WKTU
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| City of license | Lake Success, New York |
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| Broadcast area | New York City |
| Slogan | The Beat Of New York / New York's Dance Music Leader |
| First air date | 1948 (frequency) June 5, 1975 (at 92.3 FM) February 10, 1996 (at 103.5 FM) |
| Frequency | 103.5 MHz 103.5-2 FM (WKTU2 - Country) (HD Radio) |
| Format | Rhythmic Adult Contemporary |
| ERP | 5800 watts |
| Class | B |
| Callsign meaning | We Kater To U |
| Owner | Clear Channel Communications |
| Website | www.ktu.com |
103.5 WKTU (nicknamed "KTU") is a radio station based in New York City. The station's broadcast transmitter is located on the top of the Empire State Building and its city of license is Lake Success, New York, with offices in the "Newport" section of Jersey City, New Jersey.
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[edit] History
[edit] The original WKTU
See WFNY section on WKTU for the original WKTU that existed from 1975-1985 and achieved great fame as a disco station in the late 1970s.
[edit] WNNJ and pre-move WPAT-FM
The 103.5 frequency first went on the air in 1948, as WNNJ, which then changed its name to WPAT-FM. FM listenership was very light in those early days of FM broadcasting, and during the 1950s the station would sometimes be off the air for long stretches without anyone knowing it was gone.
By 1957 WPAT-FM had relocated to its much better-known frequency of 93.1.
[edit] WTFM
In 1958, the 103.5 FM frequency in New York City went back on the air as WTFM. They played an instrumental-based easy listening format until 1978, when the old WKTU (on 92.3) went from an adult contemporary format to a disco music format. As an easy listening station, WTFM's ratings were low, as WRFM and WPAT had higher ratings with the same format. So in the fall of 1978, WTFM switched to an adult contemporary format, even though ratings would remain low with the new format.
[edit] WAPP
In 1982, Doubleday would buy the station, and that June, the station would switch to an Album-oriented rock format similar to WPLJ and WNEW-FM down the dial. The station was renamed "The Apple 103.5", with the call letters WAPP. The station went commercial-free for the duration of that summer, and as a result, it became the highest-rated radio station in New York City. Then, when the station added commercials, listeners switched back to WPLJ and WNEW-FM, and so ratings went down. In 1983, when WPLJ switched to a CHR format, the station's ratings got a slight boost.
As 1984 progressed, the WAPP's ratings were on the upswing. However, the station's owners decided to change the station's format to CHR that fall. They felt that if stations that they owned in Washington, D.C. and Minnesota could do well with the format, then this station could as well. This would not be the case, as the station could not compete with WPLJ or Z-100, and their ratings would fall. Not even a change back to a rock format in the summer of 1985 could solve the station's ratings woes.
[edit] The pre-move WQHT
In 1986, Emmis Communications would buy the station from Doubleday, as Doubleday was in the process getting out of the radio business. That August, after stunting with classic rock for a very brief period, the station relaunched as "HOT 103", with the call letters WQHT. The new station, which played a mix of pop hits, dance songs, rap songs and r&b songs, was an instant ratings success.
[edit] The post-move WYNY
On September 22, 1988, WQHT would change frequencies, as Emmis acquired NBC's radio stations. Since Federal Communications Commission regulations at the time required that a company can only own one FM radio station in a market, Emmis sold the 103.5 frequency to Westwood One. At the same time, they moved the format at 103.5 FM to the 97.1 FM frequency which they acquired from NBC. As a result, WYNY, which was running a country music format at the 97.1 frequency prior to the sale, would move from 97.1 FM to 103.5 FM.
The station, now known as "Country 103.5", had mediocre ratings in their first few months at its new frequency. Even though rumors of a format change were always existent at the station, the country format remained. In 1993, the station would be sold to Broadcast Partners, whom were committed to keeping Country on WYNY. As a country station, Jim Kerr would be the station's morning show host from 1990 to 1993, while their airstaff included the likes of Dan Daniel, Randy Davis, Ray Rossi, Lisa Taylor and Charlie Berger.
Meanwhile, Hot 97 began to move away from Dance music in 1993 and toward hip hop. By 1994 they played almost no dance music. After Hot 97 changed to an Urban Contemoprary format in 1994, New Yorkers demanded a Dance music station.
In the spring of 1995, Broadcast Partners opted to sell to Evergreen Media, and after a lot of speculation about the station's future, Evergreen confirmed in January 1996 that the station would be changing formats. On the final weekend that the station would play country music (which would be from February 2 to February 4, 1996), the entire airstaff said goodbye in a very melodramatic manner. After airing the syndicated After Midnight show in the early morning hours of February 5, the country music format was gone from the station. (Later that year country would resurface on several suburban stations with the WYNY calls resurfacing in late 1998.)
[edit] The new WKTU
At 6 p.m. on February 9, the station started airing a tape loop of sounds of a heart beating and liners about a new radio station coming. Then, the next day at Noon, WKTU was relaunched at 103.5 FM as The Heartbeat of New York 103.5 KTU with a dance-based CHR format. The station instantly skyrocketed to number one in the Arbitron ratings, although they have since cooled down. Drag performer Rupaul co-hosted mornings with Michelle Visage and Freddie Colon, around this period, further helping their ratings.
Some believe that the cause for the lower ratings is the fact that WNEW-FM changed to an Rhythmic AC format, even though WNEW's ratings, which are among the lowest for any New York City FM station, have remained about the same since their format change. Core dance music fans tend to blame the lower ratings in that 'KTU doesn't hop on to current dance music songs as quick as other stations (such as Long Island's WDRE - Party 105.3) and tend to stay with the older music to compete with WNEW-FM.
On May 31, 2006, WKTU announced that actress/comedian Whoopi Goldberg would become the stations' new morning host and that KTU would serve as the flagship station for her syndicated wakeup show. Her show, which airs on AC and Rhythmic outlets in the United States, especially those owned by WKTU's parent company Clear Channel, began on July 31, 2006. Her sidekick is Paul "Cubby" Bryant, the longtime afternoon drive host at co-owned Z-100 in New York City. The news of Goldberg being named its new morning star and the stunning departures of popular afternoon drive star Broadway Bill Lee and late night hostess Jewelz in June 2006 has lead to talk that KTU might switch formats (some are suspecting a upbeat female targeted Hot AC-type direction similar to sister station KBIG/Los Angeles) with Goldberg's arrival. KTU management insisted that there were no plans to flip formats, even with Goldberg in mornings. Another surprise move was the reunion of former KTU morning hosts Goumba Johnny and Sean "Hollywood" Hamilton, who now host the afternoon show for the station as of September 5, 2006. Sean "Hollywood" Hamilton continues to host his popular syndicated show (The Weekend Top30) heard in 160 cites across America.
However, on September 9, 2006, after many format flips by Clear Channel Communications of other radio stations throughout the country, 'KTU took on the upbeat female Hot AC direction by playing only popular current material as well as increasing the airplay of older rhythmic sounds (soul, disco and freestyle). The edgier current dance material, of which there were few anyway, that set 'KTU apart from WNEW-FM were eliminated. That move angered dance fans, to which a grass roots coalition came back in order to try to get current dance back on New York radio somehow. Along with the previous layoffs, Vic Latino left the station on November 17th. Lil Cee was also released and Speedy reduced to part-time. The changes have already resulted in WKTU being dropped as a reporter from both the Dance and Rhythmic panels in the trade publication R&R, effective with the October 13, 2006 issue. Arbitron ratings have fallen from 3.0 to 2.6 in the Whoopi Goldberg era, and significant listener dissent has been posted on a number of fansites, including www.goumbajohnny.com and the Metro New York Dance Radio Coalition page at www.myspace.com/nydanceradio
[edit] WKTU's ownership
As a result of a series of transactions from Evergreen Media, SFX Communications, and Clear Channel Communications in the late 1990's and early 2000's, WKTU is currently owned by the people at Clear Channel Communications
[edit] HD2 Operation
Like other Clear Channel stations WKTU has begun Multicasting in the late winter of 2005. On WKTU HD 1 the Rhythmic A/C format heard on the original analog station while WKTU HD 2 plays Country Music similar to the previous Country station occupying 103.5. HD stations can only be received with an HD Radio. HD Radios receive both the primary analog station, the duplicate HD Feed and the multicasting feeds. Stations can put as many as three sets of HD programming on one dial position plus their original analog broadcast.
[edit] Current DJs
The updated lineup as of September 2006:
WEEKDAYS
- 5a-9a Wake Up With Whoopi(w/Paul "Cubby" Bryant)
- 9am-3pm Diane Prior
- 3pm-7pm The Hollywood Hamilton & Goumba Johnny Show
- 7pm-12am Jagger
- 12am-5am Bartel
WEEKENDS
- Lil' Cee
- Showboat
- Al Bandiero (Sundays 6-9p)
- Judy Torres
- K-7
- Wendy Wild
[edit] Former KTU DJs
- Baltazar
- Broadway Bill Lee
- Jewelz
- RuPaul
- Michelle Visage
- Joe Causi
- Efren Sifuentes
- Vic Latino
[edit] Management
- Rob Williams – Senior Vice President
- Rob Miller - Program Director
- Susan Bacich - Director of Marketing
- Scott Eisenberg - Local Sales Manager
- Alex Roman – Chief Engineer
| FM radio stations in the New York market (Arbitron #1) | |
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(Arbitron #1) |
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(Arbitron #18) |
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(Middlesex-Somerset-Union) (Arbitron #39) |
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(Bridgeport and Stamford-Norwalk) (Arbitron #121 and 145) |
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(Poughkeepsie) (Arbitron #163) |
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| Clear Channel Communications, Inc. |
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Corporate officers: Lowry Mays | Mark Mays | Randall Mays | Tom Hicks |
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Radio / Television stations: (See List of broadcast stations owned by Clear Channel) |
