On the 100th Birthday of Radio Broadcasting, WATS Broadcasting, Inc., and Radigan Broadcasting, LLC, have reached an agreement on the sale of WATS-WAVR radio stations in Sayre and Waverly to David and Irene Radigan (the operators of WEBO FM in Owego.) The matter awaits FCC approval, which is expected around the end of the year.
The sale will mark the end of Chuck Carver’s 44-year tenure at “The Choice.” Chuck joined the Valley stations in 1976, right after receiving his Bachelor of Arts Degree in Journalism from the Ohio State University. After serving 10 years as an announcer, News Director, Station Manager and General Manager, he, lifelong friend Todd Bowers, Larry Brown and Peg Croft purchased the stations from Robert Klose in 1986 … with Carver becoming sole owner in 2016.
WATS-WAVR has won more than 100 state and national first place awards for programming excellence for its news, sports, editorials, public affairs, morning team and shows like “Scholarship Challenge” and “Christmas is for Kids.” Carver started the Challenge in 1980 and hosted every program for 40 years, asking more than 6,300 participants over 31,000 questions. The 24-team high school quiz has awarded more than $210,000 in prize money to local districts. And the Christmas holiday effort to benefit the Salvation Army has raised over a million dollars in cash and toys during its 34-year run.
As the longtime voice of the morning news at WATS-WAVR, Carver has delivered approximately 100,000 newscasts in the past four-plus decades. And, as a Certified Lay Minister in the United Methodist Church, he has shared more than 500 sermons from the pulpit at three dozen different local churches.
He and his wife, Michele, relocated to Lititz, Pa., in April, to be near their two sons and two grandsons. He said, “I am deeply grateful to the wonderful, generous Valley community that has always supported my family and me. I literally knew not a single person when I first drove into Sayre in 1976, and made so many friendships over the years. I am so happy that Dave and Irene will soon begin serving our community … and I know they’ll do many wonderful things here, just like they have in Owego. The Valley airwaves remain in good hands.”
You may have heard WEBO on 98.5 FM in Owego, 101.3 in Candor, 105.1 in the Valley, 107.9 in Binghamton and 1330 AM throughout the Twin Tiers. Dave Radigan has been on the radio since the age of 13, starting in Penn Yan, NY, ever since going to work with his uncle for a day. The rest is history. The Radigan Family later purchased WEBO in 2006 and has survived two floods. Dave became the sole owner of WEBO in 2019 and has formerly served on the Kiwanis Club, Tioga County Chamber Board of Directors, and was a volunteer firefighter for 20 years, including the rank of Assistant Chief which he held for seven of those years.
Together, Irene made Dave the stepfather of four children, and they had a daughter of their own last month.
“We are very excited to be working with Mr. Carver on this transition and to preserve local ownership of WATS/WAVR as valuable assets to the community,” Dave Radigan said. “We look forward to continuing Scholarship Challenge, Christmas is for Kids, Stuff the Bus, and all of the other ways Choice 102 serves the area. Mr. Carver has also set a high standard for local news coverage over the last 44 years and we look forward to living up to that challenge as well.”
— Chuck Carver
Greater Valley Chamber of Commerce has scheduled a Ribbon Cutting for Tuesday at 11:00 a.m. at the Choice 102 building, 193 S. Keystone Ave., Sayre, PA. to Welcome Radigan Broadcasting, owner of WEBO, Owego, as the new owner of the radio station.
