Hall Communications
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Radio broadcasting |
| Founded | 1964 |
| Headquarters | Lakeland, Florida, U.S. |
Key people | Robert M. Hall, founder Bonnie Hall Rowbotham, president Art Rowbotham, chair |
| Products | Radio |
| Website | hallradio.com |
Hall Communications, Inc. is a broadcasting company based in Lakeland, Florida. The company currently owns 17 radio stations in Polk County, Florida; eastern Connecticut; New Bedford, Massachusetts; and Burlington, Vermont.
The company was founded in 1964 when Robert M. Hall, founder of The Hall Syndicate (a major newspaper syndicate), purchased WICH, his first radio station in Connecticut. In 1967, Hall would sell off his syndication company to Field Enterprises, in order to concentrate more on broadcasting.
By 1971, Hall Communications, Inc. had grown to include WICH and WICH-FM in Norwich, Connecticut; WNBH and WNBH-FM in New Bedford, Massachusetts; WMMW in Meriden, Connecticut; WETE in Knoxville, Tennessee; WUSJ in Lockport, New York; and WBVP and WBVP-FM, Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania. WMMW was sold at some point in the early 1970s. WETE was sold in 1976 to Basic Media, Inc. That same year, Hall purchased WGAL and WGAL-FM, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Hall resigned as President in 1991 and Chair in 1998, turning the company over to his daughter Bonnie Hall Rowbotham and her husband Art.
Hall Communications, Inc. operates a wholly owned subsidiary: Nutmeg Broadcasting Company, licensee of WILI and WILI-FM, which was purchased from the Rice family in 2005.
In addition to their 21 radio stations, Hall Communications is also the 60% majority owner of Cross Country Communications, formerly licensee of WKZA, Lakewood, New York and WLKW-FM, Celoron, New York.
