NorthEast Radio Watch 6/2/2025: A WOW Moment for WATR

In this week’s issue… Car dealership goes terrestrial – Lawsuit uncovers Connoisseur’s attempted bids for Audacy, Cox – New newsroom for WNBC, WNJU – Remembering Buffalo’s Deeb, Batavia’s Platt

By SCOTT FYBUSH

*It’s a terrestrial radio station! It’s a streamer! It’s a car dealership! It’s a broadcaster!

In CONNECTICUT, a new partnership that launched this morning aims to make one bigger outlet out of two smaller operations in nearby cities. The collaboration pairs WATR (1320/97.7) in Waterbury with “WOW Radio CT,” the streaming classic hits service operated by Toyota of Wallingford from studios inside the dealership.

WATR morning host Chris Fortier kicked off the simulcast this morning; he’ll continue to be part of the merged WATR and WOW, followed by the WOW midday show that features longtime WPLR hosts Brian Smith (above) and Pam Landry, with WATR’s weekend shows and other local elements also remaining as part of the new programming.

It’s actually the second time the programming from the car dealership has aired on a broadcast signal – what’s now WOW Radio evolved out of the demise of the old WQUN (1220 Hamden), when former WQUN hosts Smith and Landry moved their show over to Wallingford to broadcast on both the WOW stream and on WQUN’s successor on 1220, WATX.

While WATX went its own way with classic hits under owner Clark Smidt, Smith and Landry kept going on WOW, and now they’ll be back on the air once more, the latest stop for them in a career that included a long run at WPLR.

How will the WATR/WOW partnership evolve? We’ll be following this one closely, because especially for the Toyota dealership, it’s an interesting new twist on the very long-running relationship between car dealerships and the radio industry that’s long thrived on their ad dollars. It’s also a test of how stations in small communities with limited resources can pool them to keep their programming relevant to local audiences. Will WATR and WOW together become bigger than either station was able to be separately?