WCAT (AM)

WCAT (1390 AM) was a commercial radio station licensed to Burlington, Vermont, United States, and serving the Burlington-Plattsburgh area. The station was last owned by Radio Broadcasting Services, Inc., part of the Champlain Media Group.[1] It aired a mainstream rock radio format, simulcast from co-owned WWMP (103.3 FM) in Waterbury.

WCAT
Broadcast areaBurlington-Plattsburgh area
Frequency1390 kHz
Ownership
Owner
  • Champlain Media Group
  • (Radio Broadcasting Services, Inc.)
WFAD, WIFY, WIXM, WRSA, WWMP
History
First air date
April 1954 (as WDOT)
Former call signs
  • WDOT (1954-1993)
  • WKDR (1993-2002)
  • WVAA (2002-2006)
Call sign meaning
University of Vermont Catamounts
Technical information
Facility ID73613
ClassB
Power5,000 watts
220 watts (FM translator)
Transmitter coordinates
44°29′47″N 73°12′49″W

WCAT broadcast at 5,000 watts around the clock, with a non-directional signal by day. To protect other stations on AM 1390 at night when AM radio waves travel farther, it used a directional antenna after sunset. WCAT's transmitter was located off Intervale Road in Burlington.[2] Studios and offices were on Water Tower Circle in Colchester, Vermont. According to FCC records, WCAT's 445-foot (136 m) tower #1 is the tallest man-made structure in the State of Vermont.[3]

WCAT also aired on an FM translator, W252CJ, at 98.3 MHz, to give listeners the option to hear the station in FM stereo.[4]

History

The station first signed on as WDOT on April 19, 1954, on the AM 1400 frequency at 1,000 watts of power.[5] WDOT was Burlington's top-40 radio station for years and also an affiliate of the ABC Contemporary Radio Network. The station later moved to its current frequency, AM 1390, and was allowed to broadcast with 5,000 watts of power both daytime and nighttime. The station used a three-tower directional antenna at night to protect 1390 co-channels in Syracuse, New York (WFBL), Presque Isle, Maine (WEGP), and Plymouth, Massachusetts (WPLM).

WCAT's previous logo as an ESPN Radio affiliate

The station changed its call sign to WKDR on June 1, 1993. The WKDR calls originated on the AM 1070 frequency, licensed to Plattsburgh, New York (which now operates as WJMP), and the move benefited WKDR, since its previous position operates only in the daytime, protecting the former 50,000-watt clear channel (1-B) station, CBA in Moncton, New Brunswick.

The station changed its call letters to WVAA on September 24, 2002, and to WCAT on August 21, 2006.[6]

WCAT, as a sports radio station, switched affiliations from ESPN Radio to Fox Sports Radio on January 1, 2011. The ESPN affiliation has moved to FM 101.3 WCPV.[7] Through much of 2011, WCAT broadcast a sports talk format simulcast with sister stations WRSA (1420 AM) and WFAD (1490 AM) as "Fox Sports Vermont." By the end of the year, it had switched to an oldies music format simulcast with co-owned WIFY in Addison as "Cruisin' 93.7."

On September 1, 2014, WCAT (with sister station WRSA) dropped the simulcast with WIFY and switched to a comedy radio format. The two stations returned to oldies in July 2015.[8] In early January 2017, WCAT and WRSA both went dark. The oldies format relocated to WPLB (1070 AM), which several months earlier had been sold by WCAT owner Northeast Broadcasting.[9]

On January 9, 2017, WCAT returned to the air, launching a business news format, also heard on FM translator 98.3 and co-owned WRSA.

WCAT's license was surrendered on November 1, 2022.[10]

Translator

WCAT programming was broadcast on the following translator:

Call signFrequencyCity of licenseFIDERP (W)HAATClassTransmitter coordinatesFCC info
W252CJ 98.3 FMBurlington, Vermont15555022054.2 m (178 ft)D44°29′50.2″N 73°12′49.5″WLMS

References
  1. "WCAT Facility Record". United States Federal Communications Commission, audio division.
  2. "WCAT-AM 1390 kHz - Burlington, VT". radio-locator.com.
  3. Cavell, Mertz & Associates Inc. "FCCInfo Structure Registration Results". www.fccinfo.com.
  4. "W252CJ-FM 98.3 MHz - Burlington, VT". radio-locator.com.
  5. Broadcasting Yearbook 1977 page C-216
  6. "WCAT Call Sign History". United States Federal Communications Commission, audio division.
  7. Donoghue, Mike (December 21, 2010). "Fox Sports joins Champlain Valley radio market". Burlington Free Press. Retrieved December 22, 2010.
  8. "Oldies back on 1390 Burlington & 1420 St. Albans".
  9. Mid Century Moves Across Lake Champlain Radioinsight - January 16, 2017
  10. "Notification of Surrendering of the WCAT Station License". November 1, 2022.
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