WINU
| |
|---|---|
| Branding | Big Country 104.9 & 97.9 |
| Programming | |
| Format | Classic country |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| WAJZ, WFLY, WKLI-FM, WROW, WYJB | |
| History | |
First air date | 1968 |
Former call signs |
|
Call sign meaning | "Win" (former format) |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 27551 |
| Class | A |
| ERP | 530 watts |
| HAAT | 284 meters (932 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 42°38′11″N 74°0′2″W / 42.63639°N 74.00056°W |
| Repeater(s) | 1230 WMML (Glens Falls) |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen live |
| Website | bigcountrylegends.com |
WINU (104.9
WINU has an
Station history
WIZR-FM Johnstown
WINU is one of several signals to have moved into the Albany market in recent years. Prior to its relocation in March 1999, it was licensed to
It returned to the air in 1983 once again simulcasting WIZR. In early 1984, it got its own
In early 1998, longtime WIZR/WSRD owner Joe Caruso obtained a
Moving to Albany
The new call letters for the station were WAAP. The transmitter site was initially on the Channel 23 tower with sister station
The switch to Modern AC was an attempt to capitalize on the then-recent flips of WXLE (now WTMM-FM) to rhythmic oldies, WRVE to a more mainstream format, and the then-stunting WKLI. It was WKLI which spoiled these plans, as Albany Broadcasting was sued by CBS Radio, then-owners of the Point name, on the behalf of WKLI-owner-in-waiting Tele-Media. In response, the station relaunched as WZMR with the Z104.9 branding and a modern rock format. The Point name surfaced on WKLI (which changed to WCPT) that May.[5] However, the ratings were not what Albany Broadcasting had hoped for.
Smooth Jazz
On October 2, 1999, WHRL (now
In June 2003, the format was tweaked to
Country and Active rock
After playing Christmas music in December 2004, the format was again changed on January 6, 2005, to a simulcast of country music station WFFG-FM in Corinth, New York.[8]
After a weekend of stunting, WZMR flipped formats to active rock on February 13, 2006, as 104.9 The Edge, picking up the format abandoned by the former Edge, 103.9 WQBK-FM and 103.5 WQBJ in December 2005.[9] WZMR saw the most success during this time, with the station's Edgefest concerts, and brought in John Mulrooney for its morning show. However, with WQBK-FM and WQBJ reverting to their previous active rock format in 2008, and WHRL tweaking from modern rock to active rock one year later, the future of WZMR's active rock format was cloudy. However, by the end of 2010, only WQBK-FM and WQBJ remained with the active rock format in the Albany market.
At 10:49 a.m. on February 26, 2010, the final song under the Edge format, "Cat Scratch Fever" by Ted Nugent, was anticlimactically interrupted, as WZMR returned to a country music format under the 104.9 The Cat branding, taking on a similar playlist and imaging to co-owned WJEN in Vermont.[10] The first song played under the new country format was "Building Bridges" by Brooks & Dunn.
Adult alternative and Sports
At midnight on October 10, 2013, WZMR began simulcasting on sister station WKLI-FM. The simulcast lasted until December 13, when, for 24 hours, WZMR began stunting with sound effects of a man hiking. WZMR launched an adult album alternative format at midnight on December 14, branded as "104.9 The Peak." The first song on "The Peak" was Stairway to Heaven by Led Zeppelin. The "Peak" name is also used by co-owned WXPK in the northern suburbs of New York City.[11]
At Midnight on January 12, 2015, after playing "
Alt 104.9
On March 16, 2018, at 5 p.m., WINU returned to an alternative rock format after nineteen years, this time branded as "Alt 104.9."[12]
Big Country 104.9 & 97.9
On September 18, 2023, at 5 p.m., after playing "Live in the Moment" by Portugal. The Man, WINU began simulcasting Glen Falls sister station WMML's classic country format (which had itself relocated from WKBE to that station just six months earlier) as "Big Country 104.9 & 97.9". The first song under the simulcast was "The Thunder Rolls" by Garth Brooks.[13]
Previous Logo
References
- ^ "Facility Technical Data for WINU". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
- ^ "WINU-FM 104.9 MHz - Altamont, NY". radio-locator.com.
- ^ Broadcasting Yearbook 1990 page B-212
- ^ www.BizJournals.com "Albany Stories" Oct. 26, 1998
- ^ Fybush, Scott (April 2, 1999). "The Eagle has Crash-Landed". NorthEast Radio Watch. Retrieved January 26, 2011.
- ^ Fybush, Scott (October 22, 1999). "The WMEX Follies". NorthEast Radio Watch. Retrieved January 26, 2011.
- ^ Fybush, Scott (June 30, 2003). "92.9 Signs On in the Hamptons". NorthEast Radio Watch. Retrieved January 26, 2011.
- ^ Fybush, Scott (January 10, 2005). "No "Love" for Albany". NorthEast Radio Watch. Retrieved January 26, 2011.
- ^ Fybush, Scott (February 13, 2006). "AM Oldies: Buffalo Loses, Scranton Gains". NorthEast Radio Watch. Retrieved January 26, 2011.
- Albany Times Union. Retrieved February 26, 2010.
- ^ "WZMR/Albany's New Format: Triple A".
- ^ Pamal Launches Alt 104.9 Albany as Rewind 105.7 Starts Stunting Radioinsight - March 16, 2018
- ^ Alt 104.9 Albany Flips to Classic Country Radioinsight - September 19, 2023
External links
- WINU in the FCC FM station database
- WINU in Nielsen Audio's FM station database