WSAR
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| City | Fall River, Massachusetts |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Southcoast Massachusetts |
| Branding | 1480 WSAR |
| Frequency | 1480 kHz |
| First air date | September 21, 1921 (claimed by station) licensed June 1923 & signed on July 3, 1923. |
| Format | News / Talk / Sports |
| Power | 5,000 watts full-time |
| Class | B |
| Facility ID | 6879 |
| Callsign meaning | sequential |
| Affiliations | ABC, TRN, Boston Red Sox, New England Patriots, Boston Celtics, Pawtucket Red Sox |
| Owner | Jim & Bob Karam (Bristol County Broadcasting, Inc.) |
| Sister stations | WHTB |
| Webcast | On webpage |
| Website | wsar.com |
WSAR is an AM radio station licensed to Fall River, Massachusetts. Its studios and transmitter are located in Somerset, Massachusetts broadcasting on 1480 kHz. Its transmitter power output is 5,000 watts unlimited hours using two towers at the Somerset site. On January 28, 2015 WSAR was granted a U.S. Federal Communications Commission construction permit to increase day power to 25,000 watts by adding a third tower that is about one half the height of the current two towers.
WSAR's format is news/talk and sports. It used to be a full service music station playing top 40 music. Its flagship programs are The Bristol County Breakfast Club with Hector "Happy Hec" Gauthier; Rapid Fire with Ric Oliveira; The WSAR Newsroom with Ric Oliveira and Alan Zarek; and Dr. Mike Boudria. WSAR also carries live game coverage for the Boston Red Sox, New England Patriots and the Boston Celtics.
WSAR was licensed in June 1923 (although in one 1940s' station publication, the station claimed September 21, 1921) with the sequentially-issued callsign of WSAR. WSAR's original owner was the Doughty & Welch Electric Company. WSAR's first air date was July 3, 1923. WSAR first operated on 1180kc with 10 watts. It would stay on 1180 through 1926. Power in 1926 was 100 watts. WSAR then moved to Portsmouth, Rhode Island and changed frequency to 1190kc, still with 100 watts, by June 30, 1927. WSAR moved back to Fall River and changed frequency again, to 1410kc, in 1928. During the late 1920s the power was increased to 1,000 watts. An early slogan used by WSAR (sometime between 1926 and 1932) was "Fall River Looms Up."
WSAR was on 1450kc with 250 watts of power by June 30, 1930. The owner was still the Doughty & Welch Electric Company.
With the adaptation of the North American Regional Broadcasting Agreement, WSAR's frequency shifted from 1450 to 1480kc, effective at 03:00 Eastern Time on March 29, 1941. In 1941-42 WSAR was an affiliate of the Boston Red Sox and Boston Braves networks. This has been noted by a history book on-site at WSAR detailing weekly programming schedules. In 1945 the Doughty & Welch Electric Company finally sold WSAR to K&M Publishing. In 1948, WSAR was a Mutual affiliate with 5,000 watts of power & had a license for WSAR-FM/103.7 (Channel 279); however by 1950 WSAR-FM had been deleted. It is unknown if WSAR-FM ever made it to air.
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