WRCH (FM)

On July 1, 1968, WRCH-FM signed on the air.[3] It was the FM counterpart of AM 910 WRCH (now WLAT). Both were owned by Central Connecticut Broadcasting. While the AM station aired a full service, middle of the road format, WRCH-FM carried a beautiful music sound. It played quarter hour sweeps of mostly instrumental cover versions of pop songs and Broadway showtunes. Easy listening was a popular format in that era, with several stations in the Hartford area also playing beautiful music, including 95.7 WKSS, 92.5 WWYZ, 101.3 WKCI and 96.5 WTIC-FM. Over time, as those stations switched to other formats, WRCH continued its easy listening sound.

In 1977, WRCH and its AM sister station WRCQ, were acquired by the Radio Corporation of Hartford.[4] In the 1980s, WRCH gradually increased the number of soft vocals and decreased the instrumentals, to the point where it became a soft adult contemporary station. The transition was gradual and many of its listeners stuck with WRCH as a companion in the office and at home. It remained one of the top rated stations in Greater Hartford.

In 1998, CBS Radio acquired WRCH, while its AM counterpart was sold to Mega Communications.[5] WRCH joined the CBS Radio cluster, including 1080 WTIC and 96.5 WTIC-FM, as well as 93.7 WZMX. WRCH continued its Soft AC sound, although picking up the tempo a bit into the 2000s, shifting to mainstream adult contemporary music.

On February 2, 2017, CBS Radio announced it would merge with Entercom.[6] The merger was approved on November 9, 2017, and was consummated on the 17th.[7][8] The only noticeable effect from the merger for listeners was the switch of Boston sports stations on WRCH's HD3 subchannel. The simulcast changed from the now-Beasley-owned WBZ-FM to Entercom-owned WEEI-FM.

• Lite 100.5 WRCH website
• Query the FCC's FM station database for WRCH
• Radio-Locator information on WRCH
• Query Nielsen Audio's FM station database for WRCH