WRAT
 |
|
| City | Point Pleasant, New Jersey |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Ocean County/Monmouth County, New Jersey |
| Branding | 95.9 The Rat |
| Slogan | The Rat Rocks! |
| Frequency |
95.9 MHz (also on HD Radio via WJRZ-FM-HD2) |
| Translator(s) | W300AO (107.9, Manahawkin, relays WJRZ-FM-HD2) |
| First air date | September 2, 1996 |
| Format | Mainstream rock |
| ERP | 4,000 watts |
| HAAT | 73 meters |
| Class | A |
| Facility ID | 59530 |
| Callsign meaning | W R A T - FM |
| Owner |
Beasley Broadcast Group (Beasley Media Group, LLC) |
| Sister stations | WJRZ-FM, WMTR, WDHA-FM, WCTC, WMGQ |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | wrat.com |
WRAT (95.9 FM, "The Rat") is a rock music radio station licensed to Point Pleasant, New Jersey. Its studios and transmitter are located in the Borough of Lake Como, New Jersey. The station is owned by Beasley Broadcast Group.
WRAT took over the frequency 95.9 from WADB, a station named for the founder, Adamant Brown and his wife Dorothy. Brown, after determining that there was no one on frequency within the required 70 miles, and co-channel 35 miles. petitioned the FCC for the rights to the frequency. A tower was subsequently erected at the studio site in South Belmar (now known as Lake Como). Taking to the air in October 1968, it was one of the first automated broadcast stations with large carousels loaded with broadcast-spec tape cartridges for the majority of advertising. Large reels of taped music with interspersed commercials allowed the station to run with minimal human intervention. An SMC digital programmer controlled the operation. The station's "easy listening" format quickly proved popular in its coverage area of southern Monmouth and northern Ocean counties but over time, the nationwide audience for that program format began to decrease. Once Brown decided to sell the station, its days as a "beautiful music" outlet were numbered.
After a Labor Day Weekend stunt during which the song "Rat in the Kitchen" by UB40 was aired continuously, WRAT flipped to rock and roll on Labor Day Monday, 1996. The first song that day was AC/DC's "For Those About To Rock." The station quickly gained a loyal following, filling a void in the Monmouth/Ocean (N.J.) radio market, by providing a local station with a rock format and approach which listeners could previously only hear via stations broadcasting from New York City and Philadelphia.
WRAT's programming, sales, marketing, and internet operations are all controlled by local employees.
...
Wikipedia