ABC Watermark was a radio syndication entity that existed from 1982 until 1995.

History

The company came to be as the result of

ABC Radio Networks ABC Radio may refer to: Australia * History of ABC Radio (Australia), the division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) responsible for: ** ABC Classic, a classical music radio station ** ABC Classic 2, an un-presented streaming-only c ...

' purchase of Watermark Inc. from its founders

Tom Rounds Tom Rounds (June 6, 1936 – June 1, 2014) was an American radio broadcasting executive, founder and chief executive officer of Radio Express in Burbank, California. Biography Early years After first entering the broadcasting profession at the c ...

and Ron Jacobs. The acquisition gave ABC control of Watermark's two major syndication properties, the

Casey Kasem Kemal Amin "Casey" Kasem (April 27, 1932 – June 15, 2014) was an American disc jockey, actor, and radio personality, who created and hosted several radio countdown programs, notably ''American Top 40''. He was the first actor to voice No ...

and

Don Bustany Donald S. Bustany (August 10, 1928 – April 23, 2018) was an American radio and television broadcaster. Biography Bustany was born in Detroit to Lebanese-American parents. He and radio host/voice actor Casey Kasem were childhood friends, and la ...

creations '' American Top 40'' and ''

American Country Countdown ''American Country Countdown'', also known as ''ACC'', is a weekly internationally syndicated radio program which counts down the top 40 country songs of the previous week, from No. 40 to No. 1, according to the ''Billboard'' Country Airplay ch ...

''. ABC would later launch another show under the ''American'' brand, the

oldies Oldies is a term for musical genres such as pop music, rock and roll, doo-wop, surf music (broadly characterized as classic rock and pop rock) from the second half of the 20th century, specifically from around the mid-1950s to the 1980s, as ...

-themed '' American Gold'', in 1991.

Current status

Watermark ceased to exist after the cancellation of ''American Top 40'' in 1995; it would later be revived by Kasem in 1998 and is currently distributed by

Premiere Radio Networks Premiere Networks (formerly Premiere Radio Networks, shortened as PRN) is an American media company, a wholly owned subsidiary of iHeartMedia, for which it currently serves as its main original radio content distribution and production arm. I ...

. ''American Country Countdown'' has aired continuously since its premiere and continues to be distributed by ABC successor

Cumulus Media Cumulus Media, Inc. is an American broadcasting company and is the third largest owner and operator of AM and FM radio stations in the United States behind Audacy and iHeartMedia. As of June 2019, Cumulus lists ownership of 428 stations in 8 ...

, now under the

Nash FM Nash or NASH may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Nash, Buckinghamshire * Nash, London, a hamlet near Keston in the London Borough of Bromley *Nash, Newport, Wales * Nash, south Shropshire, a small village and parish in southern Shropshire * Nas ...

brand (it is now hosted by

Kix Brooks Leon Eric Brooks III, better known by his stage name Kix Brooks (born May 12, 1955), is an American country music artist, actor, and film producer best known for being one half of the duo Brooks & Dunn and host of radio's ''American Country Co ...

; longtime host

Bob Kingsley Robert Gibson Kingsley (March 19, 1939 – October 17, 2019) was an American country music radio personality and a member of the National Radio Hall of Fame. He was best known as the host of two nationally syndicated radio programs: ''American Cou ...

hosted the identically formatted ''

Country Top 40 ''Bob Kingsley's Country Top 40 with Fitz'' (sometimes abbreviated as CT40) is an American country music radio countdown show created by former ''American Country Countdown'' host Bob Kingsley, who hosted the show from its January 2006 debut unti ...

'') from New Year's weekend 2005/2006 until shortly before his death on Thursday, October 17, 2019. ''American Gold'' ended in 2009, with host

Dick Bartley Dick Bartley (born 26 July 1951), a popular American radio disc jockey since June 21, 1969, has hosted several popular syndicated radio shows of the oldies/classic hits genre, including the current ''Dick Bartley's Classic Hits'' and ''Rock & Roll ...

now hosting the similarly formatted ''Classic Countdown'' for

United Stations Radio Networks United Stations Radio Networks (USRN) is a radio network that provides a variety of radio programs and programming services for radio stations throughout the United States and elsewhere. It is based in New York City. History The company was fou ...

References

*Durkee, Rob. American Top 40: The Countdown of the Century. Schriner Books, New York City, 1999. . 1982 establishments in the United States Mass media companies established in 1982 Defunct mass media companies of the United States American Top 40 Mass media companies disestablished in 1995 1995 disestablishments in the United States Radio stations established in 1982 Radio stations disestablished in 1995 Defunct radio stations in the United States {{US-radio-station-stub