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WCTK Latitude and Longitude:

41°37′23″N 70°55′05″W / 41.623°N 70.918°W / 41.623; -70.918
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
WCTK
Broadcast area Providence, Rhode Island, South Coast, Cape Cod
Frequency98.1 MHz ( HD Radio)
BrandingCat Country 98.1
Programming
Format Country
SubchannelsHD1: WCTK analog
HD2: Classic hits ( WNBH simulcast)
Ownership
Owner Hall Communications
WNBH
History
First air date
December 9, 1946 [1] (as WFMR)
Former call signs
WFMR (1946–1954)
WNBH-FM (1954–1973)
WMYS (1973–1989)
Technical information
Facility ID25869
ClassB
ERP44,000 watts
HAAT159 meters (522 ft)
Transmitter coordinates
41°37′23″N 70°55′05″W / 41.623°N 70.918°W / 41.623; -70.918
Links
Webcast Listen live
Website catcountry.com

WCTK (98.1 FM, "Cat Country 98.1") is a country- formatted radio station serving Southern New England, with studios in Providence, Rhode Island, and transmitter in New Bedford, Massachusetts. The station is owned by Hall Communications.

History

WCTK was originally WFMR and had an authorized power of 20 kilowatts. It went on the air December 9, 1946; [1] during the inaugural program, Massachusetts governor Maurice J. Tobin said that WFMR was the first new FM station to sign on in New England after World War II. [2] In 1973, WFMR changed its callsign to WMYS, with an oldies and classic hits format. On July 28, 1989, the station switched formats to country followed by a call sign change to WCTK [3] on August 24, 1989. First known as "Country 98.1 WCTK," the branding was changed to the current "Cat Country 98.1" in 1994. In 1997, the station moved its studios from New Bedford to the Roland Building in Providence to concentrate on fully serving the Providence Arbitron metro.

On February 1, 2019, WCTK began being simulcast on sister station WPVD (1450 AM) in West Warwick, Rhode Island, after that station dropped its ESPN Radio affiliation. [4] The station also began broadcasting in HD, with a simulcast of sister station WNBH's newly-launched classic hits format (Big 101.3) on its HD2 sub-channel. [5]

References

  1. ^ a b Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 1999 (PDF). 1999. p. D-390. Retrieved March 15, 2015.
  2. ^ "Gov. Tobin Participates In WFMR Inauguration" (PDF). Broadcasting-Telecasting. December 16, 1946. p. 34. Retrieved March 15, 2015.
  3. ^ "Call Sign History". FCC. Retrieved 20 December 2016.
  4. ^ Venta, Lance (11 February 2019). "Big 101.3 Brings Classic Hits To New Bedford". RadioInsight. Retrieved 11 February 2019.
  5. ^ Fybush, Scott (11 February 2019). "NorthEast Radio Watch 2/11/2019: Goodbye, Gary". Fybush.com. Retrieved 11 February 2019.(subscription required)

External links