WICC is Bridgeport's first radio station and one of the first in Connecticut.[4] It signed on the air on November 8, 1926. Its call letters stand for "Industrial Capital of Connecticut", which described Bridgeport throughout the early and mid-20th century.
In the early days, as radio assignments were being formalized, WICC broadcast from various places on the AM dial, including 1060 kHz, 1400 kHz, 1130 kHz, 1190 kHz and 1430 kHz until finally settling at 600 kHz in 1930.
When network programming shifted from radio to television in the 1950s, WICC became a full service, middle of the road station, featuring popular music, news, talk and sports. Notably, Bob Crane was a host and disc jockey from late 1951 through 1956.[7][8] In the 1970s and 1980s, the music moved closer to an Adult Top 40 sound.
In November 2001, WICC was acquired by Cumulus Media, which became one of the largest owners of radio stations in the U.S., as part of its $219.6 million acquisition of Aurora Communications.[9] Over time, as music listening shifted from AM to FM radio, WICC added more talk programming, becoming an all-talk station in June 2002.[10]
On April 15, 2019, Cumulus Media announced that WICC and co-owned 107.9 WEBE would be swapped to Connoisseur Media, which began operating the stations under a local marketing agreement (LMA) on May 1.[11] The swap was consummated on June 26, 2019.
On September 3, 2024, Connoisseur began simulcasting WICC's programming on WFOX (95.9 FM), which had previously been a rock station.[1] The simulcast was in part prompted by the end of the all-news format of WCBS in New York City; concurrently with the start of the simulcast, WICC began carrying CBS Radio Network newscasts,[12] relaunched as "The Voice of Connecticut",[13] and announced that Erick Erickson's syndicated program would be replaced by a local early afternoon show hosted by former WCBS anchor Brigitte Quinn effective September 30.[14]
