WOKO

Last updated
WOKO
98.9 WOKO logo.png
Broadcast area Burlington-Plattsburgh
Frequency 98.9 MHz
Branding98.9 WOKO
Programming
Format Country music
Affiliations Compass Media Networks
Performance Racing Network
Ownership
Owner Hall Communications
WBTZ, WIZN, WJOY, and WKOL
History
First air date
June 26, 1962 (as WJOY-FM)
Former call signs
WJOY-FM (1962–1972)
WQCR (1972–1990)
Technical information
Facility ID 25867
Class C1
ERP 100,000 watts
HAAT 94 meters (308 ft)
Transmitter coordinates
 44°27′3″N73°11′51″W / 44.45083°N 73.19750°W / 44.45083; -73.19750
Links
Webcast Listen Live
Website woko.com

WOKO (98.9 FM) is an American radio station broadcasting a country music format. Licensed to Burlington, Vermont, United States, the station serves the Burlington-Plattsburgh area. The station is owned by Hall Communications [1] [2]

Contents

History

WJOY-FM

WJOY-FM signed on the air on June 26, 1962. [3] It was Vermont's first FM radio station and broadcast a classical format, programmed separately from its AM counterpart, WJOY (1230 AM). [4] The station contracted with Heritage Music, a company based in New York and Bellingham, Washington, to provide its musical selections. [4] [5] To prepare for FM broadcasting, one studio was cut in half to add an FM control room, and another studio was converted to a transmitter room for WJOY's AM and FM operations. [3] In 1967, WJOY-AM-FM broke ground on new studio facilities, including a new and taller 359-foot (109 m) tower to replace the 220-foot (67 m) tower being used. [6] WJOY-FM began stereo broadcasting in 1969. [7]

WQCR

In 1971, Frank Balch, who had joined WJOY as an announcer in 1951 and had become president of the Vermont Broadcasting Corporation, acquired majority control of WJOY-AM-FM. [8] The next year, on August 14, 1972, WJOY-FM became WQCR; [9] the call letters were said to stand for "Wonderful Queen City Radio". [10] The station continued to have an easy listening sound. [10]

1975 saw two major developments for WQCR. In February, it flipped to a rock format; in July, it increased its effective radiated power from 3,200 watts [11] to 33,000, doubling its coverage area. [12] Balch served in the late 1970s as director of the National Association of Broadcasters and on the University of Vermont Board of Trustees. [13] WQCR's power was further increased to 50,000 watts in 1980. [14] Despite having fully automated programming, "Q99" was a strong second overall in the market in 1981 and led among young adults. [15]

After 35 years in broadcasting, Balch sold WJOY-WQCR to Hall Communications of Norwich, Connecticut, for $2.2 million in 1983. [16] The new ownership switched WQCR from automated to live programming. [17] The 1985 sign-on of WXXX put a massive dent in WQCR's ratings; the new contemporary hit outlet debuted at number one and dropped WQCR from a 21.2 share in the fall 1984 Arbitron book to a 9.4. [18]

September 9, 1988 brought technical and format changes. The station rebranded as "The New Rock 99 FM" the same day it doubled its power to 100,000 watts. [19] [20]

WOKO

On April 1, 1990, after 16 years as a rock station, WQCR switched to country music and adopted new WOKO call letters, seeking to fill a void in the market, which only had one FM country outlet. [21] Around the same time, under the guidance of former executive vice president and COO Dick Reed, Hall flipped stations it owned serving New London, Connecticut and in Providence, Rhode Island, to country. [22] The move was described by general manager Dan Dubonnet in 1992 as a quest to "save" the station, which was gaining little traction as a rocker; it tripled its weekly audience in the two years after the flip and benefited from the increased popularity of country music in the early 1990s. [23] The station's success earned it back-to-back station of the year honors from the Vermont Association of Broadcasters in 1993 and 1994; [24] by 1995, WOKO was back on top of the Burlington radio ratings. [25] Hall became Vermont's first FM duopoly owner with its purchase of WEXP-FM that same year. [26]

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References

  1. ↑ "WOKO Facility Record". United States Federal Communications Commission, audio division.
  2. ↑ "WOKO Station Information Profile". Arbitron.
  3. 1 2 "WJOY-FM Will Go on Air Today". Burlington Free Press. June 26, 1962. p. 2A. Retrieved October 10, 2019.
  4. 1 2 "FM To Bring New Broadcasting Era". Burlington Free Press. May 17, 1962. p. 22. Retrieved October 10, 2019.
  5. ↑ "WJOY-FM Will Feature Serious Heritage Music". Burlington Free Press. June 23, 1962. p. 6. Retrieved October 10, 2019.
  6. ↑ "Ground Broken for New WJOY Studios". Burlington Free Press. October 23, 1967. p. 13. Retrieved October 10, 2019.
  7. ↑ "WJOY-FM To Add Stereo Broadcasts". Burlington Free Press. April 14, 1969. p. 12. Retrieved October 10, 2019.
  8. ↑ "Balch To Buy WJOY Radio". Burlington Free Press. April 7, 1971. p. 19. Retrieved October 10, 2019.
  9. ↑ "WJOY-FM Becomes WQCR Today". Burlington Free Press. August 14, 1972. p. 11. Retrieved October 10, 2019.
  10. 1 2 "Music in the air EVERYWHERE..." Burlington Free Press. October 29, 1973. p. 15. Retrieved October 10, 2019.
  11. ↑ FCC History Cards for WOKO
  12. ↑ "WQCR-FM Increases Power". Burlington Free Press. July 3, 1975. p. 26. Retrieved October 10, 2019.
  13. ↑ "Balch Named UVM Trustee". Burlington Free Press. Associated Press. March 2, 1977. p. 1B. Retrieved October 10, 2019.
  14. ↑ "WQCR-FM Boosts Power". Burlington Free Press. April 20, 1980. p. 11B. Retrieved October 10, 2019.
  15. ↑ Abbey, Alan (August 11, 1981). "Radio Ratings Shake Up Area Stations". Burlington Free Press. pp. 1D, 3D . Retrieved October 10, 2019.
  16. ↑ Eley, Bob (September 2, 1983). "Connecticut Company to Buy Two Burlington Radio Stations". Burlington Free Press. p. 5B. Retrieved October 10, 2019.
  17. ↑ Eley, Bob (January 29, 1984). "Giant firms buy into area's high tech rec". Burlington Free Press. pp. 1F, 12F . Retrieved October 10, 2019.
  18. ↑ "WXXX Ratings Top Area Radio Market". Burlington Free Press. August 9, 1985. p. 6C. Retrieved October 10, 2019.
  19. ↑ "Q-99 FM doubles its power to 100,000 watts". Burlington Free Press. September 9, 1988. p. 1D. Retrieved October 10, 2019.
  20. ↑ "It's Only Rock N Roll". Burlington Free Press. September 8, 1988. p. 3. Retrieved October 10, 2019.
  21. ↑ Donoghue, Mike (March 1, 1990). "WQCR-FM to switch its format". Burlington Free Press. p. 5C. Retrieved October 10, 2019.
  22. ↑ Helton, Lon (June 30, 2005). "Doing What's Right, And Doing It Well" (PDF). Radio & Records. p. 32. Retrieved October 11, 2019.
  23. ↑ "WOKO rides the new country wave". Burlington Free Press. May 28, 1992. p. Weekend 9. Retrieved October 10, 2019.
  24. ↑ Graff, Christopher (June 12, 1994). "Greene named top broadcaster". Burlington Free Press. Associated Press. p. 4B.
  25. ↑ Blackburn, Maria (February 3, 1995). "Country WOKO clobbers on-air competition". Burlington Free Press. p. 12A. Retrieved October 10, 2019.
  26. ↑ Donoghue, Mike (February 23, 1995). "WEXP sold to owner of WOKO". Burlington Free Press. p. 8B. Retrieved October 10, 2019.
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