Radio station in Connecticut, United States
WSDK
(1550
kHz
) is a
commercial
AM
radio station
licensed
to
Bloomfield, Connecticut
, and serving the
Hartford metropolitan area
. It is owned by Blount Communications and broadcasts a
Christian talk and teaching
radio format
. National religious leaders heard on WSDK include
Chuck Swindoll
,
John Daly
,
June Hunt
,
David Jeremiah
and
John MacArthur
. WSDK uses a
brokered programming
plan, where hosts pay for time on the station and they may use their shows to seek donations to their ministries.
By day, WSDK’s transmitter power is 5,000
watts
. At night, to avoid interfering with other stations on
1550 kHz
(a
Canadian
clear channel frequency
), WSDK reduces power to 2,400 watts.
[2]
It uses a
directional antenna
at all times. Programming is also heard on 36-watt
FM translator
W237EO at 95.3
MHz
in Bloomfield.
[3]
History
[
edit
]
WEXT and WMLB
[
edit
]
On October 6, 1963, the station first
signed on
.
[4]
The
call sign
was WEXT, and it was licensed to
West Hartford
. WEXT was a 1,000-watt
daytimer
. It had a
country and western
format
.
The studios originally were located at 999 Farmington Avenue in West Hartford Center, and the transmitter and tower were at 99 Grassmere Avenue in West Hartford. Flood control work on Trout Brook adjacent to the transmitting tower resulted in damage to the ground system. In 1972, the studios were moved to the 2nd floor of the Culbro Building at 630 Oakwood Avenue in West Hartford.
In 1977, the station changed ownership and the callsign was switched to WMLB, which was a combination of the first names of the three owners: Mary, Lou and Barry. Soon afterward, WMLB was one of the first stations in the state to install a satellite downlink when the
Mutual Broadcasting System
, of which WMLB was a
network affiliate
, agreed to place a 3-meter downlink on the roof of the transmitter building. This site then served as the Connecticut hub for Mutual and also for the
Associated Press
for the next ten years.
WGAB and WLVX
[
edit
]
In March 1986, the station changed its callsign to WGAB.
[5]
In 1988, the station was off the air for a while. In September 1988, the station returned to the air as WLVX under the ownership of Living Communications, which also owned
WLIX
in
Islip, New York
. The new owners brought a
Contemporary Christian
format to the station, and the studios were moved to the Wintonbury Mall in Bloomfield.
In 1993, the station was sold again, this time to a local group who changed the callsign to WRDM and began programming the station in
Italian
. The studios were moved to 880 Maple Avenue in Hartford where they shared space with a sister low-power television station, W13BF (which subsequently changed its call letters to
WRDM-LP
to match the radio station).
WDZK and WSDK
[
edit
]
In 1998, the station was sold again, this time to the Hibernia Corporation. The format was switched to "
Radio Disney
" children's programming and the studios moved to Franklin Avenue in Hartford. The call sign was then changed to WDZK.
The Walt Disney Company
purchased the station from Hibernia in 2000 and continued to operate from the Franklin Avenue location until 2004, when the studios were moved to 160 Chapel Road in
Manchester, Connecticut
. In February 2008 WDZK commenced
HD Radio
broadcasting.
Disney took WDZK, along with
WDDZ
in
Pawtucket, Rhode Island
, off the air on September 30, 2010, and put the stations up for sale.
[6]
That November, it was sold to Blount Communications.
[7]
The call sign changed to WSDK on February 15, 2011.
[5]
On March 19, the station resumed broadcasting with a
Christian talk and teaching
format.
[8]
Translators
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Facility Technical Data for WSDK"
.
Licensing and Management System
.
Federal Communications Commission
.
- ^
Radio-Locator.com/WSDK
- ^
Radio-Locator.com/W237EO
- ^
"WSDK (WEXT)"
.
CT Broadcast History
. Retrieved
February 24,
2011
.
- ^
a
b
"Call Sign History"
.
CDBS Public Access
.
Federal Communications Commission
. Retrieved
March 19,
2011
.
- ^
Fybush, Scott (September 27, 2010).
"Disney Shutters AMs in RI, CT"
.
NorthEast Radio Watch
. Retrieved
September 27,
2010
.
- ^
"Disney sells off another Radio Disney station - Hartford's WDZK (1550)"
.
Radio-Info.com
. November 18, 2010
. Retrieved
November 18,
2010
.
- ^
"Manchester's WSKD Launches Saturday"
.
Courant.com
. March 18, 2011
. Retrieved
March 19,
2011
.
External links
[
edit
]