WTVL

WTVL
Broadcast areaKennebec County, Maine
Frequency1490 kHz
BrandingKool AM 1490
Programming
FormatDefunct (was adult standards)
Ownership
Owner
WEBB, WJZN, WMME-FM
History
First air date
June 19, 1946; 78 years ago (1946-06-19)
Last air date
December 31, 2022; 23 months ago (2022-12-31)
Former call signs
WODJ (2004)
Call sign meaning
Waterville
Technical information[1]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID52607
ClassC
Power1,000 watts
Transmitter coordinates
44°33′52″N 69°36′39″W / 44.56444°N 69.61083°W / 44.56444; -69.61083
Links
Public license information
WebcastListen live
Websitekoolam.com

WTVL (1490 kHz "Kool AM 1490") was a commercial AM radio station licensed to serve Waterville, Maine, and serving Kennebec County. The station was owned by Townsquare Media and until December 31, 2022, it broadcast an adult standards radio format, playing softer hits from the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. The station featured the music of Frank Sinatra, Barbra Streisand, Nat King Cole and Dionne Warwick in its playlist.

WTVL’s transmitter power output was 1,000 watts. The transmitter was off Benton Avenue in Winslow.[2] The studios and offices were on Western Avenue in Augusta.[3]

History

On June 19, 1946, WTVL first signed on as an ABC network affiliate owned by Kennebec Broadcasting Company.[4] WTVL carried ABC's schedule of dramas, comedies, news, sports, soap operas, game shows and big band broadcasts during the "Golden Age of Radio."

An FM sister station went on the air March 26, 1968, at 98.3 FM, simulcasting WTVL's programming.[5] WTVL-AM-FM had a middle of the road format and carried news from the ABC Entertainment network.[6] In 1984, the station shifted to an adult contemporary format.[7]

The following year, WTVL changed to a nostalgia format programmed separately from the FM station, which had moved to 98.5 FM and had become adult contemporary station WDBX.[8] In 1987, WDBX returned to the WTVL-FM call sign, and the two stations resumed simulcasting with an oldies format.[9]

E.H. Close, owner of WPNH AM-FM in Plymouth, New Hampshire, and WKNE AM-FM in Keene, New Hampshire, bought WTVL and WTVL-FM from Kennebec Broadcasting for $1.29 million in 1988.[10] By 1990, the stations had changed to a soft rock format.[11] In 1993, WTVL-FM became country music station WEBB; the simulcast on WTVL continued, even though the AM call sign was not changed.[12]

Pilot Communications bought WTVL and WEBB for $450,000 in 1994.[13] Pilot's radio stations were acquired by Citadel Broadcasting in 1999 as part of its purchase of parent company Broadcasting Partners Holdings.[14] In January 2003, Citadel ended WTVL's simulcast of WEBB and switched the station to an adult standards format, simulcast with sister station WEZW (1400 AM, now WJZN) in Waterville under the "Kool" branding.[15] The call sign was changed to WODJ on November 26, 2004; on December 8, the WTVL call sign returned.[16]

Citadel merged with Cumulus Media on September 16, 2011.[17] Townsquare Media acquired Cumulus' Augusta/Waterville stations in 2012.[18] The simulcast with WJZN ended on July 14, 2016, when that station changed to a classic rock format.[19]

On December 31, 2022, WTVL went silent.[20] Townsquare Media surrendered the station's license to the Federal Communications Commission on December 29, 2023, which cancelled it on January 8, 2024.[21]

References

  1. ^ "Facility Technical Data for WTVL". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  2. ^ "WTVL-AM 1490 kHz - Waterville, ME". radio-locator.com.
  3. ^ "Contact Us". Kool AM.
  4. ^ Broadcasting Yearbook 1947 (PDF). 1947. p. 122. Retrieved August 28, 2016.
  5. ^ 1969 Broadcasting Yearbook (PDF). 1969. p. B-77. Retrieved January 9, 2024.
  6. ^ 1974 Broadcasting Yearbook (PDF). 1974. p. B-95. Retrieved January 9, 2024.
  7. ^ Broadcasting Cablecasting Yearbook 1985 (PDF). 1985. p. B-122. Retrieved January 9, 2024.
  8. ^ Broadcasting Cablecasting Yearbook 1986 (PDF). 1986. p. B-128. Retrieved January 9, 2024.
  9. ^ Broadcasting/Cablecasting Yearbook 1986 (PDF). 1986. p. B-129. Retrieved January 9, 2024.
  10. ^ "Changing Hands" (PDF). Broadcasting. October 3, 1988. p. 71. Retrieved January 9, 2024.
  11. ^ The Broadcasting Yearbook 1991 (PDF). 1991. p. B-148. Retrieved January 9, 2024.
  12. ^ Fybush, Scott. "Maine Radio History, 1971–1996". The Archives at BostonRadio.org. Retrieved August 28, 2016.
  13. ^ "Changing Hands" (PDF). Broadcasting & Cable. April 18, 1994. p. 34. Retrieved January 9, 2024.
  14. ^ Seavey, Deborah Turcotte (November 9, 1999). "8 Maine radio stations bought". Bangor Daily News. Retrieved August 28, 2016.
  15. ^ Fybush, Scott (January 27, 2003). "KB Komes Back". North East RadioWatch. Retrieved August 28, 2016.
  16. ^ "Call Sign History (WTVL)". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved January 9, 2024.
  17. ^ "Cumulus now owns Citadel Broadcasting". Atlanta Business Journal. September 16, 2011. Retrieved August 28, 2016.
  18. ^ "Cumulus sells radio stations in Bangor, Augusta, Presque Isle". Bangor Daily News. Associated Press. April 30, 2012. Retrieved August 28, 2016.
  19. ^ Capital 95.9 Launches in Augusta, ME Radioinsight - July 14, 2016
  20. ^ "Draft Copy « Licensing and Management System « FCC".
  21. ^ "License Cancelled". Federal Communications Commission Licensing and Management System. January 8, 2024. Retrieved January 8, 2024.