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| Broadcast area | Greater Hartford |
| Frequency | 96.5MHz (HD Radio) |
| Branding | 96.5 TIC |
| Programming | |
| Language | English |
| Format | Hot adult contemporary |
| Subchannels | HD2:Talk radio (WTIC) |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
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| History | |
First air date | February 5, 1940; 85 years ago (1940-02-05) |
Former call signs |
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Former frequencies |
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Call sign meaning | Travelers Insurance Company (former owner) |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 66465 |
| Class | B |
| ERP | 20,000 watts |
| HAAT | 247 meters (810 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 41°46′26″N72°48′18″W / 41.774°N 72.805°W /41.774; -72.805 |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen live (via Audacy) |
| Website | www |
WTIC-FM (96.5MHz) is acommercial radio station inHartford, Connecticut. It is owned byAudacy, Inc. and broadcasts ahot adult contemporaryradio format. The station's studios and offices are located on Executive Drive inFarmington.
WTIC-FM has aneffective radiated power (ERP) of 20,000 watts, with its signal heard throughout most ofConnecticut and intoWestern Massachusetts. Itstransmitter is located off Deercliff Road inAvon, the same site assister stationWTIC (AM) and former co-owned TV stationWFSB.[2] WTIC-FM broadcasts in theHD Radio (hybrid) format.[3] The HD2 subchannel carries thenews/talk format of WTIC (AM).
WTIC-FM is the second oldest FM station in Hartford, afterWHCN. They were the only pre-World War IIFM stations in Connecticut, with WTIC-FMsigning on the air originally as W1XSO on February 5, 1940, and using a frequency of 43.5 MHz.[4] In December 1941, it became a commercial operation using thecall sign W53H. In 1943, the call letters were changed to WTIC-FM, representing its original owner,The Travelers Insurance Company. On April 17, 1948, the station moved to 96.5 MHz where it has remained to this day.[5]
It mostlysimulcast WTIC in its early years, carrying WTIC's local shows andNBC Radio Network programming, during the 1940s and 1950s. Just like their AM sister station, it carried NBC's dramas, comedies, news, sports, soap operas, game shows andbig band broadcasts during the "Golden Age of Radio". As network programming moved from radio to television in the 1950s, WTIC-AM-FM switched to afull service,middle of the road format of popular music, news and sports. During the 1960s, WTIC-FM broke away from its AM counterpart for most of the day, playing classical music. In the early 1970s, it ranbeautiful music by day and classical music at night.
In 1974, Travelers Insurance sold the TV station toPost-Newsweek Stations while the radio stations were sold to a group of their managers, going by the name "The 1080 Corporation".[6] On May 12, 1977, WTIC-FM made a dramatic switch by flipping to aTop 40–CHR format, as "Hot Hits".[7] The station was consulted by Mike Joseph who installed aplaylist of all current hits, the 30 to 40 songs on the current charts were repeated frequently, with upbeat DJs and numerous jingles byTM Studios. Once a Hot Hit fell off the charts, even million-sellers, it was not played anymore. After a couple of years, WTIC-FM moved to a more conventional Top 40/CHR direction.
From the mid-1980s to the early 1990s, WTIC-FM was locked in a Top 40/CHR battle withWKSS, which had converted from aneasy listening station. WTIC-FM management decided not to aim as young as WKSS, removing therap music and other harder edged songs from its playlist, switching to its currenthot AC format on June 15, 1994.[7] Initially, the station's playlist moved a bit softer; since then, the hot AC format as a whole has embraced more upbeat music, and so has the station. Since its days as a Top 40/CHR station in 1977, WTIC-FM has referred to itself on the air variously as"Your Music Connection Hot Hits! 96 Tics WTIC-FM","Your Music Connection 96 Tics WTIC-FM","Hot Hits! 96 Tics WTIC-FM","96 Tics WTIC-FM","96 WTIC-FM","96 TIC-FM","The New 96.5 TIC-FM", and currently as"Today's Best Variety 96.5 TIC".
In 1998, WTIC-AM-FM were acquired byInfinity Broadcasting, which was renamedCBS Radio in December 2005. CBS also acquired then-adult contemporary stationWZMX (nowrhythmic contemporary) andadult contemporaryWRCH. On February 2, 2017, CBS Radio announced it would merge withEntercom.[8] The merger was approved on November 9, 2017, and was consummated on November 17.[9][10]
