WYKV

WYKV
	Christian contemporary
Network	K-Love
Ownership
Owner	Educational Media Foundation
History
First air date	November 1991
Former call signs	WRAV (1991–93); WEMX (1993–96); WABY-FM (1996–99); WKLI (1999–2001); WRCZ (2001–06); WBOE (2006–07);
Call sign meaning	"K-Love"
Technical information
Facility ID	73929
Class	A
ERP	3,000 watts
HAAT	100 meters (330 ft)
Links
Webcast	Listen live
Website	www.klove.com

WYKV (94.5

Capital District and upper Hudson Valley of New York. The station is owned by Educational Media Foundation and broadcasts at 3,000 watts ERP from a location in Selkirk, New York. It is an owned-and-operated station (O&O) of EMF's K-Love

network.

History

The 94.5 frequency signed on as WRAV in November 1991 with a

adult contemporary format which tried to target Albany's southern suburbs. WRAV struggled from the outset with no less than three rivals in Albany and, soon after signing on, a rival in Catskill as well. As a result, the station struggled financially and was sold in November 1993 after nearly going dark; the new owners switched programming services to the Satellite Music Network

"Hot AC" format and relaunched the station as WEMX (Mix 94.5). Though WEMX was better off financially, it still struggled in terms of ratings and revenue.

In June 1995,

WCKL

in Catskill. In May 1996, the station was granted a call letter change to WABY-FM. From the outset, the simulcast was wildly successful with ratings often being among the top five stations (12+) in the Albany market. WKLI had always supported the WABY stations and although revenue at WABY improved, a misconception of the value of its audience due to poor sales staff never allowed it to reach its potential. A decline at WKLI coupled with the lure of money led to Bendat's days being numbered.

In February 1999, Bendat sold his stations to Tele-Media, Inc., which, that spring, replaced adult standards with satellite-fed soft gold from the ABC/SMN "

Delilah

in the evening hours.

Tele-Media left the Albany market in August 2001, with WKLI and WABY being sold to

Galaxy Communications. The sale resulted in a format flip for WKLI to "Classic rock that Really Rocks", becoming WRCZ (94 Rock) (with former WPYX morning host Bob Mason in mornings) on October 31, 2001.^[1]

On January 4, 2006, WRCZ and WEGQ joined together in a format flip to

motorsports. J. R. Gach

, a holdover from 94 Rock, was the morning personality until August 2006.

On February 16, 2007, the Bone format ended as the signal was cut off in the middle of "Ride the River" by Eric Clapton, as Galaxy exited the Albany market after both stations were sold to Educational Media Foundation in a fire sale. The station became an O&O of the K-Love network, and took on the WYKV call letters on July 6, 2007, after four months under EMF ownership.

References

^ "Galaxy's 'KLI/Albany Goes Classic Rock" (PDF). Radio & Records. November 9, 2001. p. 17. Retrieved September 11, 2023.

External links

WYKV in the FCC FM station database
WYKV in Nielsen Audio's FM station database

42°33′22″N 73°52′05″W / 42.556°N 73.868°W / 42.556; -73.868

[1] "Galaxy's 'KLI/Albany Goes Classic Rock" (PDF). Radio & Records. November 9, 2001. p. 17. Retrieved September 11, 2023.

[1]