Jump to content
Search

WCTF

Add links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

WCTF
Broadcast area
Hartford, Connecticut
Frequency1170 kHz
Ownership
Owner
History
First air date
November 21, 1982 (1982-11-21)[1]
Last air date
April 9, 2025 (2025-04-09)
Former call signs
WRTT (1979–1986)
Call sign meaning
"Connecticut Family Radio"
Technical information[2]
Licensing authority
FCC
20826
ClassD
Power
Transmitter coordinates
41°52′7.35″N 72°29′2.31″W / 41.8687083°N 72.4839750°W / 41.8687083; -72.4839750
Links
Public license information

WCTF (1170 AM) was a radio station owned by Loam Media, Inc., parent of the Family Radio network, and located in Vernon, Connecticut. The station operated during the daytime with 1,000 watts of power and 500 watts during critical hours, using a two-tower directional antenna system. It went on the air in 1982 as WRTT, offering local programming and oldies for the Vernon area, and was acquired by Family Stations (forerunner of Loam Media), becominh WCTF, in 1986. The station left the air in 2025, after technical and financial issues dating to 2024.

History

[edit]

On May 24, 1979, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) granted a construction permit to Tolland County Broadcasting, Inc., for a new daytime-only radio station on 1170 kHz in Vernon.[3] The company was owned by Massachusetts interests: Edward F. Perry Jr., an engineering and sales consultant and owner of WATD-FM in Marshfield and WGFP in Webster, owned 80 percent of the station, while 10 percent stakes were held by Bruce Blanchard, general manager of WTCC in Springfield, and Albert C. Pryor III, a Massachusetts legislative aide.[4] The firm's efforts were troubled by delays obtaining a site. Taking the call letters WRTT for "Radio Tri-Town",[5] the station did not begin broadcasting until November 21, 1982,[1] operating from studios in Rockville with programming of interest for listeners in and near Vernon.[6]

By the time of a planned $250,000 sale to Radio-Television-Tele-Communications Inc.—controlled by WRTT general manager Lee R. Tyrol—in 1984, 20 percent of the station was owned by WGGB-TV program director Tom Schnyt, with Edward Perry's interest reduced to 70 percent and Bruce Blanchard keeping his 10 percent stake.[7] The outlet went silent on June 14, 1985, after the station's antenna was damaged by a lightning strike; Perry announced that WRTT would not return to the air until the completion of a planned sale of the station, but would not comment on reports that the new owners would replace its oldies format with religious programming beyond hinting that "listeners will be pleasantly surprised by the change in format".[8] Perry filed to sell the station to Oakland, California–based Family Stations that September for $136,900,[9] with the transaction finalized in January 1986.[1][a] By 2011, WCTF was one of 50 stations Family Stations operated as part of its Family Radio network.[11]

WCTF closed on April 9, 2025, following transmitter problems that Loam Media attributed to the earlier failure of its air conditioning unit and the financial costs of replacing it.[12] The failure had resulted in interruptions in the station's operations as early as August 2024.[13] The FCC cancelled the WCTF license on August 14, 2026.[14]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ↑ In 2024, the California-based Family Stations was reorganized; its assets were transferred to a new Tennessee-based entity, Loam Media, with no change in ownership or management.[10]

References

[edit]
  1. 1 2 3 "WCTF(AM)" (PDF). Broadcasting Yearbook. 1992. p. A-64 (142). Retrieved January 4, 2021.
  2. ↑ "Facility Technical Data for WCTF". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  3. ↑ "History Cards for WCTF". Federal Communications Commission. (Guide to reading History Cards)
  4. ↑ "AM actions". Broadcasting. June 18, 1979. p. 77.
  5. ↑ "Firm Buys Site For Radio Tower". Hartford Courant. November 10, 1980. p. C2. Retrieved January 4, 2021.
  6. ↑ "New Station Begins Broadcasts". Hartford Courant. December 2, 1982. p. E6. Retrieved January 4, 2021.
  7. ↑ "Changing Hands". Broadcasting. April 23, 1984. p. 151.
  8. ↑ "WRTT to be sold to unnamed buyer". Manchester Herald. June 18, 1985. p. 10.
  9. ↑ "Ownership Changes". Broadcasting. September 23, 1985. p. 68.
  10. ↑ Venta, Lance (October 11, 2024). "Station Sales Week of 10/11". RadioInsight. Retrieved July 6, 2025.
  11. ↑ Burgeson, John (January 16, 2011). "Billboard says that Christ is coming in May". Greenwich Time. Retrieved August 14, 2026.
  12. ↑ Evans, Thomas (May 9, 2025). "Request for Silent Authority of an AM Station Application". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved August 14, 2026.
  13. ↑ Venta, Lance (August 25, 2024). "FCC Report 8/25: $3000 Fine Proposed Against Georgia FM For Late License Renewal Filing". RadioInsight. Retrieved August 14, 2026.
  14. ↑ "License Cancelled". Federal Communications Commission Licensing and Management System. August 14, 2026. Retrieved August 14, 2026.
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=WCTF&oldid=1369387716"
WCTF
Add topic
Morty Proxy This is a proxified and sanitized view of the page, visit original site.