WKXP
Encyclopedia
WKXP is a country music
station licensed to Kingston, New York
and serving the Hudson Valley
of New York state. The station is owned by Cumulus Media
and broadcasts at 6 kilowatts ERP
from a tower in Kingston.
Since March 2006, WKXP's programming has been simulcasted on 97.3 WZAD
Wurtsboro, New York
, a move done in an attempt to revive the station's flagging ratings against heritage powerhouse WRWD.
. For its first decade, it simulcasted the AM's programming by day and aired automated easy listening during hours when the AM was not on the air. In 1975, WGHQ-FM split off from the AM, changed to an automated Top 40 format, and changed its calls to WBPM (for World's Best Popular Music) . Several years after this switch, family patriarch Harry Thayer transferred the station to his stepson Walter Maxwell and wife Jean.
By 1985, the station moved to totally local programming under the name B-94 and became a Kingston-centric alternative to the market-dominant WSPK
. This arrangement worked for much of the next decade, however around 1995 the station began to target Poughkeepsie more and more and leaned its format to a Rhythmic Top 40
approach. Unlike most stations with such an approach, the rotation was peppered with obscure dance tracks and odd 80s gold; this rotation (mixed with the same jingles the station had used for the decade prior) led it to become a cult station among dance music fans. As the 1990s came to a close, the Maxwells were looking to get out of the radio business (as evidenced by how B-94 had few music adds and was not replacing air staff among other things). In early 1999, the Maxwells sold WBPM and WGHQ to Roberts Radio (owners of WRWD and WBWZ
) and that May it was announced that WBPM would flip to the "Jammin' Oldies" format that was the rage at the time as Rhythm 94-3 with the flip taking place on June 10 of that year.
WPKF
can be seen as a semi-descendant of B-94 of sorts, the station possesses B-94's record library and morning DJ CJ Macintyre was the last DJ heard on B-94 before it left the format.
and the fallout from this deal had an interesting effect on WBPM. Clear Channel was also purchasing the Straus Media stations in the market and legally was one station over the limit in the market; however, ownership regulations at the time did allow them to control additional stations. As Clear Channel was known for doing at the time, WBPM (and WCKL
in Catskill) was sold to Concord Media, a "shell" company that owned stations Clear Channel controlled via local marketing agreement
s.
"Rhythm"'s ratings struggled further and by late 2001 the format was declared unsalvageable. On Thanksgiving weekend of that year, WBPM flipped to a satellite-fed oldies
format as Cool 94.3. Existing in a glutted market for the format, this had no effect on their numbers even after established oldies outlet WCZX
evolved out of the format to an 70s/80's approach (and later to full-out adult contemporary).
In late 2002, the FCC ordered that Clear Channel divest itself of associations to all "shell" companies, at which point Concord Media was disbanded. On February 28, 2003, Concord sold WBPM to Cumulus Media who took over the station the next day. With the takeover, the oldies format was relaunched as an all-local format with several former WCZX jocks on the air. This format, combined with New York Yankees
baseball
, propelled the station to its highest numbers since the B-94 days, however this success was short lived as an "anti-oldies" directive fired by group GM Chuck Benfer in the wake of aging demographics of the format. On October 3, the station went into a weekend of Christmas music stunting (minus Yankee games and a New York Giants
football game) and relaunched at 9:43 AM on October 6 as Kicks 94.3, the WKXP calls having come a week prior.
in Albany, and the former Y-107 in Westchester County were all next to each other in the 107 MHz range and that any country not near that range has not succeeded.
After the Spring 2005 Arbitron ratings showed the station having nearly no measurable audience outside of Yankee games, the station went to a harder-edged approach as The Wolf in Fall of 2005, adding WZAD to cover Orange County and the Catskills in March 2006. Late in the Summer of 2006, "The Wolf" added some country sounding songs by non country artists such as The Allman Brothers, Gordon Lightfoot, Bonnie Raitt, Eric Clapton, Jewel, The Eagles, and other pop artists.
Middays - Brandi Hunter(10am-2pm)
Afternoons - Beth Christy(2pm-7pm)
Nighttime - CMT Radio Live Cody Alan (7pm-12am)
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
station licensed to Kingston, New York
Kingston, New York
Kingston is a city in and the county seat of Ulster County, New York, USA. It is north of New York City and south of Albany. It became New York's first capital in 1777, and was burned by the British Oct. 16, 1777, after the Battles of Saratoga...
and serving the Hudson Valley
Hudson Valley
The Hudson Valley comprises the valley of the Hudson River and its adjacent communities in New York State, United States, from northern Westchester County northward to the cities of Albany and Troy.-History:...
of New York state. The station is owned by Cumulus Media
Cumulus Media
Cumulus Media, Inc. is the second largest Owner and Operator of AM and FM radio stations in the United States, behind Clear Channel Communications, operating 570 stations in 150 markets as of September 16, 2011. The company also owns Cumulus Media Networks...
and broadcasts at 6 kilowatts ERP
Effective radiated power
In radio telecommunications, effective radiated power or equivalent radiated power is a standardized theoretical measurement of radio frequency energy using the SI unit watts, and is determined by subtracting system losses and adding system gains...
from a tower in Kingston.
Since March 2006, WKXP's programming has been simulcasted on 97.3 WZAD
WZAD
WZAD is country music radio station licenced to Wurtsboro, New York that serves the Catskill Mountains region, Orange County, New York, and Pike County, Pennsylvania...
Wurtsboro, New York
Wurtsboro, New York
Wurtsboro is a village located on U.S. Route 209 in the town of Mamakating in Sullivan County, New York, United States, near its junction with New York State Route 17...
, a move done in an attempt to revive the station's flagging ratings against heritage powerhouse WRWD.
The Thayer/Maxwell Years
The frequency signed on in 1965 as WGHQ-FM, sister to the Thayer family-owned WGHQWGHQ
WGHQ is a United States radio station licensed to Kingston, New York and serving the Hudson Valley as well as a part of the Capital District market...
. For its first decade, it simulcasted the AM's programming by day and aired automated easy listening during hours when the AM was not on the air. In 1975, WGHQ-FM split off from the AM, changed to an automated Top 40 format, and changed its calls to WBPM (for World's Best Popular Music) . Several years after this switch, family patriarch Harry Thayer transferred the station to his stepson Walter Maxwell and wife Jean.
By 1985, the station moved to totally local programming under the name B-94 and became a Kingston-centric alternative to the market-dominant WSPK
WSPK
WSPK is a CHR radio station licensed to Poughkeepsie, New York and broadcasting from studios in Fishkill. It is owned by Pamal Broadcasting and broadcasts on 104.7 MHz at an ERP of 7.4 kilowatts from a tower at the top of Mount Beacon in Fishkill.WSPK's main coverage area is centered on the...
. This arrangement worked for much of the next decade, however around 1995 the station began to target Poughkeepsie more and more and leaned its format to a Rhythmic Top 40
Rhythmic Contemporary
Rhythmic contemporary, also known as rhythmic top 40, rhythmic contemporary hit radio or rhythmic crossover, is a music radio format that includes a mix of EDM, upbeat rhythmic pop, hip-hop and R&B hits. Rhythmic contemporary rarely uses rock music or country music in its airplay, but it may...
approach. Unlike most stations with such an approach, the rotation was peppered with obscure dance tracks and odd 80s gold; this rotation (mixed with the same jingles the station had used for the decade prior) led it to become a cult station among dance music fans. As the 1990s came to a close, the Maxwells were looking to get out of the radio business (as evidenced by how B-94 had few music adds and was not replacing air staff among other things). In early 1999, the Maxwells sold WBPM and WGHQ to Roberts Radio (owners of WRWD and WBWZ
WBWZ
WBWZ is an Hot Adult Contemporary radio station licensed to New Paltz, New York and serving the Mid-Hudson Valley of New York state...
) and that May it was announced that WBPM would flip to the "Jammin' Oldies" format that was the rage at the time as Rhythm 94-3 with the flip taking place on June 10 of that year.
WPKF
WPKF
WPKF is a Rhythmic Top 40 radio station licensed to Poughkeepsie, New York and serving the Mid-Hudson Valley of New York state. The station is owned by Clear Channel Communications and broadcasts at 6 kilowatts ERP from a tower mounted on the roof of the Ross Pavilion at the Hudson River...
can be seen as a semi-descendant of B-94 of sorts, the station possesses B-94's record library and morning DJ CJ Macintyre was the last DJ heard on B-94 before it left the format.
Musical Ownerships
Unlike many other "Jammin' Oldies" stations, WBPM saw little increase to a small decrease in its ratings versus what B-94 had prior (meanwhile, WSPK became #1 by a considerable margin). In 2000, Roberts Radio sold its stations to Clear Channel CommunicationsClear Channel Communications
Clear Channel Communications, Inc. is an American media conglomerate company headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It was founded in 1972 by Lowry Mays and Red McCombs, and was taken private by Bain Capital LLC and Thomas H. Lee Partners LP in a leveraged buyout in 2008...
and the fallout from this deal had an interesting effect on WBPM. Clear Channel was also purchasing the Straus Media stations in the market and legally was one station over the limit in the market; however, ownership regulations at the time did allow them to control additional stations. As Clear Channel was known for doing at the time, WBPM (and WCKL
WCKL (defunct)
WCKL is a radio station licensed to Catskill, New York, USA, to broadcast at 560 kHz, the station serves the Hudson Valley area from Albany to Kingston. Owned since 2003 by Black United Fund of New York, Inc...
in Catskill) was sold to Concord Media, a "shell" company that owned stations Clear Channel controlled via local marketing agreement
Local marketing agreement
In U.S. and Canadian broadcasting, a local marketing agreement is an agreement in which one company agrees to operate a radio or television station owned by another licensee...
s.
"Rhythm"'s ratings struggled further and by late 2001 the format was declared unsalvageable. On Thanksgiving weekend of that year, WBPM flipped to a satellite-fed oldies
Oldies
Oldies is a term commonly used to describe a radio format that concentrates on music from a period of about 15 to 55 years before the present day....
format as Cool 94.3. Existing in a glutted market for the format, this had no effect on their numbers even after established oldies outlet WCZX
WCZX
WCZX is an hot adult contemporary radio station licensed to Hyde Park, New York and serving the Mid-Hudson Valley of New York state...
evolved out of the format to an 70s/80's approach (and later to full-out adult contemporary).
In late 2002, the FCC ordered that Clear Channel divest itself of associations to all "shell" companies, at which point Concord Media was disbanded. On February 28, 2003, Concord sold WBPM to Cumulus Media who took over the station the next day. With the takeover, the oldies format was relaunched as an all-local format with several former WCZX jocks on the air. This format, combined with New York Yankees
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...
baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
, propelled the station to its highest numbers since the B-94 days, however this success was short lived as an "anti-oldies" directive fired by group GM Chuck Benfer in the wake of aging demographics of the format. On October 3, the station went into a weekend of Christmas music stunting (minus Yankee games and a 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...
football game) and relaunched at 9:43 AM on October 6 as Kicks 94.3, the WKXP calls having come a week prior.
Country struggles
Unfortunately for Cumulus, country has not been a success to date on the 94.3 frequency to date as the numbers plummeted from the one full book as oldies under Cumulus (not just overall, but in key demographics). The reasons for this can be debated; everything from poor management to signal and promotions versus WRWD to the probability that the Hudson Valley can truly support only one country station. One theory even cites the potential of a "top of the dial" bias for country music in the Hudson Valley given that WRWD, WGNA-FMWGNA-FM
WGNA-FM is a country music-formatted radio station licensed to Albany, New York and serving New York's Capital District. The station is owned by Townsquare Media, and broadcasts at 12.5 kilowatts from the Helderberg Mountains tower farm in New Scotland...
in Albany, and the former Y-107 in Westchester County were all next to each other in the 107 MHz range and that any country not near that range has not succeeded.
After the Spring 2005 Arbitron ratings showed the station having nearly no measurable audience outside of Yankee games, the station went to a harder-edged approach as The Wolf in Fall of 2005, adding WZAD to cover Orange County and the Catskills in March 2006. Late in the Summer of 2006, "The Wolf" added some country sounding songs by non country artists such as The Allman Brothers, Gordon Lightfoot, Bonnie Raitt, Eric Clapton, Jewel, The Eagles, and other pop artists.
Airstaff
Mornings - Eric Hopkins(5:30-10am)Middays - Brandi Hunter(10am-2pm)
Afternoons - Beth Christy(2pm-7pm)
Nighttime - CMT Radio Live Cody Alan (7pm-12am)