WFNY-FM
Encyclopedia
WXRK known on-air as "92.3 Now", is a radio station
in New York City
. Owned by CBS Radio
, WXRK broadcasts a Contemporary Hit Radio
format with a rhythmic lean. The station is notable for being the flagship station of The Howard Stern Show from November 1985 to December 2005, and The Opie and Anthony Show from April 2006 until March 2009.
(570 AM) by former New York state senator Nathan Straus. FM radio was not a successful venture for Straus, and he sought to either sell it or close the station down altogether.
In late 1950 Straus sold the station to the owners of WHOM radio (1480 AM, now WZRC
), and WHOM-FM appeared on February 26, 1951, featuring a variety of formats
, including ethnic, background music, classical, Spanish, and easy listening. By the early 1970s WHOM-FM had a Spanish language easy listening format.
, taking on an adult contemporary format that ran from June 5, 1975. At that point WKTU was positioned as a "soft rock" station and called "Mellow 92". Ratings were relatively low. The station held on to the format in spite of low ratings until 1978. That June, when a station executive visited New York's Studio 54
discothèque on half a dozen occasions, he was very impressed with the crowds there. He then got the idea that a disco music-based station was needed, as several FM-based Top 40 stations were leaning disco in other markets. As a result, the station management purchased 200 disco records and brought them into the station. Keeping the same airstaff, adding Paco from their Spanish-language AM station WHOM, and with no notice, the station abruptly flipped to a disco-based rhythmic top 40 format with the tagline "Disco 92" at 6 p.m. July 24, 1978. That fall, the station rose from "Worst to First", unseating WABC
in the 18-30 age demographic. Air personalities of this era included Kenn Hayes, Randy Place, Paul Robinson, Trip Reeb, Mary Thomas, Dave Mallow
and Joe Guarisco. During the height of the disco craze, WKTU was the station to follow in New York.
Initially, WKTU played mostly dance/disco and a few rhythm-friendly pop and rock songs (such as "Miss You" by the Rolling Stones for example), but by 1979, the station began to add more R&B music as well as rhythm friendly new wave
rock. By then, WKTU was still regarded as a disco station, but could be more accurately described as rhythmic contemporary hit radio
. Since that term was not yet used, the station had been classified as urban contemporary
. During this period, disc jockey
s such as Paco, Rosko
, J.D. Holiday (Paul Zarcone), Dale Reeves, Bob Bottone, Jim Harlan Carlos DeJesus, Joe Causi, Guy Broady, Jay Thomas
, Freddie Colon, Don Geronimo
, Al Bandiero
and Diane Pryor graced the airwaves, as the station continued to be at or near the top into the 1980s. Paco later went to jail for drug dealing, which is curious considering he had a successful career in radio and didn't need the money that the illicit profession of drug dealing provided.
In 1981, SJR Communications sold WKTU to Infinity
(which later merged with CBS Radio, the station's current owners). Also that year, WKTU added more dance-based New Wave
to the format. WKTU remained among the top ten New York City radio stations until 1983, when the station had introduced a new dance music
genre called Latin Freestyle
. At this point, WKTU received new competition from WHTZ
("Z-100") and WPLJ
, both of which adapted a CHR format. By the next year, the station maintained respectable but declining ratings, thanks to the new competition.
By mid-1984, WKTU went to a CHR format as well, but the ratings continued to decline. That fall, the station added legendary WABC host Dan Ingram
to afternoons, and Jo Maeder, "The Madame", from Miami's Y-100, joined Jay Thomas in the morning and did her own midday show, but the station continued to struggle in the ratings. To make matters worse, then-named WAPP
also went CHR that fall.
So strong was the memory of the late-1970s WKTU that despite all the subsequent on-air changes, the general public still regarded it as a disco station. Even though WAPP moved back to playing mostly rock music in the form of a rock-based CHR in June 1985, giving WKTU one less competitor, the station management thought a more drastic change was needed. Since New York City only had one full-time rock station with WNEW-FM, there was an opportunity.
concert, the station switched to an album-oriented rock
format, adopted the nickname of "K-Rock", and changed their call letters to WXRK. (The WKTU call letters later reappeared on New York City's 103.5 FM
with a dance pop
format in 1996).
Initially, the format at WXRK was similar to the pre-1983 WPLJ, as the air personalities left the station gradually in the next several months (exceptions were Maria Malito and Jo Maeder, who became known as "The Rock and Roll Madame"). Jimmy Fink
from WPLJ was one of the first new radio personalities to be hired. After being fired from WNBC
that October, Howard Stern
signed on to do afternoons, and initially combined music with talk, but in February 1986, Stern took over the morning slot. His morning show became the highest-rated in the market, dethroning Don Imus
, who had had the highest-rated morning show for several years on WNBC. Later that year Stern's show became syndicated, with WXRK as its flagship station.
By 1987, Stern stopped playing music on his show altogether, while the station changed to a classic rock
format that same year. The airstaff became full of veteran refugees from other New York rock stations, including Dave Herman
, Pete Fornatale
, Meg Griffin
, Vin Scelsa
, and Alison Steele
from WNEW-FM and Jimmy Fink
, Tony Pigg, Marc Coppola
, and John Zacherle
from WPLJ. In 1993, The Greaseman
's syndicated show was put in the nighttime slot, bookending Stern with an act that was often quite controversial.
By the mid-1990s modern rock
had become popular. In mid-1993, in New York City radio, WHTZ
began to play a lot of modern rock despite primarily being a CHR station. Late in 1993, Classical music station WNCN switched formats and became WAXQ
("Q 104.3"), with a mix of hard and modern rock. Moreover, WNEW-FM switched to a modern rock format in the summer of 1995, and later evolved to first an adult-based modern rock format by the end of that year, and then a more eclectic adult rock mix by 1996. Nevertheless, by the beginning of 1996, there was no full-time modern rock station in New York City.
To fill the void, WXRK switched to a modern rock format on January 5, 1996 right after Stern's show. To kick off the new format, which he enthusiastically endorsed as a better fit for his audience, Stern stayed on the air until 1:06 pm that day playing music. The first song Stern played was Marilyn Manson
's cover of "Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)
". Most of the classic rock DJs including Jimmy Fink, Tony Pigg and Marc Coppola disappeared from the station with this change, as did The Greaseman. By August 1997, the station added music that suited an active rock
station, and it continued this format of a hybrid active rock/alternative for several years.
By 2003, with a new program director
, the station dropped the active rock variant of music. No matter what the format, the longtime problem for the station was that while Stern always had very high ratings, the rest of the station did not fare as well. Moreover, it was hard to classify K-Rock an alternative station (considering classic rock acts like Led Zeppelin
being played), while it was hard to label them active rock due to the inclusion of some but not all alternative artists.
Concerned about Stern's move to Sirius Satellite Radio
at the beginning of 2006, and acknowledging that its target audience was looking elsewhere for modern rock music, WXRK made another format adjustment on April 4, 2005 to a mainstream rock
format, which relied heavily on classic hard rock
such as Guns N' Roses
, Metallica
, The Smashing Pumpkins
, and Nirvana
, while playing new music from such established artists as System of a Down
, Nine Inch Nails
, Green Day
and Weezer
. At this time, New York City was one of the few large cities in the United States
without an alternative rock
station. To prevent any backlash from fans of modern rock, an Internet-only radio station called "K-Rock2" was launched at the same time as the format adjustment. The strategy did not work, as ratings did not improve much.
As a result of the imminent departure of Howard Stern
, an announcement was made on October 25, 2005 that the station would adopt a talk format on January 3, 2006.
At 10 AM on Friday, December 16, after the last Howard Stern broadcast, K-Rock began stunting
with a melange of audio sound bites, music and program line-up announcements. At 10:20, K-Rock DJ Julie Slater announced "Welcome to Free FM" and went into music.
The station, which was one of several CBS Radio
stations around the nation branded as "Free FM
", featured David Lee Roth
as its morning show host. Other talk shows aired throughout the day, while an active rock music format continued to be played on the weekends, called "Free Rock Weekends."
Simultaneously, the WXRK call sign moved to the former WXTM in Cleveland, also owned by CBS Radio, and coincidentally at the same 92.3 frequency, and was rebranded as 92.3 K-Rock.
Free FM's ratings had plummeted since the change to an all-talk format. As the replacement for Howard Stern, Roth lost nearly three-quarters of Howard Stern's previous audience, dropping a 7.9 share to a 1.8. Among the core audience - 18-34 year-old men - the numbers fell from 13.8 to 1.3. Overall station ratings went from 3.2 in Summer/Fall of 2005 to 2.7 in Winter of 2006, and later to a 2.0, leaving it in 20th place in the New York market.
On April 25, 2006, Chris Booker
, host of "The Booker Show", announced that he was broadcasting his last show on Free FM. He soon moved over the morning show at Q102
in Philadelphia. The abrupt end of his show, which had evolved on afternoon drive before the format switch, led the station to revert to "Free Rock" music at nights.
The following day, on April 26, 2006, Opie and Anthony
replaced David Lee Roth in morning drive on Free FM, while simulcasting on XM Satellite Radio
. The show aired from 6-9 am on both terrestrial and satellite radio, then continued on XM exclusively to 11 am.
By spring 2007, Opie and Anthony managed to slightly improve WFNY-FM's ratings to a 1.4. However, this performance left the radio station ranked #22 of 25 in the NY market.
Weekends continued to use the "Free Rock Weekend" format, which included hour-long "Freecasts" in which a single listener chose the (approximately 15) songs played during the hour. The listener also acted as guest DJ over the phone during the time.
The station was also used as a secondary broadcaster of sister station WFAN
, serving as a secondary outlet for NFL football games, New Jersey Devils
hockey games and New Jersey Nets
basketball games when there was a conflict with another game on WFAN.
After Jim Cramer's Real Money went off the air on in December 2006, WFNY-FM was left with just 4 talk shows (one from syndication). As a result, the station attempted to revamp its lineup with the addition of several new talk shows, the first of which occurred on December 20, 2006. Ron & Fez, who also have a show on XM radio, signed an agreement to broadcast a 92.3 Free FM-exclusive radio show from 6pm to 9pm. Ron and Fez had previously been employed by CBS at WNEW-FM (now WWFS) shortly after that station switched to FM Talk in 1999.
Additional new shows soon followed. On December 28, 2006, John and Jeff
started being broadcast from syndication out of sister station 97.1 Free FM
in Los Angeles. They broadcast live 2 am to 6 am. On January 2, 2007, Larry Wachs, who was half of The Regular Guys morning show on WKLS-FM in Atlanta, began hosting the 10pm to midnight slot on 92.3 Free FM for 2 weeks. That same day, Nick DiPaolo
became host of the 12pm to 3pm time slot. He had done some preview shows the previous week. Beginning January 3, Loveline
with Dr. Drew Pinsky & Stryker aired Late Nights, tape delayed, from 12am to 2am.
Danni was Free FM's Music Director and was still a Free Rock jock. She has been heard doing DJ shifts on Fresh 102.7 as well. Free Rock Weekends aired 6am Saturday to 12am Sunday and 6am Sunday 2am Monday. Infomercials ran 2am-6am Sunday. Game Show Radio ran 12-2am on Sundays.
Free FM was using guest hosts for the 10pm to 12am time slot. March 2, 2007 was the last Penn Jillette
show on Free FM and CBS Radio stations. The following Monday, WFNY-FM expanded the guest host time slot by an hour, making it 9pm to 12am.
In April 2007, during an interview with a local band "A Brief Smile" on The Dog House, the hosts JV and Elvis directed numerous homophobic insults at the band’s bassist. The hosts referred to the bassist as "Fag Number 1" and asked, "How many badges of honor do you have in your colon?" and kicked him out of the studio. After playing a song by the band the hosts also called the bass part "a little faggy." The bass player returned to the studio, stated he was bisexual and that he found their use of the word "faggot" offensive. Gay rights groups such as GLAAD criticized the show as being homophobic for their remarks.
JV and Elvis were later suspended on April 30 over a six-minute prank phone call peppered with ethnic and sexual slurs to a Chinese restaurant, only after numerous Chinese American
advocacy groups complained to CBS demanding the hosts be fired.
Beginning on May 7, Free-FM started using guest hosts 9 am to 12 pm to replace The Dog House. On May 12, 2007, the AP News wire reported that CBS Radio spokeswoman Karen Mateo said, "The Dog House with JV and Elvis will no longer be broadcast [on Free-FM]." CBS fired the co-hosts JV and Elvis, as well as the producer of The Dog House after numerous complaints received from various civil rights groups.
On May 15, 2007, XM Satellite Radio
suspended the Opie and Anthony Show for 30 days because of comments made by a homeless man about raping Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice
and First Lady
Laura Bush
made on an uncensored May 9 broadcast. Their suspension was effective immediately. During this time, CBS Radio kept the show on from 6 to 9am. However, it was not simulcast on XM.
On May 24, 2007, after the Opie and Anthony
show, an eight-hour countdown began on the former "Free FM" website and a sound collage
was broadcast for most of the day. The stunting
came to an end at 4:57 PM with an apology from general manager Tom Chiusano, who apologized to listeners for taking K-Rock away. Minutes later at 5 PM, the station returned to the air as K-Rock, playing an alternative rock
format (per Mediabase
reports) from the 90s and 2000s along with heavy classic rock
. The first host to present the revised format for WFNY-FM/WXRK was Gregg "Opie" Hughes of Opie and Anthony
.
The station reverted to its previous call letters, WXRK, on May 31, 2007. The previous WXRK (92.3 K-Rock in Cleveland Heights, also owned by CBS Radio) received the callsign WKRI, which is now WKRK-FM
.
Initially, the station had no on-air staff, although on Mondays it featured a Hostile Takeover show where guest(s) sat in as the jock. The station also had contests which begun after Opie and Anthony.
On February 8, 2008, it was announced that program director Tracy Cloherty was among the many non-programming staffers that was let go by CBS Radio, in an attempt to "more effectively monetize the aggregate number of listeners who hear us on the radio and the Internet." http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv/2008/02/08/2008-02-08_wave_of_firings_hits_cbs_radio_outlets.html The advent of WRXP caused WXRK to morph to active rock
at that time.
In December 2008, as a result of another change in the station's management, K-Rock made an adjustment to the format focusing more on classic hard rock
and playing even less current rock songs. With the format adjustment, Paul Turner, who was the voice of the Howard Stern Show and K-Rock when it was a classic rock station in the 1990s, returned as voice of the station's promos.
As a result of the format shift, on December 16, 2008, FMQB
announced that afternoon jock Ian Camfield had left K-Rock to go back to XFM. K-Rock vet Chris Booker
took his place, airing in afternoon drive from 2-7PM.
's "Right Now". It was followed with the sound of a clock ticking and a promotion mentioning the station's new competition with WHTZ
. An introductory montage was then played, followed by the launch of 92.3 Now FM with the commitment to play "10,000 songs in a row, with zero minutes of commercials". The first song played on "92.3 Now FM" was The Black Eyed Peas
' "Boom Boom Pow". It has been speculated in online forums and trade journals that CBS Radio
will continue to unfold or tweak towards similar Top 40 radio stations in other major markets in the coming months leaning towards younger listeners. The station ended the "10,000 Songs in a Row" promotion in early April 2009.
As of August 2009, WFAN started moving the conflicts of New York Giants
games to WCBS-FM
.
singles, by declaring that "I'm playing what I want... this is my Christmas present to you" and started mixing in certain songs that do not fit WXRK's current format. Allen was hoping that station management would fire him, but from the comments from message boards like Radio-Info, this "event" might have been staged or a ratings ploy to attract more listeners, since Allen has been known to pull stunts at other stations that he had worked at in the past.
to mainstream rock
, K-Rock2, a new Internet-only radio station, was created. Throughout the Free-FM period and during the resurrection of K-Rock, K-Rock2 continued to stream on krock2.com. Following the main channel's format change to Now FM on March 11, 2009, the HD2 channel became known simply as K-Rock, but retained the alternative rock format. The HD2 channel is still K-Rock and can be found at krockradio.com. K-Rock HD2 has a full air staff.
Starting shortly after 2 a.m. on October 6, 2008 the K-Rock2 audio stream was added to WXRK-HD2. A few minutes earlier a simulcast of sister station WFAN
was added to WXRK HD3. 92.3 HD3 was initially using the delayed audio feed from wfan.com complete with internet only commercials and not the over the air broadcast feed used by WFAN on 660AM. After a day or so WXRK HD3 switch to the over the air feed of WFAN, but still had a time delay of over a minute.
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. Owned by CBS Radio
CBS Radio
CBS Radio, Inc., formerly known as Infinity Broadcasting Corporation, is one of the largest owners and operators of radio stations in the United States, third behind main rival Clear Channel Communications and Cumulus Media. CBS Radio owns around 130 radio stations across the country...
, WXRK broadcasts a Contemporary Hit Radio
Contemporary hit radio
Contemporary hit radio is a radio format that is common in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by the Top 40 music charts...
format with a rhythmic lean. The station is notable for being the flagship station of The Howard Stern Show from November 1985 to December 2005, and The Opie and Anthony Show from April 2006 until March 2009.
1948–1975: Early years
The station, first known as WMCA-FM, went on the air on December 25, 1948. It was co-owned with WMCA radioWMCA
WMCA, 570 AM, is a radio station in New York City, most known for its "Good Guys" Top 40 era in the 1960s. It is currently owned by Salem Communications and plays a Christian radio format...
(570 AM) by former New York state senator Nathan Straus. FM radio was not a successful venture for Straus, and he sought to either sell it or close the station down altogether.
In late 1950 Straus sold the station to the owners of WHOM radio (1480 AM, now WZRC
WZRC
WZRC, on 1480 kHz, is a radio station owned by Multicultural Radio Broadcasting, Inc. and serves the New York City area by running Cantonese program.-Formation and the early years:...
), and WHOM-FM appeared on February 26, 1951, featuring a variety of formats
Radio format
A radio format or programming format not to be confused with broadcast programming describes the overall content broadcast on a radio station. Radio formats are frequently employed as a marketing tool, and constantly evolve...
, including ethnic, background music, classical, Spanish, and easy listening. By the early 1970s WHOM-FM had a Spanish language easy listening format.
1975–1985: WKTU
Following the sale of the WHOM stations to SJR Communications, the FM station became WKTUWKTU
WKTU is a radio station based in New York City that plays an upbeat, gold-based CHR format. The station's broadcast transmitter is located on the top of the Empire State Building and its city of license is Lake Success, New York, with offices formerly in the "Newport" section of Jersey City, New...
, taking on an adult contemporary format that ran from June 5, 1975. At that point WKTU was positioned as a "soft rock" station and called "Mellow 92". Ratings were relatively low. The station held on to the format in spite of low ratings until 1978. That June, when a station executive visited New York's Studio 54
Studio 54
Studio 54 was a highly popular discotheque from 1977 until 1991, located at 254 West 54th Street in Manhattan, New York, USA. It was originally the Gallo Opera House, opening in 1927, after which it changed names several times, eventually becoming a CBS radio and television studio. In 1977 it...
discothèque on half a dozen occasions, he was very impressed with the crowds there. He then got the idea that a disco music-based station was needed, as several FM-based Top 40 stations were leaning disco in other markets. As a result, the station management purchased 200 disco records and brought them into the station. Keeping the same airstaff, adding Paco from their Spanish-language AM station WHOM, and with no notice, the station abruptly flipped to a disco-based rhythmic top 40 format with the tagline "Disco 92" at 6 p.m. July 24, 1978. That fall, the station rose from "Worst to First", unseating WABC
WABC (AM)
WABC , known as "NewsTalkRadio 77 WABC" is a radio station in New York City. Owned by the broadcasting division of Cumulus Media, the station broadcasts on a clear channel and is the flagship station of Cumulus Media Networks...
in the 18-30 age demographic. Air personalities of this era included Kenn Hayes, Randy Place, Paul Robinson, Trip Reeb, Mary Thomas, Dave Mallow
Dave Mallow
Dave Mallow is an American voice actor. One of his known aliases is Colin Phillips.-Life and career:Mallow was born in Park Ridge, Illinois. His father worked in radio and television and was a thirty year on-air veteran at Chicago's WGN. He attained a BFA in Theater Arts from Drake University in...
and Joe Guarisco. During the height of the disco craze, WKTU was the station to follow in New York.
Initially, WKTU played mostly dance/disco and a few rhythm-friendly pop and rock songs (such as "Miss You" by the Rolling Stones for example), but by 1979, the station began to add more R&B music as well as rhythm friendly new wave
New Wave music
New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...
rock. By then, WKTU was still regarded as a disco station, but could be more accurately described as rhythmic contemporary hit radio
Contemporary hit radio
Contemporary hit radio is a radio format that is common in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by the Top 40 music charts...
. Since that term was not yet used, the station had been classified as urban contemporary
Urban contemporary
Urban contemporary is a music radio format. The term was coined by the late New York DJ Frankie Crocker in the mid 1970s. Urban contemporary radio stations feature a playlist made up entirely of hip hop/rap, contemporary R&B, pop, electronica such as dubstep and drum and bass and Caribbean music...
. During this period, disc jockey
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
s such as Paco, Rosko
William (Rosko) Mercer
William Roscoe Mercer , better known to millions of radio listeners simply as Rosko, was an American news announcer and disc jockey. He is best known for his stints on New York's WOR-FM and WNEW-FM in the 1960s...
, J.D. Holiday (Paul Zarcone), Dale Reeves, Bob Bottone, Jim Harlan Carlos DeJesus, Joe Causi, Guy Broady, Jay Thomas
Jay Thomas
Jay Thomas is an American actor, comedian and radio talk show host.-Personal life:Thomas was born in Kermit, Texas. He was raised in his Italian American mother's Roman Catholic faith, although his father was Protestant....
, Freddie Colon, Don Geronimo
Don Geronimo
Michael Sorce , better known by his stage name Don Geronimo, is an American radio personality formerly featured on the nationally syndicated radio talk show Don and Mike Show...
, Al Bandiero
Al Bandiero
Al Bandiero is an American award-winning film and television actor, known for playing Peter Evans in the TV series Desire.-Biography:...
and Diane Pryor graced the airwaves, as the station continued to be at or near the top into the 1980s. Paco later went to jail for drug dealing, which is curious considering he had a successful career in radio and didn't need the money that the illicit profession of drug dealing provided.
In 1981, SJR Communications sold WKTU to Infinity
CBS Radio
CBS Radio, Inc., formerly known as Infinity Broadcasting Corporation, is one of the largest owners and operators of radio stations in the United States, third behind main rival Clear Channel Communications and Cumulus Media. CBS Radio owns around 130 radio stations across the country...
(which later merged with CBS Radio, the station's current owners). Also that year, WKTU added more dance-based New Wave
New Wave music
New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...
to the format. WKTU remained among the top ten New York City radio stations until 1983, when the station had introduced a new dance music
Dance music
Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement...
genre called Latin Freestyle
Freestyle music
Freestyle or Latin freestyle, sometimes referred to as Latin hip hop, is a form of electronic dance music that emerged in the early 1980s. Mostly popular during the mid 80s to the early 90s...
. At this point, WKTU received new competition from WHTZ
WHTZ
WHTZ — branded Z100 — is a commercial pop/contemporary hit radio radio station licensed to Newark, New Jersey serving the New York metropolitan area. The station is currently owned by Clear Channel Communications...
("Z-100") and WPLJ
WPLJ
WPLJ is a radio station in New York City owned by the broadcasting division of Cumulus Media. WPLJ shares studio facilities with sister station WABC inside 2 Penn Plaza in midtown Manhattan, and its transmitter is atop the Empire State Building. The station currently plays a Hot Adult...
, both of which adapted a CHR format. By the next year, the station maintained respectable but declining ratings, thanks to the new competition.
By mid-1984, WKTU went to a CHR format as well, but the ratings continued to decline. That fall, the station added legendary WABC host Dan Ingram
Dan Ingram
Daniel Trombley "Dan" Ingram is an American Top 40 radio disc jockey with a forty-year career on radio stations such as WABC and WCBS-FM in New York...
to afternoons, and Jo Maeder, "The Madame", from Miami's Y-100, joined Jay Thomas in the morning and did her own midday show, but the station continued to struggle in the ratings. To make matters worse, then-named WAPP
WKTU
WKTU is a radio station based in New York City that plays an upbeat, gold-based CHR format. The station's broadcast transmitter is located on the top of the Empire State Building and its city of license is Lake Success, New York, with offices formerly in the "Newport" section of Jersey City, New...
also went CHR that fall.
So strong was the memory of the late-1970s WKTU that despite all the subsequent on-air changes, the general public still regarded it as a disco station. Even though WAPP moved back to playing mostly rock music in the form of a rock-based CHR in June 1985, giving WKTU one less competitor, the station management thought a more drastic change was needed. Since New York City only had one full-time rock station with WNEW-FM, there was an opportunity.
1985–2005: WXRK
On July 13, 1985 at midnight, the same day WKTU aired the historic Live AidLive Aid
Live Aid was a dual-venue concert that was held on 13 July 1985. The event was organized by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise funds for relief of the ongoing Ethiopian famine. Billed as the "global jukebox", the event was held simultaneously in Wembley Stadium in London, England, United Kingdom ...
concert, the station switched to an album-oriented rock
Album-oriented rock
Album-oriented rock is an American FM radio format focusing on album tracks by rock artists.-Music played:Most radio formats are based on a select, tight rotation of hit singles...
format, adopted the nickname of "K-Rock", and changed their call letters to WXRK. (The WKTU call letters later reappeared on New York City's 103.5 FM
WKTU
WKTU is a radio station based in New York City that plays an upbeat, gold-based CHR format. The station's broadcast transmitter is located on the top of the Empire State Building and its city of license is Lake Success, New York, with offices formerly in the "Newport" section of Jersey City, New...
with a dance pop
Dance music
Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement...
format in 1996).
Initially, the format at WXRK was similar to the pre-1983 WPLJ, as the air personalities left the station gradually in the next several months (exceptions were Maria Malito and Jo Maeder, who became known as "The Rock and Roll Madame"). Jimmy Fink
Jimmy Fink
Jimmy Fink is a New York radio personality, born and raised in Eastchester, New York. He is also part of the Fink family which owned the Fink Bakery, a city fixture from 1888 to 2000 and located in Manhattan and Long Island City. - Career :...
from WPLJ was one of the first new radio personalities to be hired. After being fired from WNBC
WNBC (AM)
WNBC was a radio station that operated in New York City from 1922 to 1988. For most of its history, it was the flagship station of the NBC Radio Network...
that October, Howard Stern
Howard Stern
Howard Allan Stern is an American radio personality, television host, author, and actor best known for his radio show, which was nationally syndicated from 1986 to 2005. He gained wide recognition in the 1990s where he was labeled a "shock jock" for his outspoken and sometimes controversial style...
signed on to do afternoons, and initially combined music with talk, but in February 1986, Stern took over the morning slot. His morning show became the highest-rated in the market, dethroning Don Imus
Don Imus
John Donald "Don" Imus, Jr. is an American radio host, humorist, philanthropist and writer. His nationally-syndicated talk show, Imus in the Morning, is broadcast throughout the United States by Citadel Media and relayed on television by the Fox Business Network.-Personal life:Imus was born in...
, who had had the highest-rated morning show for several years on WNBC. Later that year Stern's show became syndicated, with WXRK as its flagship station.
By 1987, Stern stopped playing music on his show altogether, while the station changed to a classic rock
Classic rock
Classic rock is a radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format features music ranging generally from the late 1960s to the late 1980s, primarily focusing on the hard rock genre that peaked in popularity in the...
format that same year. The airstaff became full of veteran refugees from other New York rock stations, including Dave Herman
Dave Herman
Dave Herman is a former American collegiate and professional football offensive tackle. He played collegiately for Michigan State University and began his professional career with the American Football League's New York Jets, for whom he played from 1964 through 1969 and for the same team in the...
, Pete Fornatale
Pete Fornatale
Peter Fornatale is a New York City disc jockey who played an important role in the progressive rock era of FM broadcasting....
, Meg Griffin
Meg Griffin (radio personality)
Meg Griffin is an American DJ, currently heard on the Sirius XM Satellite Radio channels The Loft, Classic Rewind, and Deep Tracks....
, Vin Scelsa
Vin Scelsa
Vincent Anthony Scelsa, better known as "Vin," was born on December 12, 1947 in Bayonne, New Jersey. He is the host of a freeform radio show known as Idiot's Delight....
, and Alison Steele
Alison Steele
Alison Steele was a pioneering American disc jockey in Manhattan at what would become the archetypal progressive rock radio station in the United States, WNEW-FM. She was commonly known as "The Nightbird"...
from WNEW-FM and Jimmy Fink
Jimmy Fink
Jimmy Fink is a New York radio personality, born and raised in Eastchester, New York. He is also part of the Fink family which owned the Fink Bakery, a city fixture from 1888 to 2000 and located in Manhattan and Long Island City. - Career :...
, Tony Pigg, Marc Coppola
Marc Coppola (actor)
Marc "The Cope" Coppola is an American actor and DJ currently working for KGB-FM in San Diego, California & WAXQ/WLTW in New York City.-Personal life:...
, and John Zacherle
John Zacherle
John Zacherle is an American television host, radio personality and voice actor known for his long career as a television horror host broadcasting horror movies in Philadelphia and New York City in the 1950s and 1960s. Best known for his character "Roland/Zacherley," he also did voice work for...
from WPLJ. In 1993, The Greaseman
The Greaseman
Doug "The Greaseman" Tracht is an American radio, television, and movie personality. Tracht is best known for his morning show on WWDC-FM in Washington, D.C., during the 1980s where he took over the morning drive time slot from Howard Stern and his controversial comments made on that show.Tracht...
's syndicated show was put in the nighttime slot, bookending Stern with an act that was often quite controversial.
By the mid-1990s modern rock
Modern rock
Modern rock is a rock format commonly found on commercial radio; the format consists primarily of the alternative rock genre...
had become popular. In mid-1993, in New York City radio, WHTZ
WHTZ
WHTZ — branded Z100 — is a commercial pop/contemporary hit radio radio station licensed to Newark, New Jersey serving the New York metropolitan area. The station is currently owned by Clear Channel Communications...
began to play a lot of modern rock despite primarily being a CHR station. Late in 1993, Classical music station WNCN switched formats and became WAXQ
WAXQ
WAXQ is a radio station with a classic rock format in New York City. The station is owned by Clear Channel Communications.-WFDR:...
("Q 104.3"), with a mix of hard and modern rock. Moreover, WNEW-FM switched to a modern rock format in the summer of 1995, and later evolved to first an adult-based modern rock format by the end of that year, and then a more eclectic adult rock mix by 1996. Nevertheless, by the beginning of 1996, there was no full-time modern rock station in New York City.
To fill the void, WXRK switched to a modern rock format on January 5, 1996 right after Stern's show. To kick off the new format, which he enthusiastically endorsed as a better fit for his audience, Stern stayed on the air until 1:06 pm that day playing music. The first song Stern played was Marilyn Manson
Marilyn Manson (band)
Marilyn Manson is an American metal band from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Formed in 1989 by Brian Warner and Scott Putesky, the group was originally named Marilyn Manson & the Spooky Kids with their uniquely theatrical performances gathering a local cult following in the early '90s. This attention...
's cover of "Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)
Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) (song)
Marilyn Manson released a cover version of "Sweet Dreams " as the first single from the EP, Smells Like Children. This version became an MTV staple and helped to establish the band in the mainstream. It also appears on the band's greatest hits album, Lest We Forget: The Best Of...
". Most of the classic rock DJs including Jimmy Fink, Tony Pigg and Marc Coppola disappeared from the station with this change, as did The Greaseman. By August 1997, the station added music that suited an active rock
Active rock
Active rock is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations across the United States and Canada. Active rock plays contemporary rock artists with a mix of songs common in the classic rock radio format.-Format background:...
station, and it continued this format of a hybrid active rock/alternative for several years.
By 2003, with a new program director
Program director
In service industries, such as education, a program director or programme director researches, plans, develops and implements one or more of the firm's professional services...
, the station dropped the active rock variant of music. No matter what the format, the longtime problem for the station was that while Stern always had very high ratings, the rest of the station did not fare as well. Moreover, it was hard to classify K-Rock an alternative station (considering classic rock acts like Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...
being played), while it was hard to label them active rock due to the inclusion of some but not all alternative artists.
Sirius Satellite Radio
Sirius Satellite Radio is a satellite radio service operating in North America, owned by Sirius XM Radio.Headquartered in New York City, with smaller studios in Los Angeles and Memphis, Sirius was officially launched on July 1, 2002 and currently provides 69 streams of music and 65 streams of...
at the beginning of 2006, and acknowledging that its target audience was looking elsewhere for modern rock music, WXRK made another format adjustment on April 4, 2005 to a mainstream rock
Mainstream rock
Mainstream rock is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations in the United States and Canada.-Format background:...
format, which relied heavily on classic hard rock
Hard rock
Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...
such as Guns N' Roses
Guns N' Roses
Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band, formed in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, in 1985. The band has released six studio albums, three EPs, and one live album...
, Metallica
Metallica
Metallica is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1981 when James Hetfield responded to an advertisement that drummer Lars Ulrich had posted in a local newspaper. The current line-up features long-time lead guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo ...
, The Smashing Pumpkins
The Smashing Pumpkins
The Smashing Pumpkins are an American alternative rock band that formed in Chicago, Illinois in 1988. Formed by Billy Corgan frontman and James Iha , the band has included Jimmy Chamberlin , D'arcy Wretzky , and currently includes Jeff Schroeder Mike Byrne , and Nicole Fiorentino The Smashing...
, and Nirvana
Nirvana (band)
Nirvana was an American rock band that was formed by singer/guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic in Aberdeen, Washington in 1987...
, while playing new music from such established artists as System of a Down
System of a Down
System of a Down, also known by the acronym SOAD and often shortened to System, is a rock band from Southern California. The band was formed in 1994. It consists of Serj Tankian , Daron Malakian , Shavo Odadjian and John Dolmayan...
, Nine Inch Nails
Nine Inch Nails
Nine Inch Nails is an American industrial rock project, founded in 1988 by Trent Reznor in Cleveland, Ohio. As its main producer, singer, songwriter, and instrumentalist, Reznor is the only official member of Nine Inch Nails and remains solely responsible for its direction...
, Green Day
Green Day
Green Day is an American punk rock band formed in 1987. The band consists of lead vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, bassist and backing vocalist Mike Dirnt, and drummer Tre Cool...
and Weezer
Weezer
Weezer is an American alternative rock band. The band currently consists of Rivers Cuomo , Patrick Wilson , Brian Bell , and Scott Shriner . The band has changed lineups three times since its formation in 1992...
. At this time, New York City was one of the few large cities in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
without an alternative rock
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
station. To prevent any backlash from fans of modern rock, an Internet-only radio station called "K-Rock2" was launched at the same time as the format adjustment. The strategy did not work, as ratings did not improve much.
As a result of the imminent departure of Howard Stern
Howard Stern
Howard Allan Stern is an American radio personality, television host, author, and actor best known for his radio show, which was nationally syndicated from 1986 to 2005. He gained wide recognition in the 1990s where he was labeled a "shock jock" for his outspoken and sometimes controversial style...
, an announcement was made on October 25, 2005 that the station would adopt a talk format on January 3, 2006.
At 10 AM on Friday, December 16, after the last Howard Stern broadcast, K-Rock began stunting
Stunting (broadcasting)
In radio broadcasting, stunting occurs when a station abruptly airs programming that is seemingly uncharacteristic compared to what they normally play...
with a melange of audio sound bites, music and program line-up announcements. At 10:20, K-Rock DJ Julie Slater announced "Welcome to Free FM" and went into music.
2006–2007: WFNY-FM
The WXRK call letters were replaced by WFNY-FM (Free New York) on January 1, 2006.The station, which was one of several CBS Radio
CBS Radio
CBS Radio, Inc., formerly known as Infinity Broadcasting Corporation, is one of the largest owners and operators of radio stations in the United States, third behind main rival Clear Channel Communications and Cumulus Media. CBS Radio owns around 130 radio stations across the country...
stations around the nation branded as "Free FM
Free FM
Free FM was a short-lived, mostly-talk-radio format and brand name for eleven FM CBS Radio stations in the United States, and was created because of Howard Stern's departure to Sirius Satellite Radio in January 2006. Free FM was given its name to highlight that its stations broadcast free-to-air,...
", featured David Lee Roth
David Lee Roth
David Lee Roth is an American rock vocalist, songwriter, actor, author, and former radio personality. Roth was ranked nineteenth by Hit Parader on their list of the 100 Greatest Heavy Metal Singers of All Time....
as its morning show host. Other talk shows aired throughout the day, while an active rock music format continued to be played on the weekends, called "Free Rock Weekends."
Free FM's ratings had plummeted since the change to an all-talk format. As the replacement for Howard Stern, Roth lost nearly three-quarters of Howard Stern's previous audience, dropping a 7.9 share to a 1.8. Among the core audience - 18-34 year-old men - the numbers fell from 13.8 to 1.3. Overall station ratings went from 3.2 in Summer/Fall of 2005 to 2.7 in Winter of 2006, and later to a 2.0, leaving it in 20th place in the New York market.
On April 25, 2006, Chris Booker
Chris Booker
Chris Booker is an American radio and TV personality.-Career:Chris Booker is a TV/radio personality. He has worked as a correspondent for TV Guide Channel covering red carpet events such as "Live at the Grammys with Joan and Melissa Rivers," and "Live at the Kids Choice Awards." He also served as...
, host of "The Booker Show", announced that he was broadcasting his last show on Free FM. He soon moved over the morning show at Q102
WIOQ
WIOQ, known as "Q102", is a CHR/Pop radio station which is broadcast in the Philadelphia area. The station appeals to a generally young demographic. WIOQ is owned by Clear Channel Communications. Its transmitter is located in the Roxborough section of Philadelphia.-WFIL-FM/Popular 102:The...
in Philadelphia. The abrupt end of his show, which had evolved on afternoon drive before the format switch, led the station to revert to "Free Rock" music at nights.
The following day, on April 26, 2006, Opie and Anthony
Opie and Anthony
Opie and Anthony are the hosts of The Opie & Anthony Show, a talk radio program airing in the United States and Canada on XM Satellite Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio. Since the merger of the two satellite companies, this is now called Sirius/XM...
replaced David Lee Roth in morning drive on Free FM, while simulcasting on XM Satellite Radio
XM Satellite Radio
XM Satellite Radio is one of two satellite radio services in the United States and Canada, operated by Sirius XM Radio. It provides pay-for-service radio, analogous to cable television. Its service includes 73 different music channels, 39 news, sports, talk and entertainment channels, 21 regional...
. The show aired from 6-9 am on both terrestrial and satellite radio, then continued on XM exclusively to 11 am.
By spring 2007, Opie and Anthony managed to slightly improve WFNY-FM's ratings to a 1.4. However, this performance left the radio station ranked #22 of 25 in the NY market.
Weekends continued to use the "Free Rock Weekend" format, which included hour-long "Freecasts" in which a single listener chose the (approximately 15) songs played during the hour. The listener also acted as guest DJ over the phone during the time.
The station was also used as a secondary broadcaster of sister station WFAN
WFAN
WFAN , also known as "Sports Radio 66" or "The FAN", is a radio station in New York City. The station broadcasts on a clear channel and is owned by CBS Radio...
, serving as a secondary outlet for NFL football games, New Jersey Devils
New Jersey Devils
The New Jersey Devils are a professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey, United States. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...
hockey games and New Jersey Nets
New Jersey Nets
The New Jersey Nets are a professional basketball team based in Newark, New Jersey. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association...
basketball games when there was a conflict with another game on WFAN.
After Jim Cramer's Real Money went off the air on in December 2006, WFNY-FM was left with just 4 talk shows (one from syndication). As a result, the station attempted to revamp its lineup with the addition of several new talk shows, the first of which occurred on December 20, 2006. Ron & Fez, who also have a show on XM radio, signed an agreement to broadcast a 92.3 Free FM-exclusive radio show from 6pm to 9pm. Ron and Fez had previously been employed by CBS at WNEW-FM (now WWFS) shortly after that station switched to FM Talk in 1999.
Additional new shows soon followed. On December 28, 2006, John and Jeff
John and Jeff
John and Jeff are the hosts of the nationally syndicated John & Jeff Show based in Los Angeles, California, United States. As of 2011, the program is in its 12th year of syndication, and broadcasts live Monday - Friday from 10pm - 2am , 1am - 5am on radio stations across America...
started being broadcast from syndication out of sister station 97.1 Free FM
KLSX
KAMP-FM 97.1 FM, known on-air as 97.1 AMP Radio, is a Rhythmic Contemporary radio station in Los Angeles, California. The station is owned by CBS Radio.The station had long been known as KLSX before the call sign changed on June 30, 2009....
in Los Angeles. They broadcast live 2 am to 6 am. On January 2, 2007, Larry Wachs, who was half of The Regular Guys morning show on WKLS-FM in Atlanta, began hosting the 10pm to midnight slot on 92.3 Free FM for 2 weeks. That same day, Nick DiPaolo
Nick DiPaolo
Nicholas Rocco "Nick" DiPaolo is an American stand-up comedian, writer, actor and radio host formerly on 92.3 Free FM in New York City until May 24, 2007, when the station changed formats. He is also a frequent guest on the Opie and Anthony and Howard Stern radio shows...
became host of the 12pm to 3pm time slot. He had done some preview shows the previous week. Beginning January 3, Loveline
Loveline
Loveline is a syndicated radio call-in program in North America, offering medical and relationship advice to listeners, often with the assistance of guests, typically actors and musicians. Its flagship station is KROQ-FM in Los Angeles....
with Dr. Drew Pinsky & Stryker aired Late Nights, tape delayed, from 12am to 2am.
Danni was Free FM's Music Director and was still a Free Rock jock. She has been heard doing DJ shifts on Fresh 102.7 as well. Free Rock Weekends aired 6am Saturday to 12am Sunday and 6am Sunday 2am Monday. Infomercials ran 2am-6am Sunday. Game Show Radio ran 12-2am on Sundays.
Free FM was using guest hosts for the 10pm to 12am time slot. March 2, 2007 was the last Penn Jillette
Penn Jillette
Penn Fraser Jillette is an American magician, comedian, illusionist, juggler, bassist and a best-selling author known for his work with fellow illusionist Teller in the team Penn & Teller, and advocacy of atheism, libertarian philosophy, free-market economics, and scientific skepticism.-Early...
show on Free FM and CBS Radio stations. The following Monday, WFNY-FM expanded the guest host time slot by an hour, making it 9pm to 12am.
In April 2007, during an interview with a local band "A Brief Smile" on The Dog House, the hosts JV and Elvis directed numerous homophobic insults at the band’s bassist. The hosts referred to the bassist as "Fag Number 1" and asked, "How many badges of honor do you have in your colon?" and kicked him out of the studio. After playing a song by the band the hosts also called the bass part "a little faggy." The bass player returned to the studio, stated he was bisexual and that he found their use of the word "faggot" offensive. Gay rights groups such as GLAAD criticized the show as being homophobic for their remarks.
JV and Elvis were later suspended on April 30 over a six-minute prank phone call peppered with ethnic and sexual slurs to a Chinese restaurant, only after numerous Chinese American
Chinese American
Chinese Americans represent Americans of Chinese descent. Chinese Americans constitute one group of overseas Chinese and also a subgroup of East Asian Americans, which is further a subgroup of Asian Americans...
advocacy groups complained to CBS demanding the hosts be fired.
Beginning on May 7, Free-FM started using guest hosts 9 am to 12 pm to replace The Dog House. On May 12, 2007, the AP News wire reported that CBS Radio spokeswoman Karen Mateo said, "The Dog House with JV and Elvis will no longer be broadcast [on Free-FM]." CBS fired the co-hosts JV and Elvis, as well as the producer of The Dog House after numerous complaints received from various civil rights groups.
On May 15, 2007, XM Satellite Radio
XM Satellite Radio
XM Satellite Radio is one of two satellite radio services in the United States and Canada, operated by Sirius XM Radio. It provides pay-for-service radio, analogous to cable television. Its service includes 73 different music channels, 39 news, sports, talk and entertainment channels, 21 regional...
suspended the Opie and Anthony Show for 30 days because of comments made by a homeless man about raping Secretary of State
United States Secretary of State
The United States Secretary of State is the head of the United States Department of State, concerned with foreign affairs. The Secretary is a member of the Cabinet and the highest-ranking cabinet secretary both in line of succession and order of precedence...
Condoleezza Rice
Condoleezza Rice
Condoleezza Rice is an American political scientist and diplomat. She served as the 66th United States Secretary of State, and was the second person to hold that office in the administration of President George W. Bush...
and First Lady
First Lady of the United States
First Lady of the United States is the title of the hostess of the White House. Because this position is traditionally filled by the wife of the president of the United States, the title is most often applied to the wife of a sitting president. The current first lady is Michelle Obama.-Current:The...
Laura Bush
Laura Bush
Laura Lane Welch Bush is the wife of the 43rd President of the United States, George W. Bush. She was the First Lady of the United States from January 20, 2001, to January 20, 2009. She has held a love of books and reading since childhood and her life and education have reflected that interest...
made on an uncensored May 9 broadcast. Their suspension was effective immediately. During this time, CBS Radio kept the show on from 6 to 9am. However, it was not simulcast on XM.
2007–2009: Return to WXRK
Opie and Anthony
Opie and Anthony are the hosts of The Opie & Anthony Show, a talk radio program airing in the United States and Canada on XM Satellite Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio. Since the merger of the two satellite companies, this is now called Sirius/XM...
show, an eight-hour countdown began on the former "Free FM" website and a sound collage
Sound collage
In music, montage or sound collage is a technique where sound objects or compositions, including songs, are created from collage, also known as montage, the use of portions of previous recordings or scores...
was broadcast for most of the day. The stunting
Stunting (broadcasting)
In radio broadcasting, stunting occurs when a station abruptly airs programming that is seemingly uncharacteristic compared to what they normally play...
came to an end at 4:57 PM with an apology from general manager Tom Chiusano, who apologized to listeners for taking K-Rock away. Minutes later at 5 PM, the station returned to the air as K-Rock, playing an alternative rock
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
format (per Mediabase
Mediabase
Mediabase is a music industry service that monitors radio station airplay in 180 US and Canadian markets. Mediabase publishes music charts and data based on the most played songs on terrestrial and satellite radio, and provides in-depth analytical tools for radio and record industry professionals...
reports) from the 90s and 2000s along with heavy classic rock
Classic rock
Classic rock is a radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format features music ranging generally from the late 1960s to the late 1980s, primarily focusing on the hard rock genre that peaked in popularity in the...
. The first host to present the revised format for WFNY-FM/WXRK was Gregg "Opie" Hughes of Opie and Anthony
Opie and Anthony
Opie and Anthony are the hosts of The Opie & Anthony Show, a talk radio program airing in the United States and Canada on XM Satellite Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio. Since the merger of the two satellite companies, this is now called Sirius/XM...
.
The station reverted to its previous call letters, WXRK, on May 31, 2007. The previous WXRK (92.3 K-Rock in Cleveland Heights, also owned by CBS Radio) received the callsign WKRI, which is now WKRK-FM
WKRK-FM
WKRK-FM — branded Sports Radio 92.3 The Fan — is a commercial radio station licensed to Cleveland Heights, Ohio. Serving Greater Cleveland and much of surrounding Northeast Ohio, WKRK-FM is owned by CBS Radio and broadcasts a sports format...
.
Initially, the station had no on-air staff, although on Mondays it featured a Hostile Takeover show where guest(s) sat in as the jock. The station also had contests which begun after Opie and Anthony.
On February 8, 2008, it was announced that program director Tracy Cloherty was among the many non-programming staffers that was let go by CBS Radio, in an attempt to "more effectively monetize the aggregate number of listeners who hear us on the radio and the Internet." http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv/2008/02/08/2008-02-08_wave_of_firings_hits_cbs_radio_outlets.html The advent of WRXP caused WXRK to morph to active rock
Active rock
Active rock is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations across the United States and Canada. Active rock plays contemporary rock artists with a mix of songs common in the classic rock radio format.-Format background:...
at that time.
In December 2008, as a result of another change in the station's management, K-Rock made an adjustment to the format focusing more on classic hard rock
Hard rock
Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...
and playing even less current rock songs. With the format adjustment, Paul Turner, who was the voice of the Howard Stern Show and K-Rock when it was a classic rock station in the 1990s, returned as voice of the station's promos.
As a result of the format shift, on December 16, 2008, FMQB
FMQB
Friday Morning Quarterback is a trade magazine which covers the Radio and Music industries in the United States. Its coverage includes programming, management, promotion, marketing, and airplay for music formatted radio. The magazine was founded in 1968 by Kal Rudman and is read by over 10,000...
announced that afternoon jock Ian Camfield had left K-Rock to go back to XFM. K-Rock vet Chris Booker
Chris Booker
Chris Booker is an American radio and TV personality.-Career:Chris Booker is a TV/radio personality. He has worked as a correspondent for TV Guide Channel covering red carpet events such as "Live at the Grammys with Joan and Melissa Rivers," and "Live at the Kids Choice Awards." He also served as...
took his place, airing in afternoon drive from 2-7PM.
2009–present: Now FM
At 5PM on March 11, 2009, WXRK changed to a Rhythmic Contemporary Hit Radio format known as 92.3 Now FM. The last song played on K-Rock was Van HalenVan Halen
Van Halen is an American hard rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. The band has enjoyed success since the release of its debut album, Van Halen, . As of 2007 Van Halen has sold 80 million albums worldwide and has had the most #1 hits on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart...
's "Right Now". It was followed with the sound of a clock ticking and a promotion mentioning the station's new competition with WHTZ
WHTZ
WHTZ — branded Z100 — is a commercial pop/contemporary hit radio radio station licensed to Newark, New Jersey serving the New York metropolitan area. The station is currently owned by Clear Channel Communications...
. An introductory montage was then played, followed by the launch of 92.3 Now FM with the commitment to play "10,000 songs in a row, with zero minutes of commercials". The first song played on "92.3 Now FM" was The Black Eyed Peas
The Black Eyed Peas
The Black Eyed Peas are an American pop group , formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1995. The group includes rappers will.i.am, apl.de.ap, and Taboo, and singer Fergie. Since the release of their third album Elephunk in 2003, the group has sold an estimated 56 million records worldwide...
' "Boom Boom Pow". It has been speculated in online forums and trade journals that CBS Radio
CBS Radio
CBS Radio, Inc., formerly known as Infinity Broadcasting Corporation, is one of the largest owners and operators of radio stations in the United States, third behind main rival Clear Channel Communications and Cumulus Media. CBS Radio owns around 130 radio stations across the country...
will continue to unfold or tweak towards similar Top 40 radio stations in other major markets in the coming months leaning towards younger listeners. The station ended the "10,000 Songs in a Row" promotion in early April 2009.
As of August 2009, WFAN started moving the conflicts of New York Giants
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
games to WCBS-FM
WCBS-FM
WCBS-FM is a CBS-owned radio station in New York City. The station's studios are in the combined CBS Radio facility at 345 Hudson Street in Manhattan, and its transmitter is located on the Empire State Building....
.
Tic Tak stunt
On December 17, 2010, WXRK afternoon host Mark "Tic Tak" Allen pulled a on-air tirade in which he dissed the music director (while he was in West Virginia, on vacation) and went against playing the usual Top 40 songs, including "slamming" Katy PerryKaty Perry
Katy Perry is an American singer, songwriter and actress. Born in Santa Barbara, California, and raised by Christian pastor parents, Perry grew up listening to only gospel music and sang in her local church as a child. After earning a GED during her first year of high school, she began to pursue a...
singles, by declaring that "I'm playing what I want... this is my Christmas present to you" and started mixing in certain songs that do not fit WXRK's current format. Allen was hoping that station management would fire him, but from the comments from message boards like Radio-Info, this "event" might have been staged or a ratings ploy to attract more listeners, since Allen has been known to pull stunts at other stations that he had worked at in the past.
"K-Rock2" and HD radio operations
As part of the K-Rock format change on April 4, 2005 from alternative rockAlternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
to mainstream rock
Mainstream rock
Mainstream rock is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations in the United States and Canada.-Format background:...
, K-Rock2, a new Internet-only radio station, was created. Throughout the Free-FM period and during the resurrection of K-Rock, K-Rock2 continued to stream on krock2.com. Following the main channel's format change to Now FM on March 11, 2009, the HD2 channel became known simply as K-Rock, but retained the alternative rock format. The HD2 channel is still K-Rock and can be found at krockradio.com. K-Rock HD2 has a full air staff.
Starting shortly after 2 a.m. on October 6, 2008 the K-Rock2 audio stream was added to WXRK-HD2. A few minutes earlier a simulcast of sister station WFAN
WFAN
WFAN , also known as "Sports Radio 66" or "The FAN", is a radio station in New York City. The station broadcasts on a clear channel and is owned by CBS Radio...
was added to WXRK HD3. 92.3 HD3 was initially using the delayed audio feed from wfan.com complete with internet only commercials and not the over the air broadcast feed used by WFAN on 660AM. After a day or so WXRK HD3 switch to the over the air feed of WFAN, but still had a time delay of over a minute.