Frequency | 1590 kHz |
---|---|
Ownership | |
Owner | Comko, Inc. |
History | |
First air date | November 4, 1934 |
Last air date | March 27, 1992 |
Former call signs | W1XBS (1934–1936) WBRY (1936–1968) WTBY (1968–1972) |
Former frequencies | 1530 kHz (1934–1941) |
Technical information | |
Facility ID | 12530 |
Power | 5,000 watts |
Transmitter coordinates | 41°35′27.6″N73°2′34.8″W / 41.591000°N 73.043000°W |
WQQW was a radio station on 1590 AM in Waterbury, Connecticut, operating between 1934 and 1992. During this time it changed hands several times. In 1996 it was acquired by the Unity Broadcasting Corporation, owner of WWRL, which surrendered the license.
On December 19, 1933, the Federal Radio Commission authorized three new channels for high-fidelity operation between 1500 and 1600 kHz. (At the time, the AM broadcast band ended at 1500 kHz.) These 20 kHz-wide channels were twice as wide as normal AM channels. Six applications were heard for the channels, and four of them were approved. [1] The application of the Republican-American newspaper group (American-Republican, Inc.) was among these four and was given the experimental call letters W1XBS. Transmissions on 1530 kHz with 1,000 watts began November 4, 1934. The station offered to retune receivers in order to receive 1530 kHz, and within a year, 98 percent of the station's broadcasting area had receivers that could pick up the station. [2] In 1935, W1XBS opened a new New Haven studio facility in the seventh floor of the Liberty Building. [3]
W1XBS was an affiliate of the short-lived American Broadcasting System, later renamed American Broadcasting Company (no relationship to the Blue Network that later became ABC in the 1940s). When this network died on March 26, 1935, [4] W1XBS began taking a new service from the Loew theatre group originating at New York's WHN over the same lines. [5] W1XBS later joined WMCA's Inter-City Network, which had stations from Washington to Boston. [6]
In November 1936, [1] the FCC allowed the four high-fidelity stations to select normal call letters. W1XBS became WBRY that December. As WBRY, the station changed affiliations, first to the Mutual Broadcasting System and then to CBS Radio. [7]
Further changes came in 1941; upon the adoption of the North American Regional Broadcasting Agreement, the high-fidelity stations converted to normal AM operation. WBRY was relocated to 1590 kHz, where it would remain for the next 51 years. The station further upgraded when it began broadcasting during the day with 5,000 watts in 1946. Additionally, the Republican-American demonstrated interest in FM radio, where it held a construction permit for 102.5 MHz that was deleted in 1949 amidst concerns about the business, [8] and television, commenting on a 1953 docket to get a channel allocated to Waterbury. [9] The WBRY Broadcasting Corporation acquired the station in 1958, and it was sold to Crystal-Tone Broadcasting in 1961. [10]
The WBRY call letters changed to WTBY when Lowell Paxson acquired the station in 1968. [10] Four years later, the station was sold to Waterbury Radio and adopted another callsign, one that would be its last: WQQW. In 1982, WQQW flipped from pop music to adult standards as "The Music of Your Life". [7]
In 1987, The Taft Group, Inc., acquired WQQW, selling it in 1990 to Comko, Ltd. Comko was owned by Richard D. Barbieri, Sr., and John A. Corpaci. However, it did not take long for WQQW's new owners to become embroiled in other controversies. The same year Barbieri bought WQQW, his bank, Security Savings and Loan, became the target of a federal investigation of illegal banking activities in the late 1980s; the resulting corruption investigation led to the conviction of Waterbury mayor Joseph J. Santopietro. [11] Corpaci was a cooperating witness who delivered testimony in three trials. [12] With the owners dealing with other troubles, WQQW's adult standards format went silent on March 27, 1992. [13]
In 1996, the license—still active—was acquired by the Unity Broadcasting Corporation, owner of WWRL 1600 AM in New York City, for $60,000. [14] At the same time, Unity also acquired two other nearby and adjacent-channel stations to its WWRL, WERA in Plainfield, New Jersey, and WLNG on Long Island. All three stations were shut down (in the case of WQQW, the license merely surrendered) to allow WWRL to increase power to 25,000 watts. [15]
WMCA is a radio station licensed to New York, New York. Owned by Salem Media Group, the station programs a Christian radio format consisting of teaching and talk programs. The station's studios are in Lower Manhattan and are shared with co-owned WNYM. WMCA's transmitter is located along Belleville Turnpike in Kearny, New Jersey. WMCA's programming is simulcast on a 250-watt translator, W272DX, from a tower in Clifton, New Jersey.
WINS (1010 kHz) is a commercial, all-news AM radio station licensed to New York, New York owned by Audacy, Inc. The station brands itself "1010 WINS", with its call sign phonetically pronounced as "wins". WINS's studios are located in the combined Audacy facility in the Hudson Square neighborhood in lower Manhattan, and its transmitter is located in Lyndhurst, New Jersey.
WBAP is an AM news/talk radio station licensed to Fort Worth, Texas, and serving the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. WBAP is owned by Cumulus Media and broadcasts with 50,000 watts from a transmitter site in the northwest corner of Mansfield. Its programming is also simulcast on WBAP-FM (93.3) in Haltom City.
WLIB is an urban contemporary gospel radio station licensed to New York, New York. WLIB is owned by the Emmis Corporation, and its transmitter is located in Lyndhurst, New Jersey.
WWRL is a commercial radio station licensed to New York, New York, owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. The station airs an all-news radio format as an affiliate of the Black Information Network (BIN).
WPRO is a commercial AM radio station in Providence, Rhode Island. It is owned by Cumulus Media, broadcasting a news/talk radio format, which is simulcast in the Newport area on co-owned 99.7 WEAN-FM. The studios for WPRO and other Cumulus Providence stations are on Wampanoag Road in East Providence, at the Salty Brine Broadcast Center, named after WPRO's longtime morning host.
WWCO is a commercial radio station licensed to Waterbury, Connecticut, and owned by David Webster's Trignition Media LLC. WWCO is a simulcast of its sister station in New Britain, WRYM ; the stations' programming is also heard on WCUM in Bridgeport. WWCO, WRYM, and WCUM all air a Spanish contemporary hit radio format, including tropical music and reggaeton.
WFXJ is a commercial AM radio station in Jacksonville, Florida. It airs a sports radio format and is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. The studios and offices are located on Central Parkway in Jacksonville's Southside neighborhood. Most programming is supplied by the Fox Sports Radio Network. The station also carries the Jacksonville Jaguars' Spanish language broadcasts.
KABQ is a commercial AM radio station in Albuquerque, New Mexico. It is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc., and is airing a sports radio format as "Fox Sports 1350". It had been carrying all iHeart podcasts since 2019.
KNZR is a commercial AM radio station in Bakersfield, California. It is owned by Alpha Media and airs a conservative talk radio format. Its studios and offices are on Pegasus Drive in Bakersfield.
KBLU is a commercial AM radio station in Yuma, Arizona. It is owned by El Dorado Broadcasters and airs a talk radio format. The studios and offices are on West 28th Street in Yuma. The transmitter is off South 20th Avenue in Yuma, at West Main Canal Road.
WDRC is a commercial AM radio station in Hartford, Connecticut. It is owned by Full Power Radio and airs a conservative talk radio format. The studios and transmitter site are located on Blue Hill Avenue in Bloomfield, Connecticut, with other radio stations.
WNYC (820 kHz) is a non-commercial public radio station, licensed to New York, New York. It, along with WNYC-FM, is one of the primary outlets for WNYC branded programming, provided by the non-profit New York Public Radio (NYPR).
KGGF is a commercial AM radio station in Coffeyville, Kansas. It airs a talk radio format and is owned by Sek Media, LLC. The studios and offices are on West 8th Street in Coffeyville.
KGIM is an AM radio station licensed to serve Aberdeen, South Dakota. The station is owned by Prairie Winds Broadcasting, Inc. It airs a sports format featuring programming from Fox Sports Radio.
WRIG is a radio station broadcasting a sports format licensed to Schofield, Wisconsin, United States, and serving the Wausau area. The station is currently owned by Midwest Communications and features programming from Fox Sports Radio. It is also broadcast on FM translator W230BU at 93.9 MHz.
WIBA is a commercial AM radio station licensed to Madison, Wisconsin. Owned by iHeartMedia, the station airs a news/talk format, under the slogan "Madison's News/Talk Station".
KRGE is a radio station in Weslaco, Texas, United States. It is owned by Christian Ministries of the Valley and carries a Spanish Christian format known as Radio Vida.
KITE was a Kansas City, Missouri AM radio station, which broadcast from 1934 to 1942. It was initially one of four "high-fidelity" stations broadcasting above 1500 kHz, then the upper end of the broadcast band, in the 1930s, first as W9XBY and later as KXBY and KITE. It transitioned to standard operations in 1941 and changed its call letters to KXKX in July 1942, before going off the air on October 9 of that year.
WLWL was a noncommercial radio station in New York City. It was operated by the Paulist Fathers, with its main goal being "the spread of Catholic truth and culture". WLWL began broadcasting in September 1925, and was sold in 1937, becoming WBIL. WBIL in turn was deleted in 1939, as part of a consolidation that resulted in an upgrade for station WOV.