The FM station on 107.7 at Wethersfield originally started broadcasting June 6, 1948 as , a member of the Rural Radio Network based in Ithaca . The network changed ownership three times in the 1960s, and was most notable between 1969 and 1981 for being upstate New York's arm of Pat Robertson 's original Christian Broadcasting Network .
After Robertson sold off the network, the station had become a part of the Buffalo, New York market (despite its position about halfway between Buffalo and Rochester ). As a result of its distance from Buffalo, it struggled to gain ratings with multiple formats.
- WUWU "The Sound of the Future." New wave and jazz music. 1982-86.
- WBYR "The Bear -- High Quality Rock and Roll." Classic rock. 1986-88.
- WBMW/WEZQ Beautiful Music . 1988 to August 1992.
- WNUC "New Country." Country Music , intended to compete with WYRK (and indirectly WBEE , WPIG and many others). One of its longest-running formats, country on WNUC ran from August 1992 to October 2000, when the station was sold to Adelphia Communications for $5,600,000.
- WNSA "The Sports Authority/Sports Paradise." Sports Radio . October 2000 to May 2004. Arguably the station's greatest success was under this format, as the station, operated by the regional Empire Sports Network and deliberately designed to challenge WGR , aimed for sports fans from western New York to the Finger Lakes. While its Buffalo overall ratings were modest, they were still nearly twice that of its rival for most of its run, until financial problems caused severe cutbacks by 2003. Its demise was due in large part to the Adelphia/ John Rigas scandal, and the station was sold off to its current owners at a price of $10,500,000. Many WNSA staffers found jobs at WGR, while others (particularly those who had worked at both WNSA and WNUC) would end up at WYRK. A large portion of WNSA's programming was archived by producer Steve Cichon and is available for purchase. {Link without Title}
- WLKK "The Lake." Its current format, launched in 2004. WLKK has maintained the number of listeners that the station had during the run of WNSA. The station indirectly took aim at the Classic Rock market and sought to create a more laid-back, relaxed atmosphere. The playlist of WLKK contains a large portion of hit songs from the 1970s and 1980s, less focused on hard rock and metal than most classic rock stations, but also contains the occasional deep track. Disc jockeys often will tell the story behind the song (sometimes from CD liner notes), and the station uses a series of bumpers with flowing water, chirping birds, and a deep voice reading the station slogan.
WLKK informs the people of the local community about various charitable causes. They also play WNY musicians on a regular basis, with a local music show on Monday nights, hosted by Robbie Takac of The Goo Goo Dolls .
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