I have a question about WKSS 95.7.Why do they I.D. as Hartford-Meriden?If they're licensed to both cities,isn't this unusual?Most stations want to include the local Big City in their I.D. example,WKCI Hamden-New Haven.It looks like they have the big city and added the small city.
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WKSS 95.7 licensed to two cities?
- Thread starter Fred Ziffel
- Start date
It predates deregulation. Now (and for the last 40-ish years) you can give your one-city legal ID and then put anything you want after it. Before the 1980s, you couldn't. A few stations, including what's now WKSS, went through the process of applying for an official dual-city ID, which allowed them to have studios in either city.
It's where 95.7 was originally licensed.
Thanks Scott!
What is today WKSS originally was the FM counterpart to 1470 WMMW Meriden (now WBOM). In the 1960s, the FM station had a successful Beautiful Music format as well as subcarrier background music for stores and restaurants. The station wanted to move its FM studios and business offices to Hartford to take advantage of that city's larger base of advertisers. It got the FCC to agree to the hyphenated cities of license. Rare but not unknown.
Remember, in those days, your studio had to be within the city of license or at least a certain number of miles away. And Meriden was too far. So IDing as "Hartford-Meriden" permitted the studio move to the capital city of Connecticut.
In Hanover PA, 98.5 FM was granted to 1280 WHVR. The new station became WHVR-FM Hanover. But York is a bigger city about 20 miles away. So the studios and business offices were able to move to York when the station became WYCR York-Hanover.
I believe it was the 1970s when stations could list other cities in their legal I.D. without needing permission from the FCC to change the official "city of license." Then I believe in the 1980s, the requirements for keeping a studio in or near the city of license was also rescinded by the FCC.
Remember, in those days, your studio had to be within the city of license or at least a certain number of miles away. And Meriden was too far. So IDing as "Hartford-Meriden" permitted the studio move to the capital city of Connecticut.
In Hanover PA, 98.5 FM was granted to 1280 WHVR. The new station became WHVR-FM Hanover. But York is a bigger city about 20 miles away. So the studios and business offices were able to move to York when the station became WYCR York-Hanover.
I believe it was the 1970s when stations could list other cities in their legal I.D. without needing permission from the FCC to change the official "city of license." Then I believe in the 1980s, the requirements for keeping a studio in or near the city of license was also rescinded by the FCC.
Or, you could have the studio at the transmitter site, irrespective of where that was. If you had the studio at the site of on half of an AM - FM combo, you could request that the other be allowed there too.
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