WLTW: Difference between revisions – Wikipedia
Radio station in New York City
WLTW (106.7 FM) is an adult contemporary radio station licensed to New York City and serving the New York metropolitan area. WLTW is owned by iHeartMedia and broadcasts from studios in the former AT&T Building in the Tribeca neighborhood of Manhattan; its transmitter is located at the Empire State Building.
History[edit]
The station first went on the air on January 1, 1961, as non-commercial WRVR, originally owned by the Riverside Church.[1] WRVR played classical music and some jazz, along with religious programming and public affairs, broadcasting from an antenna atop the church’s bell tower. As time went on, WRVR was a full-time jazz station with a strong audience following but low ratings.
In mid-1974 Riverside Church looked to cut its losses and sell WRVR, but with a preferred condition that the station’s jazz format be preserved. At the same time, classical music-formatted WNCN (104.3 FM, now sister station WAXQ) was in the process of a controversial format change to Album oriented rock, with new call letters WQIV. A group of WNCN audience members formed the non-profit WNCN Listeners Guild and attempted to block the station’s then-owner, Starr Broadcasting, from making the format switch. After their efforts failed, the WNCN Listeners Guild partnered with GAF Corporation and briefly entered negotiations with Riverside Church to purchase WRVR and switch its programming to classical.[2][3] The rock format on 104.3 FM would last less than a year, as GAF announced it would purchase WQIV in July 1975 and restore 104.3 FM to its former call sign and programming.[4]
As the WNCN/WQIV drama concluded, Sonderling Broadcasting stepped in and bought WRVR from Riverside Church for just over $2 million.[5] Sonderling already owned WWRL (1600 AM), and hoped that it could move WWRL’s Urban contemporary format to FM as a counter-move against WBLS (107.5 FM), which had cut into WWRL’s ratings. Like the WNCN/WQIV situation, community opposition tried to stop sale of the station. Sonderling ultimately took control of WRVR in October 1976 after over a year of delays.[6] The listeners’ protests did prevent the proposed change, and WRVR remained a jazz station under Sonderling ownership. At that time it developed the precursor to what would later become known as the “smooth jazz” format. While it played Jazz music, it was allowed to report to Radio & Records Album Oriented Rock chart in the mid to late 1970s.
1980s[edit]
In 1978 Viacom announced it was purchasing the Sonderling chain,[7] a sale which took a year-and-a-half to become final. When Viacom took over in 1980, the call letters were changed to WKHK and the station adopted a country music format known as “Kick 106.7 FM”. The format change took place in the middle of the night and brought many protests from New York jazz fans, who petitioned the FCC to deny the station’s license renewal; ultimately the petition was denied. WKHK would suffer from low ratings, as they were unable to compete with WHN (1050 AM), which also had a country music format at the time.
On January 23, 1984, Viacom dropped country music and turned 106.7 into an MOR station–with new call letters WLTW and on-air branding of “Lite FM”. Initially they were an easy listening station without anything that would be classified as “elevator music“. At this point, the station played music from such artists as Barbra Streisand, Frank Sinatra, the Carpenters, Dionne Warwick, Kenny Rogers, Tony Bennett, Andy Williams, Barry Manilow, Simon & Garfunkel, James Taylor, and the Stylistics. The station also played softer songs from such artists as Elton John, Elvis Presley, the Beatles, the Everly Brothers, the Righteous Brothers and Billy Joel. The station would not play any new music except for new songs by artists that were familiar to listeners of the station. With this format change, ratings did increase from its previously low levels.
By the late 1980s, WLTW started to play songs from such artists as Whitney Houston, Chicago, Foreigner, the Doobie Brothers and Bruce Springsteen. As other competing New York City stations changed their focus, the station stayed with their soft adult contemporary format, even though they were phasing out songs from artists such as Frank Sinatra, Barry Manilow, and the Carpenters. At this point, the station’s ratings were at or near the top compared with other New York City radio stations.
1990s[edit]
By the mid-1990s, with WPAT-FM adapting a Spanish adult contemporary format, WPLJ adapting a hot adult contemporary format, and WMXV switching to a modern adult contemporary format, WLTW segued to a mainstream adult contemporary format with a more uptempo direction than before, and phased out the majority of its soft adult contemporary material.[8][9][10]
Merger with Clear Channel Communications[edit]
Chancellor Media acquired WLTW and the rest of Viacom’s radio group in 1997.[11] In…