WEZR (AM)

WEZR
Broadcast areaWestern Maine
Frequency780 kHz
BrandingThe Patriot
Programming
FormatConservative talk
Affiliations
Ownership
Owner
  • Stan Bennett
  • (Bennett Radio Group, LLC)
WIGY, WIGY-FM, WOXO-FM, WPNO, Channel X Radio
History
First air date
August 21, 1953; 71 years ago (1953-08-21)[1]
Former call signs
  • WRUM (1952–1997)
  • WLLB (1997–2001)
  • WTME (2001–2020)
  • WIGY (2020)[2]
Technical information[3]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID9209
ClassD
Power
  • 1,000 watts day
  • 18 watts night
Transmitter coordinates
44°30′53″N 70°31′01″W / 44.51472°N 70.51694°W / 44.51472; -70.51694
Translator(s)98.3 W252DS (Rumford)
Links
Public license information
Websitethepatriot.me

WEZR (780 kHz) is an AM radio station in Rumford, Maine. The station is owned by Stan Bennett, through licensee Bennett Radio Group, LLC. The station airs a conservative talk radio format.

History

The station went on the air August 21, 1953, as WRUM, associated with the Rumford Daily Times newspaper.[4] It changed its call sign to WLLB on November 21, 1997, and to WTME on July 11, 2001.[2]

WTME's programming was previously simulcast with WCNM (1240 AM) in Lewiston and WKTQ (1450 AM) in South Paris.[5] WCNM switched to CNN Headline News in July 2001[6] and is now hot adult contemporary station WIGY, while WKTQ became country music station WOXO in August 2016[7] and is now WPNO, a simulcast of WEZR.

On March 8, 2017, WTME changed its format to sports, with programming from NBC Sports Radio. As a sports station, it carried Portland Pirates hockey, and Portland Sea Dogs baseball. On weekday mornings and middays, some Christian talk and teaching programs were also heard.

WTME, along with its sister stations, went off the air March 29, 2020, citing financial considerations that included expected reduction in advertising revenue attributed to COVID-19.[8] The stations had been up for sale following the death of owner Dick Gleason in February 2019.[9] A sale of the Gleason Media Group stations to Bennett Radio Group was announced in May 2020,[10] and was consummated on August 5, 2020, at a sale price of $500,000.

On August 9, 2020, WTME changed its call letters to WIGY, and returned to the air on August 19, 2020, as a hot adult contemporary station, once again simulcast with WEZR (the former WCNM) and WPNO (the former WKTQ).[11] It changed its callsign to the current WEZR on September 7, 2020. In 2021, the format shifted to classic hits, as "105.5 & 96.9 WIGY".

On October 26, 2021, WEZR and W252DS, along with WPNO and its translator, split from the simulcast with WIGY and flipped to conservative talk, branded as "The Patriot".[12]

References

  1. ^ Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 1999 (PDF). 1999. p. D-201. Retrieved March 11, 2015.
  2. ^ a b "Call Sign History". FCC Media Bureau CDBS Public Access Database.
  3. ^ "Facility Technical Data for". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  4. ^ "Rumford's New Station Will Go On the Air Today". Lewiston Evening Journal. Associated Press. August 21, 1953. p. 6. Retrieved October 15, 2024.
  5. ^ Fybush, Scott (February 5, 2001). "River Flows to New Home". North East RadioWatch. Retrieved August 27, 2016.
  6. ^ Fybush, Scott (July 16, 2001). "CTV Adds Montreal to O&O Roster". North East RadioWatch. Retrieved August 27, 2016.
  7. ^ Venta, Lance (July 29, 2016). "WEZR & WOXO Lewiston On The Move". RadioInsight. Retrieved August 27, 2016.
  8. ^ "WOXO says farewell to listeners; Gleason Radio Group to go silent after 45 years". Lewiston Sun Journal. March 25, 2020. Retrieved March 25, 2020.
  9. ^ Venta, Lance (March 25, 2020). "Gleason Media To Shut Down Cluster In Lewiston/Auburn". RadioInsight. Retrieved March 25, 2020.
  10. ^ Binnie VP/Programming Stan Bennett Acquires Silent Maine Cluster Lance Venta, Radio Insight, May 26, 2020.
  11. ^ WEZR Relaunches As WIGY Following Return of WOXO Lance Venta, RadioInsight, August 19, 2020.
  12. ^ Patriot Debuts In Maine Lance Venta, Radio Insight, October 26, 2021.
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