This article needs additional citations for verification .(June 2016) |
![]() | |
| |
---|---|
Broadcast area | New York metropolitan area |
Frequency | 105.1 MHz (HD Radio) |
Branding | Power 105.1 |
Programming | |
Language(s) | English |
Format | Urban contemporary |
Subchannels |
|
Affiliations | |
Ownership | |
Owner |
|
WAXQ, WHTZ, WKTU, WLTW, WOR, WWRL | |
History | |
First air date | December 14, 1953 |
Former call signs |
|
Call sign meaning | scrambling of "Power" |
Technical information [1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
Facility ID | 6373 |
Class | B |
ERP |
|
HAAT | 415 meters (1,362 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 40°44′54″N73°59′08″W / 40.748417°N 73.985694°W |
Links | |
Public license information | |
Webcast |
|
Website |
|
WWPR-FM (105.1 FM) is an urban contemporary music radio station licensed to New York City. The station is owned by iHeartMedia and broadcasts from studios located at 125 West 55th Street in Midtown Manhattan, while its transmitter is located at the Empire State Building. WWPR-FM is the flagship station of the nationally syndicated morning show, The Breakfast Club .
The station first signed-on the air on December 14, 1953, as WWRL-FM. [2] The station was co-owned with WWRL (1600 AM) by radio enthusiast William Reuman, studios were in Woodside, Queens. The call sign was changed to WRFM in October 1957, breaking away from the AM simulcast with a diversified and classical music format.
Bonneville International, the broadcast arm of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, purchased WRFM in 1967. The following year, WRFM, billing itself as "Stereo 105", adopted a beautiful music format that was developed by program director Marlin Taylor. [3] WRFM played mostly instrumental music with about one vocal every 15 minutes. It featured the works of such artists as Mantovani, Henry Mancini, Ferrante & Teicher, Percy Faith, Hollyridge Strings, Leroy Anderson, Frank Mills and Richard Clayderman. Mixed in were vocals by such artists as Frank Sinatra, Johnny Mathis, Peggy Lee, the Lettermen, Nat King Cole and Barbra Streisand.
Ratings for the station were satisfactory, and for a couple of times, WRFM was the top-rated FM station in New York. WRFM competed for beautiful music listeners with the simulcast of WPAT and WPAT-FM, with two other easy listening stations, WTFM and WVNJ-FM usually trailing. As the 1980s began, WRFM started mixing in some soft contemporary artist vocals including the Carpenters, Barry Manilow, Kenny Rogers and Dionne Warwick, and it was also used on an electronic program guide in Manhattan throughout the '80s. In 1984, the station increased vocals to six per hour and cut back on adult standards titles, while also adding softer songs by top 40 artists, such as Billy Joel, Michael Jackson, Chicago, Elton John, the Beatles and Whitney Houston.
The station's ratings continued to be strong, but by 1985, the easy listening audience was starting to age and was not as attractive to advertisers.[ citation needed ] On April 17, 1986, the station switched to a gold-based adult contemporary format with the call letters WNSR, for New York's Soft Rock. [4] [5] WNSR focused on songs from the 1960s and 1970s, with some 1980s titles and a moderate number of current adult contemporary songs as well. Initially, the station's ratings were modest. However, once AC competitor WYNY went to a country music format, WNSR's ratings went up.[ citation needed ]
In January 1990, the station's moniker became "Mix 105", and shifted to more of a hot adult contemporary format, focusing on the 1970s, 1980s, and current hits, with only a few 1960s titles. By April 1992, when the station changed its call letters to WMXV, the 1960s hits were gone, and more recent music was added. By 1995, the station was only playing hits of the 1980s and 1990s, and even mixing in some lighter modern rock songs, as many other hot AC stations were doing at this time.
On November 13, 1996, the hot AC format at WMXV abruptly ended, and after a day of stunting with music from Broadway musicals, the station switched formats to an adult-friendly modern AC format as WDBZ ("The Buzz"). [6] [7] [8] [9]
On August 5, 1997, with ratings on the decline, the call sign changed back to WNSR. The original plan was for the station to drop the "Buzz" format in favor of an oldies-based AC format, playing songs from 1964 to current hits. The station was to have launched on August 18, 1997, with television commercials set to air. However, Bonneville instead decided to sell the station to Chancellor Media, which also owned WHTZ, WLTW, WKTU, and WAXQ. [10] [11]
As a result, the format change for 105.1 was canceled and the station remained "The Buzz" for a while longer, with the reverted WNSR call letters. Gradually, from September through November 1997, the station returned to hot AC, and then mainstream AC. For the next few months, the station would simply be known on-air as "FM 105.1", and only used the WNSR call sign for the legal station identification. [12]
On January 21, 1998, at 6:30 p.m., the station relaunched as "Big 105", with the call letters WBIX (which took effect on April 13). The first song on "Big 105" was "Big Time" by Peter Gabriel. [13] [14] Despite this relaunch, the station played basically the same music as it did in the months before, and could not compete with highly rated WLTW.
Initially, Big 105 was musically very close to WLTW, but evolved to a hot AC format by that May, similar to what WPLJ was playing at the time. WBIX also added Danny Bonaduce as its morning show host. It also added Casey Kasem's American Top 20 syndicated countdown program on Sundays, coinciding with Kasem's move to Chancellor Media from Westwood One earlier in the year. Ratings continued to decline, and by October 1998, WBIX leaned toward modern AC, similar to the former "Buzz" format, but not as deep.
On December 4, 1998, at 6:00 p.m., after playing "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)" by Green Day, the station flipped to the then-growing "Jammin' Oldies" format, and (after a "name the station" contest) branded as "Jammin' 105". The first song on "Jammin'" was "Celebration" by Kool & the Gang. [15] [16] [17] On March 1, 1999, WBIX changed call letters to WTJM, in order to match the "Jammin'" branding. The station played rhythmic and dance pop hits of the mid-1960s through the 1980s. TV comedian Jay Thomas was hired for morning drive time. WTJM did better in the ratings than the previous format, and its results initially challenged those of longtime oldies station WCBS-FM. [18]
Chancellor merged with Capstar Broadcasting to form AMFM Inc. in 1999. Then, in 2000, Clear Channel Communications merged with AMFM Inc., giving WTJM and the other four stations a new owner. Under Clear Channel (now iHeartMedia), WTJM evolved into an urban oldies direction, and then to an urban adult contemporary format, while keeping the "Jammin' 105" moniker. Frankie Blue was brought in to program the shift to urban AC. He immediately brought in Jeff Foxx (formerly of WRKS and WBLS) and teamed him with comedian George Wallace to form the "Jammin' New York Wake-up Club". While the morning show was a hit, it did not warrant keeping the format due to the station's low ratings in other dayparts.
At 6:05 a.m. on March 14, 2002, the station abruptly changed, as it flipped to its current mainstream urban format as WWPR-FM "Power 105.1". [19] A speculated reason for the format change is that while they could not beat competitor WQHT ("Hot 97"), they could take enough ratings away from them to keep them from being number one, which would leave WWPR's sister station WLTW with a comfortable lead in that race (prior to the change, WQHT and WLTW had alternated at the top spot).
By 2004, WWPR-FM technically became the market's only urban contemporary station due to the transition of 107.5 WBLS from urban contemporary to urban adult contemporary. WQHT reports as rhythmic contemporary to Mediabase & Nielsen BDS, although WQHT was an urban reporter on Nielsen BDS from 2006 to 2007. WWPR-FM and WQHT's playlists are similar, and the two stations aim at roughly the same audience.
WQHT had been the only New York station featuring current hip hop and R&B since its owner, Emmis Communications, purchased WRKS in 1994 and moved that station towards an adult R&B format. In an effort to build an audience, WWPR-FM brought in former Hot 97 personalities and Yo! MTV Raps hosts Ed Lover and Doctor Dré to anchor the station's morning show. The station then entered into the top five of the Arbitron ratings, a position it maintained for several years.
The station terminated Doctor Dre's contract in December 2003 and gave Ed Lover a new co-host in rapper-turned-radio personality Monie Love. The morning team lasted for about a year. By the end of 2004, WWPR decided to heat up the rivalry with WQHT by bringing in ex-Hot 97 morning show hosts Star & Buc Wild as their new morning drive team, as well-known disc jockeys were deemed critical to the station's success.
The "Star and Buc Wild Morning Show" was replaced in 2006 by Live with Big Tigger and Egypt. That team was later replaced by a returning Ed Lover, who was later joined by Malikha Mallette. This last show incarnation ended on November 19, 2010, when Ed Lover was released from the station and Mallette was reassigned to the midday shift, replacing De Ja.
This section relies largely or entirely on a single source .(April 2022) |
Troi Torain (born May 3, 1964), who previously worked at Power 105's rival hip-hop station WQHT with his half-brother Timothy Joseph (born January 3, 1979) who took Torain's old stage name "Buc Wild" until he switched to Power 105, is known as "Star" from the Star & Buc Wild morning show. Star stands for "Strange Thoughts and Revelations". He had a running on-air feud with Power 105.1's DJ Envy, whose real name is Raashaun Casey.
In a May 3, 2006, broadcast, Torain mentioned DJ Envy's wife and child. Torain said he would pay $500 to any listener who told him where the girl attended school. Torain, who is bi-racial, also used racial and sexual epithets about DJ Envy's wife, Gia Casey, who is part Asian.
New York City Council members called for an investigation by law enforcement and the Federal Communications Commission. After the protests, Clear Channel Communications, the corporate owner of Power 105, suspended Torain. After reviewing transcripts of the broadcast, New York City law enforcement officials called Torain to police headquarters in Lower Manhattan to surrender his target pistol license and 9-millimeter handgun. Detectives from the Hate Crimes Unit charged him with endangering the welfare of a child.
Leaving the precinct house, Torain leaned back and grinned for television cameras, saying "You're looking at the new Lenny Bruce." Torain's lawyer's defended his broadcasts on first amendment grounds. [20]
Star and Buc Wild were replaced with Live with Big Tigger and Egypt on May 4, 2006.
WWPR is the flagship station of the nationally syndicated The Breakfast Club morning show. It is hosted by Charlamagne tha God and DJ Envy. It debuted in December 2010 and grew to be one of the most popular morning programs in New York. [21] The program is heard in dozens of other cities through Premiere Networks, co-owned with WWPR-FM. The Source , a hip-hop magazine, named The Breakfast Club the #1 radio program in the nation. [22]
Both personalities have experience in radio and television. DJ Envy is the host of MTV2 shows Sucker Free and The Week in Jams . Charlamagne Tha God is the co-host of MTV2's Guy Code and was a former co-host of The Wendy Williams Experience.
In April 2013, Premiere Networks launched a weekend version of the show Weekends with the Breakfast Club, which features a Top 20 countdown. Four months later, The Breakfast Club weekday version went into national syndication. [23] The show is heard in Tucson; Milwaukee, Charleston, South Carolina; Birmingham; New Orleans; Waco; Montgomery; Jacksonville; Miami; Norfolk; Columbus, Ohio; [24] Houston, [25] Detroit; [26] Columbus, Georgia; [27] Atlanta, [28] Lexington, Kentucky; Dayton; Charleston, West Virginia; Las Vegas; Champaign, Illinois; Valdosta, Georgia; Beaumont, Texas, Wilmington; Louisville; Cincinnati; and Orlando. A video version of the show is also carried weekdays on BET.
WEPN-FM (98.7 MHz) branded ESPN New York, is a sports radio station licensed to New York, New York. The station is owned by the Emmis Corporation and its operations are controlled by Good Karma Brands, under a local marketing agreement. The station's transmitter is located at the Empire State Building.
WQHT is a commercial radio station, licensed to New York, New York, which broadcasts an urban contemporary music format. The station is owned by Mediaco Holding, a subsidiary of the Standard General hedge fund, and operated by Emmis Corporation under a shared services agreement.
WLTW is an adult contemporary radio station licensed to New York, New York and serving the New York metropolitan area. WLTW is owned by iHeartMedia and broadcasts from studios located at 125 West 55th Street in Midtown Manhattan, while the station's transmitter is located at the Empire State Building.
WKTU is a rhythmic adult contemporary formatted radio station licensed to Lake Success, New York, a suburb of New York City. WKTU is owned by iHeartMedia and broadcasts from studios at 125 West 55th Street in Midtown Manhattan; its transmitter is located at the Empire State Building.
WJMN is a rhythmic CHR radio station licensed to Boston, Massachusetts, United States, and is owned and operated by iHeartMedia. The station's studios are located in Medford and its transmitter site is in Newton, Massachusetts.
WRNB is a commercial radio station licensed to Media, Pennsylvania in the Philadelphia/Delaware Valley radio market. It is owned by Radio One and airs an urban adult contemporary radio format. In afternoon drive time, WRNB carries the syndicated D. L. Hughley Show. WRNB's studios and offices are in the Two Bala Plaza building on City Line Avenue in Bala Cynwyd.
WIHT is a Top 40 (CHR) formatted radio station that serves the greater Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. Located on the fourth floor of 1801 Rockville Pike in Rockville, Maryland, the station broadcasts 24 hours a day and is licensed to, and owned by, iHeartMedia. The transmitter is located on River Road in Bethesda, Maryland.
WMIB is an urban contemporary radio station in South Florida, United States. It is licensed to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, but it also serves Miami and the Miami metropolitan area. The station is owned by iHeartMedia and the broadcast license is held by Clear Channel Broadcast Licenses, Inc. Its studios are located in Pembroke Pines and its transmitter site is in Miami Gardens. WMIB competes with WEDR. WMIB broadcasts with 100,000 watts effective radiated power and 1,007 feet height above average terrain from the Guy Gannett broadcasting tower in Miami. Other stations on the tower are WAXY-FM, WHYI-FM, WMXJ, WHQT-FM, WMIA-FM, WFLC, WFEZ, WEDR, and WZTU.
WTMM-FM is a sports radio station licensed to Mechanicville, New York, and serving New York's Capital Region and Saratoga County. The station is owned by Townsquare Media, and broadcasts at 6 kilowatts ERP from a tower in Clifton Park, New York, which is shared with WKKF and WMHH. The station airs play-by-play from the New York Yankees as well as all of ESPN's programming.
WOSL is a radio station licensed to Norwood, Ohio. The station is owned by Radio One, and airs an urban oldies-leaning urban adult contemporary format. Its studios are located at Centennial Plaza in Downtown Cincinnati and the transmitter site is west of the downtown area.
WMGC-FM is a commercial radio station in Detroit, Michigan. It is owned and operated by the Beasley Broadcast Group and airs a classic hip hop radio format. WMGC-FM broadcasts with 50,000 watts of effective radiated power (ERP) from a transmitter tower co-located with its studios and offices off Radio Plaza in the Ferndale section of Royal Oak Charter Township in Oakland County.
KFMK is an Austin, Texas radio station operating a contemporary Christian format as an affiliate of the K-Love radio network. It is licensed to Round Rock, Texas with an ERP of 4,500 watts from a transmitter site near West Lake Hills, and is currently owned by Educational Media Foundation.
Rhythmic oldies is a radio format that concentrates on the rhythmic, R&B, disco, or dance genres of music. Playlists can span from the 1960s through the 2000s and, depending on market conditions, may be designed for African-American or Hispanic audiences. It is also referred to as "Jammin' Oldies" or "Music From Back in the Day" by various radio stations. Since the late 2000s, much of the library in the "rhythmic oldies" format has been adopted by the classic hits format. A variation on the format is urban oldies.
WZZR, known on-air as "Real Radio 92.1", is a hot talk radio station licensed to serve West Palm Beach, Florida, where its studios and transmitter tower are separately located. It is owned by iHeartMedia, and broadcasts on 92.1 FM. The station is simulcast in Vero Beach on WCZR.
KRNB is an urban adult contemporary-formatted radio station in the Dallas–Fort Worth Metroplex. It is owned by Service Broadcasting Corporation alongside its sister station KKDA-FM. Its studios are located in Arlington, Texas and the transmitter/antenna tower is located north of its city of license, Decatur, Texas.
WDBZ is an urban talk–urban contemporary-formatted radio station serving Cincinnati, Ohio. The station mostly plays urban talk while also providing urban oldies and urban contemporary gospel music. Owned by Urban One, its studios are located at Centennial Plaza in Downtown Cincinnati and the transmitter site is in Eden Park.
WTLZ is a radio station licensed to Saginaw, Michigan broadcasting an urban adult contemporary format.
The year 1999 in radio involved some significant events.
The year 1998 in radio involved some significant events.
The Breakfast Club is an American syndicated radio show based in New York City. It is hosted by DJ Envy, Charlamagne tha God and Jess Hilarious. The Breakfast Club's flagship station is WWPR-FM Power 105.1 and it currently airs in over 90 radio markets around the U.S., including Chicago, Houston, Atlanta and Miami.