WRSA (AM)

WRSA (1420 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station licensed to the City of St. Albans, Vermont. It is owned by Steven Silberberg's Northeast Broadcasting Company, through licensee Radio Broadcasting Services, Incorporated. WRSA is simulcast with co-owned AM 1390 WCAT in Burlington, Vermont. They both air a business news format, mostly supplied by Bloomberg Radio. There is an unrelated WRSA-FM/96.9 in Huntsville, Alabama.

WRSA
CitySt. Albans, Vermont
Broadcast areaBurlington-Plattsburgh area
Frequency1420 kHz
Branding1420 WRSA
SloganWe are Radio St Albans
Programming
FormatVariety
Ownership
OwnerNortheast Broadcasting Company
(Radio Broadcasting Services, Incorporated)
WCAT, WFAD, WIFY, WIXM, WWMP
History
First air date
1941 (as WWSR)
Former call signs
WWSR (1941-2002)
WTWK (2002)
Call sign meaning
We are Radio St. Albans
Technical information
Facility ID34812
ClassD
Power1,000 watts (day)
107 watts (night)
Transmitter coordinates
44°49′52″N 73°05′25″W
Translator(s)100.3 W262DH St. Albans (construction permit)
Links
WebcastListen Live
Websiteradiostalbans.us

WRSA's transmitter is off Lower Newton Road (Route 38) in the Town of St. Albans. It broadcasts at 1,000 watts by day. But to protect other stations on AM 1420, it reduces power at night to 107 watts. A non-directional antenna is uses at all times. WRSA has a construction permit from the Federal Communications Commission to build an FM translator station, 100.3 MHz W262DH in St. Albans, powered at 145 watts.[1]

History

WRSA is Vermont's fourth oldest radio station, and the first north of Burlington.[2] On June 19, 1941, the station first signed on as WWSR at 1390 kilocycles.[3] But with the enactment of the North American Regional Broadcasting Agreement (NARBA), the station moves a few spaces up the dial to AM 1420 the following year. WWSR was owned by the Radio Vermont Company and broadcast at 1,000 watts. It was a daytimer, required to be off the air at night.

In April 1970, it added an FM station, 102.3 WWSR-FM. At first it simulcast the AM station but it later began airing an automated adult contemporary format known as "Hit Parade." Today it is Hot AC WIXM, also owned by Radio Broadcasting Services, Inc.

In the 1990s, WWSR was authorized by the FCC to broadcast at night, but only at 110 watts.[4] The station was assigned the WRSA call sign by the Federal Communications Commission on April 23, 2002.[5]

Former branding

WRSA switched affiliations from ESPN Radio to Fox Sports Radio on January 1, 2011. The ESPN affiliation moved to FM 101.3 WCPV. On January 1, 2012, WRSA began to simulcast the oldies format of co-owned WIFY "Cruisin' 93.7" in Addison, Vermont.[6]

WRSA flipped to a comedy radio format on Labor Day weekend 2014, along with co-owned AM 1390 WCAT in Burlington, Vermont. WRSA and WCAT returned to oldies and classic hits in July 2015.[7]

On October 30, 2015, WRSA went silent, along with WCAT. According to FCC records, the station had also been silenced in 2013.[8]

Effective May 20, 2019, WRSA was acquired from Radio Broadcasting Services, Incorporated by the Radio Sound Company, including a construction permit for an FM translator in St. Albans, W262DH 100.3 MHz.[9]

WRSA returned to the air in Spring 2019, simulcast with 1390 WCAT, carrying a business news format, mostly supplied by Bloomberg Radio. On June 1, 2019, the station began local operation and ended the affiliation with Bloomberg. The format is a variety of music, and local programming. The new owners have pledged to air local information.https://www.samessenger.com/coming-at-you-live/

Effective May 1, 2020, the station's license and the translator construction permit were transferred back to Radio Broadcasting Services, Incorporated for $1 and assumption of debt outstanding from the 2019 sale.

References[10]
  1. "W262DH-FM 100.3 MHz - Saint Albans, VT". radio-locator.com.
  2. Broadcasting Yearbook 1943 page 148
  3. "History Cards for WRSA". licensing.fcc.gov.
  4. Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 2000 page D-463
  5. "Call Sign History". FCC Media Bureau CDBS Public Access Database.
  6. Donoghue, Mike (December 21, 2010). "Fox Sports joins Champlain Valley radio market". Burlington Free Press. Retrieved December 22, 2010.
  7. "Oldies back on 1390 Burlington 1420 St. Albans". RadioInsight.
  8. "FCCdata.org - powered by REC". fccdata.org. Retrieved 2019-03-25.
  9. "Station Sales Week of 3-15". RadioInsight.
  10. "Coming at you live | St. Albans Messenger". www.samessenger.com. Retrieved 2019-06-19.
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