WCRN

Last updated
WCRN
WCRN Radio Central 830 logo.png
Broadcast area Central Massachusetts
Frequency 830 kHz
BrandingRadio Central 830 WCRN
Programming
Format News–talk; oldies; brokered
Affiliations
Ownership
Owner Carter Broadcasting
History
First air date
December 5, 1994 [1]
Call sign meaning
"Carter Radio Network"
Technical information [2]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID 9201
Class B
Power 50,000 watts
Transmitter coordinates
42°14′50.33″N71°55′50.26″W / 42.2473139°N 71.9306278°W / 42.2473139; -71.9306278
Links
Public license information
Webcast
Website www.wcrnradio.com

WCRN (830 AM) is a radio station in Worcester, Massachusetts, owned by Carter Broadcasting. The station broadcasts with a transmitter power output of 50,000 watts and can be heard from Maine to Providence, Rhode Island, and from Boston to Springfield, Massachusetts (during the day). The signal is directional, pointed away from such other stations at 830 kHz as WCCO in Minneapolis, Minnesota. After sunset, WCRN's signal is made further directional towards the east; as a result, it is not clearly audible in Western Massachusetts after sunset.

Contents

The station bills itself as "Radio Central", with a talk radio format. The station simulcasts news from WFXT (channel 25) in the mornings, airs locally-based brokered programming in middays, and runs music from the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s at night as "North Star Music".

The station's owner, Carter Broadcasting, is owned by the Carberry family. Kurt Carberry is the vice president and general manager.

History

WCRN signed on December 5, 1994, [1] [3] carrying religious programming from the Carter Radio Network, based out of then-sister station WROL in Boston. [4] In December 2000, this was abandoned in favor of a big band format, "Swing 830". [5] [6] The format was changed to oldies, via ABC Radio's The True Oldies Channel, in August 2004, [7] and then to the current talk format on May 8, 2006. [8]

Logo as "Full Service Radio" WCRN Full Service Radio 830 logo.gif
Logo as "Full Service Radio"

In 2000, the station was allowed to increase its daytime power from 5,000 watts to the current 50,000 watts. [6] [9] Nighttime power was also increased from 5,000 watts to 50,000 watts on April 4, 2007, just in time for the first Boston Red Sox night game of the season. [10]

WCRN was the flagship for the Worcester Tornadoes independent-league baseball team during the 2005 and 2010 seasons. The station is also an affiliate of the University of Massachusetts Amherst network for football and men's basketball broadcasts.

From 2007 through 2009, and since 2011, WCRN has shared the Worcester affiliation of the Boston Red Sox Radio Network with WEEI/WEEI-FM satellite station WVEI, an arrangement made in order to take advantage of WCRN's then-new 50,000-watt night signal to serve areas of MetroWest that had difficulty receiving either WVEI itself or the team's then-flagship, WRKO, particularly at night (when most Red Sox games are played), with WVEI selling local advertising on both stations. [11] The two stations replaced WTAG, which had carried Sox games for 40 years. WVEI became the sole Red Sox affiliate in Worcester in 2010, but WCRN returned to the Red Sox network in 2011.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WBZ (AM)</span> American radio station in Boston

WBZ is a commercial AM radio station, licensed to Boston, Massachusetts, and owned and operated by iHeartMedia, Inc. Its studios and offices are located on Cabot Road in the Boston suburb of Medford.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WXKS (AM)</span> Radio station in Newton, Massachusetts

WXKS – branded Talk 1200 – is a commercial conservative talk radio AM radio station licensed to Newton, Massachusetts, serving the Greater Boston area. Owned by iHeartMedia, WXKS serves as the Boston affiliate for Fox News Radio, The Glenn Beck Program, The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show, The Sean Hannity Show and The Mark Levin Show; and the home of syndicated personalities Bill Handel, Ron Wilson, Gary Sullivan and Leo Laporte. The WXKS studios are located in the Boston suburb of Medford, while the station transmitter resides in Newton. Besides its main analog transmission, WXKS streams online via iHeartRadio.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WEEI (AM)</span> Radio station in Boston

WEEI is a commercial sports gambling AM radio station licensed to Boston, Massachusetts, serving Greater Boston and much of New England. Owned by Audacy, Inc., WEEI is the Boston affiliate for the Audacy-owned BetQL Network and CBS Sports Radio, serving as a gambling-focused brand extension of its main sports radio station in the market, WEEI-FM. The WEEI studios are located in Boston's Brighton neighborhood, while the station transmitter resides in the Boston suburb of Needham. In addition to a standard analog transmission, WEEI is available online via Audacy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WEEI-FM</span> Sports radio station in Lawrence, Massachusetts, serving Boston

WEEI-FM – branded SportsRadio 93.7 WEEI-FM – is a commercial sports radio station licensed to Lawrence, Massachusetts, serving Greater Boston and much of surrounding New England. Owned by Audacy, Inc., WEEI-FM is the Boston affiliate for CBS Sports Radio, the NFL on Westwood One Sports, the flagship station for the Boston Red Sox Radio Network; and the radio home of Greg Hill, Lou Merloni, Christian Fauria and Jermaine Wiggins.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WEZE</span> Religious radio station in Boston

WEZE – branded 590 AM The Word – is a commercial Christian radio station licensed to Boston, Massachusetts, serving Greater Boston and much of surrounding New England. Owned by Salem Communications, WEZE is the Boston affiliate for the Salem Radio Network. The WEZE studios are located in the Boston suburb of North Quincy, and the station transmitter resides in neighboring Medford. Besides a standard analog transmission, WEZE is available online.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WHTP (AM)</span> Radio station in Gardiner, Maine

WHTP is a commercial radio station licensed to Gardiner, Maine, United States. It serves the Lewiston-Auburn and Augusta metropolitan areas. The station is owned by MaineInvests LLC. It airs a rhythmic contemporary format, branded as Hot Radio Maine, simulcast with WHTP-FM (104.7) in Kennebunkport and WHZP in Veazie.

The Big JAB is the name of two sports radio stations in western and southern Maine, owned by Atlantic Coast Radio. It is heard on WRED and WJJB-FM. The stations air local sports talk hosts Monday through Friday. Fox Sports Radio provides programming nights and weekends. In July 2017 Atlantic Coast Radio purchased a 250-watt translator at 92.5 MHz from Augusta, Maine-based Light of Life Ministries to further augment its Portland-area FM signal.

This article gives an overview of the media in Worcester, Massachusetts, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WVEI (AM)</span> WEEI sports radio station in Worcester, Massachusetts, United States

WVEI is an AM sports station in Worcester, Massachusetts, operating with 5,000 watts. The station is owned by Audacy, Inc. Most programming is provided by Boston sister station WEEI-FM.

WXZO is a commercial FM radio station licensed to Willsboro, New York. Owned by Vox AM/FM, it primarily serves the Champlain Valley, including Burlington, Vermont, and Plattsburgh, New York. Its studios are located in Colchester, Vermont. The station broadcasts a soft oldies radio format using the syndicated music service known as "MeTV FM." In morning drive time, the station carries Intelligence for Your Life with John Tesh.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WVEI-FM</span> Radio station in Westerly, Rhode Island

WVEI-FM is a radio station broadcasting a sports radio format, largely simulcasting Boston-based WEEI-FM. The station is licensed to Westerly, Rhode Island, United States, and is owned by Audacy, Inc. In addition to WEEI programming, WVEI-FM carries Providence Friars men's basketball, Boston Bruins hockey, and ESPN Radio. Its transmitter is in Exeter, Rhode Island; due to it being mostly a simulcast, its operations are run out of WEEI-FM's studios in Boston's Brighton neighborhood.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WORC-FM</span> Radio station in Webster, Massachusetts

WORC-FM is a commercial radio station licensed to Webster, Massachusetts, and serving the Worcester metropolitan area. It is owned by Cumulus Media and airs a country radio format, mostly featuring songs from the 1990s and early 2000s. The studios are on Commercial Street in Downtown Worcester in the Winsor Building. It carries the games of the Worcester Red Sox and Worcester Railers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WPPI</span> Radio station in Topsham, Maine

WPPI is a sports radio station in the Portland, Maine, area. The station is owned by Atlantic Coast Radio.

WSKP is an AM radio station licensed to Hope Valley, Rhode Island. The station is owned by John Fuller's Red Wolf Broadcasting Corporation and airs an oldies radio format. WSKP operates as part of the "Kool Radio" simulcast, along with 990 WNTY in Southington, Connecticut, and formerly with 1270 WACM in Springfield, Massachusetts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WCPV</span> Radio station in Essex, New York

WCPV is a commercial radio station broadcasting a country music radio format. Licensed to Essex, New York, United States, the station serves the Champlain Valley of New York and Vermont. Although licensed to Essex, New York, many listeners mistakenly believe that WCPV is licensed to Essex, Vermont, given that its offices and studios are located at Fort Ethan Allen in neighboring Colchester, Vermont. The station is owned by Vox AM/FM.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WPKZ</span> Radio station in Fitchburg, Massachusetts

WPKZ is a radio station broadcasting a news–talk and sports format and licensed to Fitchburg, Massachusetts, United States. The station is owned by John Morrison through licensee K-Zone Media Group, LLC, and features programming from Fox News Radio, Fox Sports Radio, Compass Media Networks, Premiere Networks, Radio America, and Westwood One. WPKZ's studios are located on Water Street in Fitchburg, across the street from the Wachusett Potato Chip Company factory; its transmitter is located on Alpine Road, also in Fitchburg.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WNNW</span> Radio station in Massachusetts, United States

WNNW is a commercial radio station licensed to Lawrence, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1947 as WCCM, the station is owned by Costa-Eagle Radio Ventures, LP, a partnership between Pat Costa and the Lawrence Eagle-Tribune newspaper. WNNW airs a Spanish-language tropical music format.

WQVD is a radio station licensed to serve Orange–Athol, Massachusetts, United States. The station is owned by Kurt Jackson's Hampden Communications Co. It simulcasts the classic hits format of commonly-owned WQVR in Webster.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WWEI</span> Radio station in Easthampton, Massachusetts

WWEI is a radio station in Easthampton, Massachusetts, serving Springfield with a sports radio format. The station is owned by Audacy, Inc. Most programming is provided by Boston sister station WEEI-FM.

WKMY is a radio station broadcasting a contemporary Christian music format. Licensed to Athol, Massachusetts, United States, it serves the North County and Pioneer Valley areas. The signal for WKMY can be heard in north central Massachusetts, southern New Hampshire, and southern Vermont. It first began broadcasting in 1989 under the call sign WCAT-FM. The station is owned by the Educational Media Foundation.

References

  1. 1 2 "New AM station signs on". Telegram & Gazette . December 20, 1994. Retrieved September 30, 2012. (pay content preview)
  2. "Facility Technical Data for WCRN". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  3. Fybush, Scott D (June 22, 1995). "New England Radio Watcher: All Over The Place". rec.radio.broadcasting. Google Groups . Retrieved February 17, 2010.
  4. Fybush, Scott (March 6, 2003). "Rambling Around Central Massachusetts". Tower Site of the Week. Retrieved February 17, 2010.
  5. Fybush, Scott (December 25, 2000). "WMEX Goes Business". North East RadioWatch. Retrieved February 17, 2010.
  6. 1 2 Fybush, Scott (January 1, 2008). "FM Flip-Flop in the Pioneer Valley". North East RadioWatch. Retrieved February 17, 2010.
  7. Fybush, Scott (August 30, 2004). "CHOI Wins a Reprieve". NorthEast Radio Watch. Retrieved February 17, 2010.
  8. Fybush, Scott (May 8, 2006). "Sox & Entercom: So Happy Together?". NorthEast Radio Watch. Retrieved February 17, 2010.
  9. Fybush, Scott (March 24, 2000). "WFAU Loses A Tower, WFNX Gains A State, NERW Visits California's Coast". North East RadioWatch. Retrieved February 17, 2010.
  10. Fybush, Scott (April 2, 2007). "Hornell's WKPQ Changes Hands - Maybe". NorthEast Radio Watch. Retrieved February 17, 2010.
  11. Fybush, Scott (March 26, 2007). "Rhode Island Public Radio Gets Local". NorthEast Radio Watch. Retrieved February 17, 2010.