WCTK

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.

WCTK
CityNew Bedford, Massachusetts
Broadcast areaProvidence, Rhode Island
Branding"Cat Country 98.1"
Slogan"Southern New England's Country"
Frequency98.1 MHz
(Channel 251) (HD Radio)
Repeater(s)WPVD/1450-West Warwick, Rhode Island (simulcast partner)
First air dateDecember 9, 1946[1] (as WFMR)
FormatFM/HD1: Country
HD2: Classic hits (WNBH simulcast)
ERP44,000 watts
HAAT159 meters (522 ft)
ClassB
Facility ID25869
Transmitter coordinates41.623°N 70.918°W / 41.623; -70.918
Call sign meaningWCTK = Cat
Former call signsWFMR (1946–1954)
WNBH-FM (1954–1973)
WMYS (1973–1989)
OwnerHall Communications
Sister stationsWNBH, WPVD
WebcastListen Live
Websitewww.wctk.com

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 the 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. 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)


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