WHTT-FM

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (August 2007)

WHTT 104.1 FM, is a commercial radio station based in Buffalo, New York United States. The station has a Adult Contemporary format and is known by the slogan "Mix 104.1".

[edit] Station History

104.1FM located in the far corner of western New York State originally signed on in 1954 as WWOL, from Lackawanna, New York. Its transmitter is located on Dorrance Avenue near Abbott Road on the border between West Seneca and Lackawanna. The station also held the calls WWOR and WACJ. It would change call signs to WNYS in 1982. During the WNYS years, the station employed future progressive talker Stephanie Miller.

The station changed formats and call letters in the autumn of 1986 switching to classic hits with the moniker "Classic Hits 104.1 WHTT". The station was one of the first to take the "classic hits" moniker in the United States. In May 1989 the station became an oldies music outlet playing hits from the 1950s, 1960s and early 1970s with the on air branding "Oldies 104".

[edit] Transition: From "Oldies" to the current format (and back?)

From 1989 to 2003, the station was known as "Oldies 104," the area's primary oldies outlet.

By September 2003 the station, like many other oldies stations in the United States, had evolved into a classic hits format playing a mix of classic rock, soft rock, R&B and pop music hits from the mid-1960s through the 1970s. At this point the station changed its slogan to "104.1 WHTT The Greatest Hits Of All Time". In the autumn of 2004 the slogan was modified to "104.1 WHTT Buffalo's Greatest Hits," and in November 2006, since its music library now progressed well into the 1980s, changed yet again to "104.1 WHTT Buffalo's Best Mix." The move was carefully timed as the station imaged itself as more of an adult contemporary station as the two AC outlets in Buffalo, WJYE and WTSS, both changed to full-time Christmas music in November and WHTT historically has not (instead opting for one Christmas song per hour from the day after Thanksgiving up through a few days before Christmas, then increasing to all-Christmas music for the last week before the holiday; a similar "mixed" Christmas format is being used in 2007). In addition, WHTT added many artists who are staples of the Adult Contemporary format, such as Madonna, Wilson Phillips, Don Henley, and Sheryl Crow to its playlist while keeping a large amount of 1965-1985 music in rotation; thus, some could consider it a Gold-Based AC.

In late February 2007, WHTT switched to variety/AC and changed its on-air branding to "Mix 104.1", adding to its playlist current and recent hits from artists such as Kelly Clarkson, Maroon 5, The Goo Goo Dolls, Carrie Underwood and Avril Lavigne, while continuing to phase out its older '70s music. The station also introduced a brand-new logo. Some of the oldies music was displaced to WGRF. Most of the staff was retained, with Val Townsend coming from WEDG as the afternoon jock to eventually replace longtime jock Harv Moore being the only notable change in the transition.

However, by October 2007, since ratings for the new "Mix" format have fallen somewhat dramatically since its debut, 70s and even some 60s music has slowly returned to WHTT's playlist while the new songs have been reduced back to the pre-"Mix" one song per hour. As of April 2008, the top 8 songs in WHTT's top 100 playlist are all current hits, but the next 12 songs are from the 1980s and positions 9 through 99 are all songs from the 1970s through the 1990s, with the exceptions of The Foundations' Build Me Up Buttercup at #16 and Van Morrison's Brown Eyed Girl at #32, both of which were recorded in the late 1960s.

The station's top 100 songs and playlist can be viewed here.

The loss of oldies and classic hits on WHTT leaves no full-time FM oldies outlets in Western New York.

In the late 1980s, the call letters were also heard on sister AM station 1120AM WHTT (now Gospel music WBBF).

WHTT is owned by Citadel Broadcasting. Its transmitter is located in Buffalo.

[edit] Programs

Bill Lacy, Gail Ann Huber, Jim Pastrick, Val Townsend, and Joe Siragusa are the station's primary weekday jocks, with several part-time weekend jocks on weekends. Syndicated programs carried on WHTT include Beatle Brunch with Joe Johnson and The 70s with Steve Goddard, both of which predate the changeover to the "Mix" brand. Hollywood Confidential with Leeza Gibbons and the weeknight John Tesh Radio Show were added in November 2007.

Several prominent names in Buffalo radio have worked at WHTT in years past, including Danny Neaverth, Taylor and Moore (although on separate air shifts), and Tom Shannon.

[edit] Internet Streaming

In November 2005 WHTT launched a "Holiday Music Channel" internet stream. The "Holiday Music Channel" played Christmas music and was meant to complement WHTTs regular lineup, which had largely continued its normal playlist throughout the holiday season. Said channel was revived in 2006.

In March 2006, Citadel launched an initiative that provided for the streaming of many of Citadel's stations. WHTT was one of them, and was among the first commercial stations in Buffalo to resume streaming. WHTT previously provided a popular internet stream from the mid-1990s through 2001. That stream was halted after continuing uncertainty over rights issues related to the streaming of radio broadcast programming over the Internet, including issues regarding demands for additional fees for the streaming of recorded music and radio commercials. After working out technicalities with various industry trade unions many stations, including WHTT, resumed their internet stream but without airing the commercials listeners hear on the FM broadcast.

[edit] Oldiesfest

Starting in the 1990s, the station would hold an annual concert event known as "Oldiesfest" each summer featuring many musical acts from the 50s and 60s. The last "Oldiesfest" was held in 2004 and featured performers from the groups Badfinger, Gallery, and Blood, Sweat and Tears.

[edit] WHTT: Previous Stations Assigned WHTT Call Letters

Several noted radio stations were issued the WHTT call sign by the United States government agency FCC, previous to 104.1FM in Buffalo, New York.

• From March 9, 1983 till July 7, 1986 the call letters were assigned to a CBS owned and operated Top 40/Hot Hits formatted station known as "Hitradio WHTT" in the Boston, Massachusetts radio market. "Hitradio WHTT" finished number one in the Arbitron radio ratings in the Boston market for several seasonal based ratings books in 1983 and 1984.

• Starting on August 4, 1980 till 1982 the WHTT calls were used for Miami, Florida AM radio station "Radio Hit 1260". "Radio Hit 1260" was one of several stations influential in establishing Spanish language hit music as a viable format in the United States. The station mixed Latin Pop Music singles and some English language Top 40 music along with news and information aimed at the Miami areas growing Latin American and Caribbean Spanish speaking population. WHTT in Miami was the AM sister to popular FM Top 40 station WHYI "Y-100" and by late 1980 was becoming successful in the Arbitron ratings. In April 1981, the transmitter site for the station was firebombed. Local police suspected the individuals responsible were upset about both the switch from the previous format (AM 1260 from 1969 till 1980 was the once popular country music station WWOK) and the increasing Hispanic population and presence in Miami. The station was on less than 100 watts power for many months greatly weakening the signal and thereby decreasing both the ratings and revenue for "Radio Hit 1260". According to general manager Dave Gleason, the stations owners "Metroplex Communications" lost interest in the format after the firebomb incident. ^[1]

• WHTT was a country music station located in Davenport, Iowa from 1975 till 1978. The station then become longtime AOR rock station WXLP.

[edit] External links

• Official WHTT Website
• Query the FCC's FM station database for WHTT
• Radio Locator information on WHTT
• Query Arbitron's FM station database for WHTT

[edit] References