WHCN

Radio station
name = WHCN
city = Hartford, Connecticut
area = Hartford, Connecticut
PD/MD = Tom Thomas
branding = "The River 105.9"
frequency = 105.9 MHz
erp = 16,000 watts
haat = 264 meters
class = B
facility_id = 72144
callsign_meaning = W Hartford Concert Network
format = Hot Adult Contemporary
owner = Clear Channel
sister_stations = WKSS, WPOP, WURH, WWYZ
webcast = [http://www.theriver1059.com/cc-common/hdradio/ Listen Live]
website = [http://www.theriver1059.com/ theriver1059.com]

WHCN ("The River 105.9") is a hot adult contemporary music formatted radio station based in Hartford, Connecticut. The city of license is Hartford. The Clear Channel Communications outlet broadcasts at 105.9 MHz with an effective radiated power of 50 kW. The music blends classic rock and new wave, with current and recurrent hit songs of today. It is similar to the "JACK-FM" formats that have been heard across the U.S. The station broadcasts from West Peak in Meriden, Connecticut. Their studios are at 10 Columbus Boulevard, in Hartford, Connecticut. "The River" brand is a local reference to the Connecticut River.

WHCN started out in the 1950s as the Hartford Concert Network, as a Classical music station before shifting to a album-oriented rock (AOR) in the late 1960s. Known as "The Rock, 106-WHCN", it was very successful in the 1970s and the 1980s. It was home to the morning show Picozzi and The Horn, up until the mid 1990s,. Picozzi would later move across town to WCCC-FM, where he is to this day. WHCN flipped to Classic rock in the mid 1990s to compete for the older rock audience that grew up with WHCN, but changing owners would signal changes at WHCN as well. It would become "105-9 WHCN" and adapt a harder-edged classic rock sound billed as "Classic Rock that really rocks!". WHCN would be snapped up by Liberty Broadcasting and then SFX Broadcasting/Capstar, then AMFM and then Clear Channel Communications in 2000.

After years of declining ratings, the 33-year run of WHCN would come to an abrupt end in March 2002 when WHCN became known as "The River 105.9", surprisingly retaining most of its on-air staff in its infancy from the previous classic rock incarnation. The station's "The Rock" slogan (and later the station's former Asylumn Street location after it moved to its current location) would be snatched up by former rival WCCC. The playlist was different and much more diverse than other stations in the market and the station shot up in ratings from 13th place to 5th place within a year. "The River 105.9" would target listeners of WRCH and WTIC-FM by launching its current hot adult contemporary format, which is a blend of classic rock hits of the 1970s and 1980s with recurrent and current hits of today. A similar format had been successful in the nearby Albany market on WRVE 99.5. WHCN now carries the nationally syndicated "John Tesh Radio Show". The call letters have been retained to reflect the station's past.

The station appeals to baby boomers and Generation X listeners with various programming such as the "High School reunion" at 6pm, focused on a specific year and the "Eighties at Eight", which is an hour of Eighties music starting at 8am.

The station carries a "deep tracks" format on its HD Radio HD-2 subchannel.

External links

* [http://www.theriver1059.com/ WHCN website]
*FMQ|WHCN
*FML|WHCN
*FMARB|WHCN