WCAT (AM)

WCAT (1390 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station licensed to Burlington, Vermont, United States, and serving the Burlington-Plattsburgh area. The station is owned by Radio Broadcasting Services, Inc., part of the Champlain Media Group.[1] It airs a Business News radio format, simulcast on co-owned AM 1420 WRSA in St. Albans.

WCAT
CityBurlington, Vermont
Broadcast areaBurlington-Plattsburgh area
BrandingBloomberg Radio 1390 and 98.3
Frequency1390 kHz
Translator(s)98.3 W252CJ (Burlington)
Repeater(s)WRSA 1420 St. Albans
First air dateApril 1954 (as WDOT)
FormatBusiness News
Power5,000 watts (day)
5,000 watts (night)
220 watts (FM translator)
ClassB
Facility ID73613
Transmitter coordinates44°29′47.00″N 73°12′49.00″W
Call sign meaningUniversity of Vermont CATamounts
Former call signsWDOT (1954-1993)
WKDR (1993-2002)
WVAA (2002-2006)
AffiliationsBloomberg Radio
OwnerChamplain Media Group
(Radio Broadcasting Services, Inc.)
Sister stationsWFAD, WIFY, WIXM, WRSA, WWMP
WebsiteChamplainRadio.com/Bloomberg-Radio

According to FCC records, WCAT's 445-foot tower #1 is the tallest man-made structure in the State of Vermont.[2] WCAT broadcasts at 5,000 watts around the clock, with a non-directional signal by day. But to protect other stations on AM 1390 at night when AM radio waves travel farther, it uses a directional antenna after sunset. WCAT's transmitter is located off Intervale Road in Burlington.[3] Studios and offices are on Water Tower Circle in Colchester, Vermont.

WCAT also airs on an FM translator, W252CJ, at 98.3 MHz, to give listeners the option to hear the station in FM stereo.[4]

History

The station first signed on as WDOT on April 19, 1954 on the AM 1400 frequency at 1,000 watts of power.[5] WDOT was Burlington's top-40 radio station for years and also an affiliate of the ABC Contemporary Radio Network. The station later moved to its current frequency, AM 1390, and was allowed to broadcast with 5,000 watts of power both daytime and nighttime. The station uses a three-tower directional antenna at night to protect 1390 co-channels in Syracuse, New York (WFBL), Presque Isle, Maine (WEGP), and Plymouth, Massachusetts (WPLM).

WCAT's previous logo as an ESPN Radio affiliate

The station changed its call sign to WKDR on June 1, 1993. The WKDR calls originated on the AM 1070 frequency, licensed to Plattsburgh, New York (which now operates as WPLB), and the move benefited WKDR, since its previous position operates only in the daytime, protecting the former 50,000-watt clear channel (1-B) station, CBA in Moncton, New Brunswick.

The station changed its call letters to WVAA on September 24, 2002, and to the current WCAT on August 21, 2006.[6]

WCAT, as a sports radio station, switched affiliations from ESPN Radio to Fox Sports Radio on January 1, 2011. The ESPN affiliation has moved to FM 101.3 WCPV.[7] Through much of 2011, WCAT broadcast a sports talk format simulcast with sister stations WRSA (1420 AM) and WFAD (1490 AM) as "Fox Sports Vermont." By the end of the year, it had switched to an oldies music format simulcast with co-owned WIFY Addison as "Cruisin' 93.7."

On September 1, 2014, WCAT (with sister station WRSA) dropped the simulcast with WIFY and switched to a comedy radio format. The two stations returned to oldies in July 2015.[8] In early January 2017, WCAT and WRSA both went dark. The oldies format relocated to AM 1070 WPLB, which several months earlier had been sold by WCAT owner Northeast Broadcasting.[9]

On January 9, 2017, WCAT returned to the air, launching a business news format, also heard on FM translator 98.3 and co-owned 1420 WRSA.

References
  1. "WCAT Facility Record". United States Federal Communications Commission, audio division.
  2. Inc., Cavell, Mertz & Associates. "FCCInfo Structure Registration Results". www.fccinfo.com.
  3. "WCAT-AM 1390 kHz - Burlington, VT". radio-locator.com.
  4. "W252CJ-FM 98.3 MHz - Burlington, VT". radio-locator.com.
  5. Broadcasting Yearbook 1977 page C-216
  6. "WCAT Call Sign History". United States Federal Communications Commission, audio division.
  7. Donoghue, Mike (December 21, 2010). "Fox Sports joins Champlain Valley radio market". Burlington Free Press. Retrieved December 22, 2010.
  8. "Oldies back on 1390 Burlington & 1420 St. Albans".
  9. Mid Century Moves Across Lake Champlain Radioinsight - January 16, 2017
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