WWCO
Encyclopedia
WWCO is a radio station
licensed in Waterbury, Connecticut
, broadcasting a News Talk Information format. The station is currently owned by Buckley Broadcasting
and features programming from AP Radio, Talk Radio Network
and Westwood One
. The station provides a blend of issue-oriented talk, news and information as well as a small amount of music programming. It also broadcasts New York Yankees
baseball games.
with a 250-watt signal. It was a Mutual Network affiliate with studios in the Mattatuck Historical Society Building at 119 West Main Street. In the 1950s their format was mostly pop music
and they were the first station in Waterbury to play rock and roll
records.
On-air personalities during this era included Bob "Records" Crager, Les Davis, Joe Mulhall (later known as Ken Griffin in Hartford and Los Angeles), Bob Rouge and "Wildman Steve" Gallon. Davis and WWCO were featured in an article in the April 25, 1995, edition of Life
.
During the 1960s and the 1970s WWCO was owned by Merv Griffin
and operated as "1240 Super Music C-O", a Top 40 station.
The station evolved from Top 40 to an adult contemporary format (called "All-Star Music WWCO") at about the same time as WKCI-FM switched to an adult contemporary top 40 as "KC-101." Many believe that WKCI's switch to the new format hastened WWCO's departure from top 40 with some WWCO personalities leaving to take jobs at KC-101. Around 1984 WWCO abandoned the "All-Star" format returning to its "Super Music C-O" format under the direction of Program Director Steve Skipp. Owned at the time by Westport resident Sam Brownstein's "Greater Radio" the station continued to alternate between top 40 and adult contemporary formats.
The station found success with a night–time Urban Contemporary
format called "Nightflight" which it used from 1984 to 1989. Later financial issues caused WWCO to terminate some of its personalities and to carry Unistar's "Niche 29" Adult Oriented Rock (AOR) format.
Having been sold to Winthrop Broadcasting, whose relatives owned Waterbury's WQQW/1590, WWCO relocated from its longtime location on the Straits Turnpike in Middlebury to a brand new studio in Waterbury. By 1990 WWCO again returned to its Top 40 format as "1240 Super Music 'C-O." Steve Skipp returned for a short tenure as Program Director although Wally Mann succeeded him and continued in that position as the station switched to an oldies
format.
General Manager Tom Coffey and former WWYZ-FM salesman Rob Johnson formed Mattatuck Communications and purchased the station moving it to a new location. WWCO was then sold to Buckley Broadcasting (parent of WDRC) and moved to WDRC's studios in Bloomfield. While most AM stations had already abandoned contemporary music WWCO, and its on-air talent, continued into the early 1990s with an adult contemporary format.
Buckley Broadcasting purchased WWCO in the late 1990s and it now broadcasts the same programming as WDRC-AM in Hartford.
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
licensed in Waterbury, Connecticut
Waterbury, Connecticut
Waterbury is a city in New Haven County, Connecticut, on the Naugatuck River, 33 miles southwest of Hartford and 77 miles northeast of New York City...
, broadcasting a News Talk Information format. The station is currently owned by Buckley Broadcasting
Buckley Broadcasting
Buckley Radio owns and operates twenty radio stations in seven markets. In addition, the WOR Radio Network is operated as an independent syndicated programming provider with affiliates in over 400 markets.-New York:*WOR - New York, NY...
and features programming from AP Radio, Talk Radio Network
Talk Radio Network
Talk Radio Network is an American radio network providing talk radio programming, with an emphasis on conservative talk on weekdays and variety/general interest talk radio on weekends. Some of the most recognizable personalities in American radio, such as Laura Ingraham and Michael Savage, are...
and Westwood One
Westwood One
Westwood One was an American radio network and was based in New York City. At one time, it was managed by CBS Radio, the radio arm of CBS Corporation, and Viacom and was later purchased by the private equity firm The Gores Group...
. The station provides a blend of issue-oriented talk, news and information as well as a small amount of music programming. It also broadcasts New York Yankees
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...
baseball games.
History
WWCO first went on the air in 19461946 in radio
The year 1946 saw a number of significant events in radio broadcasting.-Events:*1 September – Kringkastingsorkestret is founded.*29 September – BBC Third Programme is launched.-Debuts:...
with a 250-watt signal. It was a Mutual Network affiliate with studios in the Mattatuck Historical Society Building at 119 West Main Street. In the 1950s their format was mostly pop music
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
and they were the first station in Waterbury to play rock and roll
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
records.
On-air personalities during this era included Bob "Records" Crager, Les Davis, Joe Mulhall (later known as Ken Griffin in Hartford and Los Angeles), Bob Rouge and "Wildman Steve" Gallon. Davis and WWCO were featured in an article in the April 25, 1995, edition of Life
Life (magazine)
Life generally refers to three American magazines:*A humor and general interest magazine published from 1883 to 1936. Time founder Henry Luce bought the magazine in 1936 solely so that he could acquire the rights to its name....
.
During the 1960s and the 1970s WWCO was owned by Merv Griffin
Merv Griffin
Mervyn Edward "Merv" Griffin, Jr. was an American television host, musician, actor, and media mogul. He began his career as a radio and big band singer who went on to appear in movies and on Broadway. From 1965 to 1986 Griffin hosted his own talk show, The Merv Griffin Show on Group W Broadcasting...
and operated as "1240 Super Music C-O", a Top 40 station.
The station evolved from Top 40 to an adult contemporary format (called "All-Star Music WWCO") at about the same time as WKCI-FM switched to an adult contemporary top 40 as "KC-101." Many believe that WKCI's switch to the new format hastened WWCO's departure from top 40 with some WWCO personalities leaving to take jobs at KC-101. Around 1984 WWCO abandoned the "All-Star" format returning to its "Super Music C-O" format under the direction of Program Director Steve Skipp. Owned at the time by Westport resident Sam Brownstein's "Greater Radio" the station continued to alternate between top 40 and adult contemporary formats.
The station found success with a night–time Urban Contemporary
Urban contemporary
Urban contemporary is a music radio format. The term was coined by the late New York DJ Frankie Crocker in the mid 1970s. Urban contemporary radio stations feature a playlist made up entirely of hip hop/rap, contemporary R&B, pop, electronica such as dubstep and drum and bass and Caribbean music...
format called "Nightflight" which it used from 1984 to 1989. Later financial issues caused WWCO to terminate some of its personalities and to carry Unistar's "Niche 29" Adult Oriented Rock (AOR) format.
Having been sold to Winthrop Broadcasting, whose relatives owned Waterbury's WQQW/1590, WWCO relocated from its longtime location on the Straits Turnpike in Middlebury to a brand new studio in Waterbury. By 1990 WWCO again returned to its Top 40 format as "1240 Super Music 'C-O." Steve Skipp returned for a short tenure as Program Director although Wally Mann succeeded him and continued in that position as the station switched to an oldies
Oldies
Oldies is a term commonly used to describe a radio format that concentrates on music from a period of about 15 to 55 years before the present day....
format.
General Manager Tom Coffey and former WWYZ-FM salesman Rob Johnson formed Mattatuck Communications and purchased the station moving it to a new location. WWCO was then sold to Buckley Broadcasting (parent of WDRC) and moved to WDRC's studios in Bloomfield. While most AM stations had already abandoned contemporary music WWCO, and its on-air talent, continued into the early 1990s with an adult contemporary format.
Buckley Broadcasting purchased WWCO in the late 1990s and it now broadcasts the same programming as WDRC-AM in Hartford.