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| Broadcast area | Greater Hartford |
| Frequency | 100.5MHz (HD Radio) |
| Branding | Lite 100.5 WRCH |
| Programming | |
| Language | English |
| Format | Adult contemporary |
| Affiliations | Premiere Networks |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
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| History | |
First air date | July 1, 1968; 57 years ago (1968-07-01) |
Call sign meaning | Radio Connecticut Hartford or "Rich music" (former slogan) |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 1910 |
| Class | B |
| ERP | 7,500 watts |
| HAAT | 381 meters (1,250 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 41°42′14″N72°49′55″W / 41.704°N 72.832°W /41.704; -72.832 |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen live (via Audacy) |
| Website | www |
WRCH (100.5FM; "Lite 100.5") is acommercial radio stationlicensed toNew Britain, Connecticut, and serving theGreater Hartford andNew Haven areas. It is owned byAudacy, Inc. and airs anadult contemporary radio format.
WRCH'stransmitter is located atopRattlesnake Mountain, and transmits from theWTIC-TV tower offU.S. Route 6 (Colt Highway) inFarmington.[2] A backup transmitter is in "Radio Park" behind theConnecticut School of Broadcasting, its former studio location. The station's studios and offices are located on Executive Drive, also in Farmington. WRCH broadcasts in theHD Radio hybrid format. It offered smooth jazz programming on its formerly HD2 sub-channel. The HD3 sub-channel formerly carried asimulcast ofsports talk-formattedWEEI-FM inBoston.[3]
On July 1, 1968, WRCH-FMsigned on the air.[4] It was the FM counterpart of WRCH (910 AM, nowWLAT). Both were owned by Central Connecticut Broadcasting, itself owned by Aldo DeDominicis.[5] While the AM station aired afull service,middle of the road format, WRCH-FM carried abeautiful music format. It played quarter-hour sweeps of mostly instrumentalcover versions of pop songs andHollywood andBroadwayshowtunes.Easy listening was a popular format in that era, with several stations in the Hartford area also playing beautiful music, includingWKSS,WWYZ,WKCI andWTIC-FM. Over time, as those stations switched to other formats, WRCH continued its easy listening sound.
In 1977, WRCH-FM and its AMsister station WRCQ, were acquired by the Radio Corporation of Hartford,[6] controlled by Enzo DeDominicis (nephew of Aldo DeDominicis) andConnecticut School of Broadcasting owner Nicholas Robinson, for $3 million;[5] Robinson sold his stake to DeDominicis in 1979.[7]
In the 1980s, WRCH gradually increased the number of soft vocals and decreased the instrumentals, to the point where it became asoft adult contemporary station. The transition was gradual. Many of its listeners stuck with WRCH as a companion in the office and at home, and it remained one of the top rated stations inGreater Hartford.
Enzo DeDominicis sold WRCH, along with AM sister station WNEZ, toAmerican Radio Systems (ARS) in December 1993.[8] The $15 million acquisition,[9] completed in July 1994,[10] was the first made by ARS following its formation a month earlier. It placed WRCH under the same ownership asWZMX, which offered a "bright adult contemporary" format.[8] Ahead of the sale, DeDominicis relocated to South Carolina to oversee his two radio stations there,[8] which he had acquired in 1989.[11]
Westinghouse Electric Corporation, then-parent company ofCBS Radio, announced its acquisition of ARS in September 1997,[12] a deal completed in June 1998.[13] By this time, the company's holdings in the market, in addition to WRCH and WZMX, includedWTIC (AM) and WTIC-FM;[14] WNEZ had been sold to Mega Broadcasting in 1996.[15] WRCH continued its soft AC format, 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 withEntercom.[16] The merger was approved on November 9, 2017, and was consummated on November 17.[17][18] The only noticeable effect from the merger for listeners was the switch of Boston sports stations on WRCH's HD3 subchannel, as the simulcast changed from the now-Beasley-ownedWBZ-FM to Entercom-ownedWEEI-FM.
In 2021, Entercom changed its name to Audacy, Inc. Audacy discontinued WRCH's HD subchannels in 2022.