WRCE
| City of license | Watkins Glen, New York |
|---|---|
| Branding | The Race 1490 ESPN Radio |
| Frequency | 1490 kHz |
| First air date | 1968 |
| Format | Sports |
| Power | 880 watts (unlimited) |
| Class | C |
| Facility ID | 49446 |
| Transmitter coordinates | 42°21′11″N 76°52′13″W / 42.35306°N 76.87028°W |
| Callsign meaning | W RaCE (allusion to Watkins Glen International Speedway) |
| Former callsigns |
WGMF WBZD WTYX[1] |
| Affiliations |
ESPN Radio Motor Racing Network Performance Racing Network |
| Owner | Community Broadcasters, LLC |
| Sister stations | WNKI, WNGZ, WPGI, WWLZ |
| Website | WRCE Online |
WRCE (1490 AM) is a radio station licensed to serve Watkins Glen, New York. The station is owned by Community Broadcasters, LLC. Its last format was reported as talk radio,[2] but had more recently been simulcasting its sister station, country music WPGI 100.9 FM, with occasional breakaways for sports coverage (most commonly NASCAR, which runs an annual race at Watkins Glen International Speedway).[3] The station had been Silent due to a tower collapse between December 2009 and February 2010, but has since returned to the air, though its format is not known. As of May 2013, it was reported to be simulcasting WNGZ, a classic rock station.
The station originally signed on in 1968 as WGMF,[3] a daytime-only station on 1500 kHz (the same frequency as clear channel WTOP in Washington). The station later moved to 1490 kHz to broadcast 24 hours a day; during the early 2000s, the station aired an adult standards format as WTYX. The station was assigned the WRCE call letters by the Federal Communications Commission on January 22, 2008.[1]
WRCE's tower collapsed on December 14, 2009, killing a worker and causing the station to go silent.[3]
From June 30 to July 4, 2011, WRCE ran a simulcast of "The Bunny", a temporary radio station run by the band Phish for their weekend long Superball IX concert festival at Watkins Glen International, also run on Sirius XM's Jam On station and the Phish website. The station had an eclectic mix of music from Phish and other artists, and had a live broadcast all eight sets of music performed by Phish over the weekend.
Along with the rest of Backyard Broadcasting's New York assets, WRCE was sold to Community Broadcasters, LLC effective August 26, 2013 at a price of $3.6 million.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Call Sign History". FCC Media Bureau CDBS Public Access Database.
- ↑ "Station Information Profile". Arbitron.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Fybush, Scott (2009-12-21). KDKA's Fred Honsberger Dies. NorthEast Radio Watch. Retrieved 2009-12-21.
External links
- WRCE official website
- Query the FCC's AM station database for WRCE
- Radio-Locator Information on WRCE
- Query Nielsen Audio's AM station database for WRCE
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||