BRATTLEBORO — One of Brattleboro's two AM radio stations is broadening its coverage area.
WKVT AM-1490 recently received approval from the Federal Communications Commission to rebroadcast the station on a low-power FM translator station.
W262CL is rebroadcasting WKVT-AM's programming on 100.3 FM. The 105-watt signal is broadcast from a directional antenna attached to WKVT-FM's tower in West Brattleboro.
WKVT AM-FM is owned by Michigan-based Saga Communications Inc., which also owns stations in Keene, N.H., and in Greenfield, Northampton, and Springfield, Mass., among others in its New England group.
“The reach of the signal will be roughly the same as the AM signal, it will just be able to be heard on FM too,” said WKVT Operations Manager Peter Case. “These signals are referred to [by Saga] as a 'Metro FM,' which fills the 'Brattleboro Bowl' in which we live.”
The daytime signal of WKVT-AM, a 1,000-watt Class C station, reaches Wilmington to Keene, east to west, and from Bellows Falls to Greenfield, north to south. During the evening hours, when atmospheric conditions change, WKVT's coverage area is greatly reduced to about a five-mile radius of Brattleboro.
Case said the translator will make a difference in filling in the gaps of the AM-1490 signal's reach.
“FM translators certainly will bring our AM to new listeners,” he said. “As with all media, we are finding new ways to present our products to new people while retaining those we've always had.”
Part of that process is WKVT's coverage of the Brattleboro Colonels, a return to its coverage of local high school sports following a years-long absence. WKVT is splitting coverage of boys' and girls' basketball with WTSA Radio.
Case said he recognizes that WTSA is the frontrunner with Colonels sports, “but if we go back many years, WKVT used to be the sole provider of Colonels coverage in the Brattleboro area. So for us it's where they're supposed to be on the community radio station. It just feels right having them back home again.
Case said listeners' feedback is positive: “Gil Burns and Chris Lenois call a spirited game, and we feel they do an excellent job with play-by-play, which translates to an exciting listening experience.”
As for getting WKVT's programming beyond radio, Case said that streaming broadcasts online is a “front-burner” project, and that the station is seeking sponsors to help underwrite the expense.