| City of license | Buffalo, New York |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Buffalo, New York |
| Branding | Classic Hits 104.1 WHTT |
| Slogan | "Buffalo's Classic Hits" |
| Frequency | 104.1 MHz |
| First air date | 1954 (as WWOL) |
| Format | Classic Hits |
| ERP | 50,000 watts |
| HAAT | 118 meters |
| Class | B |
| Facility ID | 53968 |
| Callsign meaning | W Classic HiTs T |
| Owner | Cumulus Media |
| Sister stations | WEDG, WGRF, WHLD |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | whtt.com |
WHTT-FM 104.1 FM, is a commercial radio station based in Buffalo, New York United States. The station has a classic hits format and is known by the name "104.1 WHTT".
WHTT is owned by Cumulus Media. Its transmitter is located in Buffalo.
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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, and did so due to the lack of a classic rock station in Buffalo after WRLT switched to adult contemporary music. In May 1989, after WRLT went back to classic rock as WGRF, WHTT became an oldies music outlet playing hits from the 1950s, 1960s and early 1970s with the on air branding "Oldies 104".
In the late 1980s, the call letters and format were also heard on sister AM station 1120AM WHTT (now brokered Spanish language WBBF).
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 had 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 were all current hits, but rest of the top 100 songs were all songs from the 1970s through the 1990s. By July 2008, the current hits had mostly disappeared from the station's playlist and the station increased its focus on music from the 1970s and 1980s and returned to the playlist several songs from the 1960s, similar to the "Buffalo's Greatest Hits" time period, although it maintains the "Mix" branding.
The station alternated back and forth; by October 2008, the current hits had regained some prominence. By early 2009, the playlist had evolved back into a programming format nearly identical to the first days as 'Mix.' Later in to 2009, the station shifted back toward mostly 1980s music, with current hits getting roughly two songs per hour.
On August 10, 2009, after much insistence from listeners, WHTT officially switched back to its classic hits format, changing its slogan to the late 1980s-era "Classic Hits 104.1 WHTT" and adopting its early-2000s format of 1960s, 1970s and early-mid 1980s music.[1][2] The move created a marked improvement in the station's ratings.
Midday jock Val Townsend was removed (but later brought back for a weekend shift), but the rest of the staff was retained in the change. The current weekday staff consists of morning host Bill Lacy, midday jock Tammy Oakland (voicetracked from KKPK in Colorado Springs), and music director/afternoon host Joe Siragusa. The station's syndicated lineup of John Tesh, Steve Goddard, Tom Kent and Beatle Brunch remains intact.
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.
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.
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.
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