show". WADS 690 Ansonia becomes Radio Amor, first all Spanish religious station in Connecticut.
1997 WHCT channel 18 Hartford, dark since 1991, resumes telecasting and resumes Connecticut's first full power all Spanish TV channel, WUVN. WVIT channel 30 is transferred to NBC, making is an NBC owned and operated station again, channel 30 had been an NBC O&O from 1956 - 1959. WMMM 1260 Westport is transferred to Sacred Heart University and becomes first NPR talk AM station in Connecticut. In 2000 the call letters are changed to WSHU-AM. WFSB channel 3 is transferred by Post Newsweek to Meredith Broadcasting. WPOP 1410 becomes ESPN affiliate full time, and becomes Connecticut's first all sports radio station. Quinnipiac University launches WQUN 1220 Hamden, Connecticut's first university owned commercial AM community radio station, the idea is conceived by veteran New York anchor Lou Adler, now associate professor at the university. WQUN serves as a lab for students and a service to the community. WTIC 1080's veteran news director, Walt Dibble, who was the dean of Connecticut radio newsmen, dies; Associated Press established a special annual news award with his name, honoring him. Walt is the only broadcast journalist on the list of the Connecticut Society of Professional Journalists Hall of Fame; earlier in his career he was at WDRC, Hartford, WAVZ New Haven and WICC and WICC-TV Bridgeport.
1998 WTNH channel 8 begins High Definition telecasts on WTHN-HD channel 10., It is the first in Connecticut. By the mid 2000s, most full power Connecticut TV stations are broadcasting in HDTV as well as analog, and all stations have their HDTV channel assignments.
1999 Keith Kountz becomes the first black person to become primary anchor of evening news on a TV station in Connecticut: WTNH channel 8. WEBE 107.9 Westport and WICC 600 Bridgeport are sold to Aurora Communications for an incredible $66 million.
2000 WDZK 1550 Hartford is transferred to Disney Radio and becomes the first children's format radio station in Connecticut.
2001 WTXX channel 20 and WCTX channel 59 swap networks: channel 20 becomes the WB affiliate and channel 59 becomes the UPN affiliate. On channel 59, a new 10 p.m. newscast with the channel 8 news department is created.
2002 Amber Alert system begins operation, coordinated by the Connecticut Broadcasters Association, in which all radio and TV stations in Connecticut can broadcast special emergency announcements in the event of an abduction of a child, and the lift of the child is in danger. Bob Steele dies. He had joined WTIC radio in 1936 and became the dominant morning host in CT. In the 1970s Bob Steele had more listeners than any station in Los Angeles. In recent years he continued to broadcast on WTIC 1080, on the first Saturday morning of every month.
2003 WGCH 1490 Greenwich is sold and becomes the flagship station in the Business Talk Radio Network. WFSB channel 3 Hartford acquires Low Power TV channel 67 in Springfield, MA which becomes WSHM-LP, and this station, carried on western Massachusetts cable systems, carries local advertising, and in September 2005 started carrying local newscasts for western Massachusetts.
2004 WAVZ 1300 New Haven starts broadcasting liberal talk radio, with the Air America radio network. It is the first liberal talk station in Connecticut.
2005 WSUB 980 Groton goes all Spanish, becoming the first all Spanish station in the New London market. WINE 940 joins ESPN becoming the first all sports station in Fairfield County. WTMI 1290 W. Hartford, all classical, becomes the first HD AM radio station in Connecticut; on FM in 2005, these stations are broadcasting in HD: WWYZ 92.5, WKSS 95.7, WPKX 97.9, WPLR 99.1, WEZN 99.9, WKCI 101.3, WPHH 104.1, WQGN 105.5, WHCN 105.9 and WCCC 106.9. WFSB channel 3 announces plans to leave Constitution Plaza in downtown Hartford and build a new complex in Rocky Hill.
Reprinted by permission from the Connecticut Broadcaster's Association
Written by Michael Collins © ® 2005
The preceding is from a pamphlet entitled "TIME LINE FOR CONNECTICUT BROADCASTING" released in November, 2005 by the Connecticut Broadcaster's Association to commemorate their 50th anniversary. It is one of the only comprehensive lists of its kind that we are aware of, and serves only as a companion to the WWUH History documents elsewhere within this website.