WHCN

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

WHCN (The River 105.9) is a hot adult contemporary 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.

WHCN started out in the 1950's as the Hartford Concert Network, as a Classical music station before shifting to a album-oriented rock (AOR) in the late 1960's. Known as "106WHCN", it was very successful in the 1970's and the 1980's. It was home to the "Picozzi and the Horn" morning show http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Picozzi_and_The_Horn up until the mid 1990's,. Picozzi would later move across town to WCCC, where he is to this day. WHCN flipped to Classic Rock in the mid 1990's 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 in 2000.

After years of declining ratings, the 33-year run of WHCN would come to an abrupt end in March of 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 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 by launching its current hot adult contemporary format, which is a blend of classic rock hits of the 1970's and 1980's with recurrent and current hits of today. Now carries the nationally syndicated "John Tesh Radio Show". The call letters have been retained to reflect the station's past.

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

WHCN
Broadcast area	Hartford, CT
Branding	The River 105.9
Frequency	105.9 MHz
Format	Hot Adult Contemporary
Callsign meaning	W Hartford Concert Network
Owner	Clear Channel