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WATR

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WATR

Waterbury, Connecticut

United States

Frequency

1320 kHz

Branding

97.7 WATR

Programming

Format

Full service (news-talk; classic and modern hits, adult contemporary)

Affiliations

ABC News Radio

UCONN Radio Network

Ownership

Owner

Kurt Jackson and David Webster

(WATR Radio, LLC)

Sister stations

WWCO, WARE, WRYM

History

First air date

June 15, 1934; 90 years ago (1934-06-15)^[1]

Call sign meaning

Waterbury

Technical information^[2]

Licensing authority

71102

5,000 watts (day)

1,000 watts (night)

Transmitter coordinates

41°32′12.35″N 73°1′50.39″W / 41.5367639°N 73.0306639°W / 41.5367639; -73.0306639

Translator(s)

97.7 W249DY (Waterbury)

Links

Public license information

Public file

LMS

Website

www.watr.com

WATR (1320 AM) is a radio station licensed to serve Waterbury, Connecticut, and the Naugatuck Valley. The station is owned by WATR Radio, LLC. It airs a full-service format featuring news–talk, as well as classic and modern hits. It was until May 2022 the oldest privately owned station in the state of Connecticut, never having been sold outside the family of its founder, Harold Thomas (1902–1968).

History[edit]

The station has been assigned the WATR call letters by the Federal Communications Commission since it was initially licensed in 1934.^[1]^[3]

WATR once had sister television and FM stations: WATR-TV (now WCCT-TV), established in 1953, and WATR-FM (now WWYZ), established in 1961.

The station was also home to the "Polish Eagle Show", originated in 1934 on WATR by bandleader Victor Zembruski (1912–1976). His widow, Sophie Zembruski (1918–2010),^[4] hosted the show from 1976 to 2008, at which time the couple's daughter, Loretta Hoxie, took over hosting duties. "The Zembruski Family Polka Hour", hosted by Nathaniel Zembruski, succeeded Hoxie shortly after she retired in 2013. Zembruski, at age 17, decided to end the show as his junior year of high school concluded. Its finale aired on May 31, 2020.

The station also maintains a decades-long tradition of broadcasting play-by-play of local high school football and basketball. WATR was a member of the University of Connecticut sports radio network from 2018 to 2023.

It was announced on February 24, 2020, that the station was up for sale.^[5] A partnership between WWCO owner David Webster and WARE owner Kurt Jackson purchased the station and translator W249DY effective August 24, 2022, for $320,000.^[6]