WRYM

WRYM
City New Britain, Connecticut
Broadcast area Hartford, Connecticut
Branding WRYM 840 AM
Slogan La Gigante
Frequency 840 kHz
First air date August 18, 1946
Format Spanish tropical;
Power 1,000 watts daytime
125 watts nighttime
Class D
Facility ID 26314
Callsign meaning RhYMe (branding as a beautiful music station)[1]
Former callsigns WKNB (1946-1962)
Affiliations CNN Radio
Owner Eight Forty Broadcasting Corporation
Webcast Listen Live
Website wrymradio.com

WRYM (840 AM) is a radio station broadcasting an ethnic format. Licensed to New Britain, Connecticut, USA, it serves the Hartford area. The station is currently owned by Eight Forty Broadcasting Corporation.

History

The station signed on August 18, 1946[1][2] as WKNB (for Kensington-New Britain[1]), under the ownership of the New Britain Broadcasting Company.[3] NBC bought the station in 1956;[4] however, its main purpose in acquiring WKNB was to obtain its sister television station, WKNB-TV (which it renamed WNBC; it is now WVIT). Attempts were soon made to divest WKNB, supposedly because NBC was embarrassed to own a daytimer in the same market as WTIC, one of NBC Radio's first affiliates; however, the station was not sold until 1960, when both WKNB and WNBC were transferred to Plains Television, which then sold the radio station to the Beacon Broadcasting Company, controlled by Louis Sodokoff, the following year.[1][5][6]

In 1962, the station took its present WRYM callsign to reflect its conversion to a beautiful music format — the first in Connecticut.[1] By 1970, it had a middle-of-the-road format;[7] however, WRYM had also gradually increased its ethnic programming,[7][8] culminating by 1975 with a move to a full-time ethnic and religious format.[9] Ownership was transferred to Hartford City Broadcasting in 1984 after the death of Louis Sodokoff.[1]

WRYM added nighttime service in 1998 upon the construction of a second tower.[1] Six years later, the station was sold to current owner Eight Forty Broadcasting.[1][10]

The station has been headquartered for decades at 1056 Willard Ave., Newington, Connecticut, USA, in front of its radio towers.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "WRYM (WKNB) Main Page". CT Broadcast History. Retrieved April 4, 2010.
  2. Broadcasting/Cablecasting Yearbook 1989 (PDF). 1989. p. B-54. Retrieved April 3, 2010.
  3. Broadcasting Yearbook 1948 (PDF). 1948. p. 92. Retrieved April 3, 2010.
  4. "Hearst acquires WTVW (TV) Milwaukee; NBC buys WKNB-TV New Britain, Conn." Broadcasting - Telecasting, January 10, 1955, pg. 7.
  5. "NBC sells WNBC (TV) to Scheftel group." Broadcasting, June 29, 1959, pp. 73-74.
  6. "Changing Hands." Broadcasting, September 28, 1959, pp. 98-100
  7. 1 2 Broadcasting Yearbook 1971 (PDF). 1971. p. B-36. Retrieved April 4, 2010.
  8. Broadcasting Yearbook 1963 (PDF). 1963. p. B-81. Retrieved April 4, 2010.
  9. Broadcasting Yearbook 1976 (PDF). 1976. p. C-33. Retrieved April 4, 2010.
  10. Fybush, Scott (March 1, 2004). "WZZD Flips to Conservative Talk". NorthEast Radio Watch. Retrieved April 4, 2010.

Coordinates: 41°41′10″N 72°43′47″W / 41.68611°N 72.72972°W / 41.68611; -72.72972

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