WDRC (AM)

WDRC (1360 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station in Hartford, Connecticut. It is owned by Red Wolf Broadcasting and airs a talk radio format. The studios and transmitter are on Blue Hill Avenue in Bloomfield, Connecticut with other radio stations.[1]

WDRC
CityHartford, Connecticut
Broadcast areaGreater Hartford
Frequency1360 kHz
(HD Radio via WDRC-FM-HD3)
SloganThe Talk of Connecticut
Programming
FormatTalk
AffiliationsWestwood One Network
Talk Radio Network
Salem Radio Network
New York Yankees Radio Network
Fox News Radio
Ownership
OwnerRed Wolf Broadcasting
(Red Wolf Broadcasting Corporation)
Sister stationsWBOM, WDRC-FM, WMRQ-FM, WNTY, WSNG
History
First air dateDecember 10, 1922 (1922-12-10)
Former call signsWPAJ (1922–1925)
Call sign meaningW Doolittle Radio Corporation (previous owner)
Technical information
Facility ID7711
ClassB
Power5,000 watts
Transmitter coordinates41°48′47″N 72°41′46″W
Translator(s)103.3 W277DT (Hartford)
Links
WebcastListen live
Websitewww.talkofconnecticut.com

WDRC operates at 5,000 watts. By day, the signal is non-directional. But because radio waves travel farther at night, WDRC uses a directional antenna to protect other stations on AM 1360 after sunset.

WDRC is the flagship station of a cluster of Connecticut stations known as "The Talk of Connecticut." The other stations are 610 WSNG Torrington and 1470 WBOM Meriden. FM translator station 103.3 W277DT, powered at 250 watts, also carries WDRC programming for listeners in Hartford and adjacent communities.[2]

Programming

Veteran radio personality Brad Davis and former Connecticut state representative Gary Byron host the morning show, interviewing local newsmakers and politicians. The rest of the day features syndicated programs, including Mike Gallagher, Dana Loesch, Ben Shapiro, Lars Larson, Michael Savage and Red Eye Radio.

Saturdays and Sundays begin with oldies music on "The Big D Weekend" hosted by Rob Ray. (During WDRC's noted Top 40 era, it called itself The Big D.) The rest of the weekend features shows on money, health, cars, pets, movies and gardening, some of which are paid brokered programming. Syndicated weekend shows include Dave Ramsey and Brian Kilmeade. Most hours begin with world and national news from Fox News Radio.

The Talk of Connecticut stations also broadcast sporting events including New York Yankees baseball, the New Britain Bees of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, University of Hartford Hawks college basketball and high school sports.

History

WPAJ New Haven

WDRC was the first commercially licensed station in the state of Connecticut, originally operating from New Haven, Connecticut.[3] It signed on the air on September 10, 1922, as WPAJ.

Move to Hartford

By the 1930s, the station's call sign was WDRC, standing for the Doolittle Radio Company, owned by Franklin M. Doolittle. The station had moved to Hartford, with studios at 11 Asylum Street. WDRC broadcast on 1330 kilocycles, powered at 2,500 watts by day and 1,000 watts at night.[4] It was a CBS Network affiliate, carrying its dramas, comedies, news, sports, soap operas, game shows and big band broadcasts during the "Golden Age of Radio."

With the enactment of the North American Regional Broadcasting Agreement (NARBA) in 1942, WDRC moved to its current dial position at 1360 kHz, and got a boost to its current power of 5,000 watts.[5] The studios relocated to 750 Main Street.

WDRC-FM

Just as WDRC was the first AM radio station in Connecticut, it launched Connecticut's first FM station and one of the first in the nation. During its experimental era, beginning in 1936, the station's call sign was W1XPW, broadcasting at 1,000 watts on 43.4 MHz and mostly simulcasting its AM counterpart.[6] That station eventually became WDRC-FM at 105.9 MHz. It was sold to the Concert Network in 1956 to become part of a chain of classical music stations and changed its call letters to WHCN.

In 1959, Buckley Broadcasting acquired WDRC.[7] Buckley decided to give FM radio another try, putting a station on the air on 102.9. It again took the WDRC-FM call letters, and is still co-owned to this day. The FM station simulcast the AM station for its first decade.

Top 40 years

Under Buckley ownership, WDRC-AM-FM became a Top 40 outlet. Around the same time, 1410 WPOP also switched to contemporary hits. This set up a rivalry between AM 1360 and AM 1410 for much of the 1960s and early 70s. While 1080 WTIC was usually #1 in Hartford with its news, sports and popular music, WDRC and WPOP competed for Hartford's younger listeners.

In 1975, the Top 40 battle ended. WPOP flipped to all-news radio and younger listeners started switching to the FM band for their music. By 1980, WDRC had moved to adult contemporary music, later adding oldies. In the 1990s, WDRC switched to middle of the road music, with the oldies format taken over by WDRC-FM.[8] 1360 WDRC started adding talk shows as the new century came in, making the switch to an all talk format in the early 2000s.

Change of ownership

On March 5, 2014, Buckley Broadcasting announced that it would sell its Connecticut radio stations, including WDRC-AM-FM to Connoisseur Media. Buckley had owned an interest in the station since 1957, assuming full control in 1959.[9] The sale was consummated on July 7, 2014, at a price of $7,922,035. Connoisseur only kept the stations for four years.

Connoisseur sold 1240 WWCO to separate owners. The remaining stations: WDRC-AM-FM, along with 610 WSNG Torrington, 1470 WMMW Meriden and W272DO in New Haven, went to Red Wolf Broadcasting for $8 million in January 2018.[10] The sale was completed on March 29, 2018.[11]

On May 10, 2019, WDRC began simulcasting on FM translator 103.3 W277DT. They rebranded as "Trump 103.3".[12] Management told the New Haven Register that the new branding would be used for the first few weeks of the translator's operation, after which the "Talk of Connecticut" slogan would be reinstated.[13]

Simulcasts
Call sign Frequency City of license
WBOM1470 AMMeriden, Connecticut
WSNG610 AMTorrington, Connecticut

Translator
Broadcast translators of WDRC
Call signFrequency
(MHz)		City of licenseFacility
ID		ERP
(W)		ClassTransmitter coordinatesFCC info
W277DT103.3Hartford, Connecticut202640250D41°46′0″N 72°40′38″WFCC

References
  1. Radio-Locator.com/WDRC-AM
  2. Radio-Locator.com/W277DT
  3. Collins, Michael. "Time Line For Connecticut Broadcasting". Connecticut Broadcaster's Association.
  4. Broadcasting Yearbook 1935 page 24
  5. Broadcasting Yearbook 1942 page 114
  6. Broadcasting Yearbook 1940 page 374
  7. Broadcasting Yearbook 1960 page A-126
  8. Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 1997 page B-77
  9. Fillo, Maryellen (March 5, 2014). "Buckley Sells WDRC And CT Stations To Connoisseur". Hartford Courant. Archived from the original on March 5, 2014. Retrieved March 5, 2014.
  10. "Connoisseur Sells Hartford's WDRC, 3 Others to Red Wolf". Inside Radio. January 16, 2018. Retrieved February 9, 2019.
  11. Cooper, Joe (March 30, 2018). "Red Wolf completes purchase of five CT radio stations". Hartford Business Journal. Retrieved February 9, 2019.
  12. WDRC Rebrands as Trump 103.3 With Translator Launch Radioinsight - May 10, 2019
  13. Krasselt, Kaitlyn (May 13, 2019). "'Trump 103.3' coming to CT as WDRC radio briefly rebrands". New Haven Register. Retrieved May 14, 2019.
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