WNTY
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| City | Southington, Connecticut |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Central Connecticut |
| Branding | Kool Radio |
| Slogan | Good Times Great Oldies |
| Frequency | 990 kHz |
| Translator(s) | 96.1 W241CG (Southington) |
| First air date | September 2, 1969 |
| Format | Oldies |
| Power | 2,500 watts daytime 80 watts nighttime |
| Class | D |
| Facility ID | 73352 |
| Former callsigns | WNTY (1969-2003) WXCT (2003-2016) |
| Owner | John Fuller (Red Wolf Broadcasting Corporation) |
| Sister stations | WSPR, WSKP, WBMW |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | koololdiesradio.net |
WNTY is an oldies radio station licensed to Southington, Connecticut and serving the Hartford, Connecticut area. The station is owned by John Fuller, through licensee Red Wolf Broadcasting Corporation, and broadcasts at 990 kHz with 2.5 kilowatts daytime and 80 watts nighttime from studio and tower site at 440 Old Turnpike Road in Southington.
The 990 frequency signed on in 1969 as WNTY, a daytime-only station that targeted Southington and nearby Bristol. The station was engineered by Hillis Holt, and owned by the Nutmeg Broadcasting Company. Like many other similar daytime-only stations that signed on in suburban areas, WNTY's original format would last for many years past its launch and built a name in their community with programming such as high school sports. The station would add a small amount of nighttime power, enough to cover the developed portion of Southington, in 1988.
WNTY's original format would continue in some form until early 1999 when the death of then-owner Donato F. Sarapo, who had purchased the station from the original owners, led to WNTY being sold to ADD Radio Group for $850,000. Upon ADD Radio's taking ownership of the station, the station would turn its focus from Southington and Bristol and instead to the larger cities of Hartford and New Britain though some Southington/Bristol programming would remain including high school sports and Sunday programming including a Catholic mass service, a Polka show, and ethnic programming.
In April 1999, WNTY was leased by Hartford-based El Principe Communications, a Hispanic group that previously had owned WMMW in Meriden prior to that station becoming a satellite of WDRC. The format they had operated on WMMW, a Spanish-language format targeted towards younger audiences called La Brava, was installed on WNTY.
La Brava would last until September 15, 2000 when ADD Radio terminated El Principe's lease for reasons including non-payment of rent. In retaliation, El Principe vandalized WNTY's studios and transmitter which kept the station off the air for two weeks. The station would return to the air that October with an automated variety of music plus high school football and the Sunday brokered programming, as well as a Christian music program "Play it Again God" targeted at Christian youth and young adults.
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Wikipedia