WICC (AM)

WICC (AM 600) is a news and information radio station in Bridgeport, Connecticut, owned by Cumulus Media. Its signal reaches down into Long Island, New York.

History

WICC is Bridgeport Connecticut's first radio station, and one of the first in the state, signing on the air on November 8, 1926. Its call letters W-I-C-C stands for "Industrial Capital of Connecticut", which well described Bridgeport throughout the early and mid-20th century.

In the early days, as radio assignments were being formalized, WICC broadcast from various places on the AM dial, including 1060 kHz, 1400 kHz, 1130 kHz, 1190 kHz and 1430 kHz until finally settling down at 600 kHz on the AM dial in 1930.

The station became a CBS affiliate September 25, 1932. Sometime later, it affiliated with the Yankee Network News Service. [Yankee Story, The; archive.org; promo film]

WICC originally broadcast with 250 watts. In 1937 it raised authorized power to its current license limits of 1000 watts days, 500 watts nights, using a directional antenna at night. Because of its low dial position and its heritage transmitter site on Pleasure Beach in Bridgeport Harbor, WICC's signal covers Southern Connecticut extremely well, has many listeners on Long Island, can be often heard up and down the East Coast, and has received reception reports from as far away as Finland and Portugal.