WDSY-FM

WDSY-FM (107.9 MHz "Y108") is a commercial FM radio station in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It is owned by Entercom and airs Entercom’s syndicated Country radio format. The studios and offices are in Foster Plaza on Holiday Drive in Green Tree, Pennsylvania, but using a Pittsburgh address.

WDSY-FM
CityPittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Broadcast areaPittsburgh metropolitan area
Frequency107.9 MHz (HD Radio)
BrandingPittsburgh’s Country Y108
SloganNumber 1 For Commercial-Free Country
Programming
FormatCountry music
HD2: Adult top 40 (WBZZ)
HD3: Channel Q
AffiliationsEntercom Syndicated Country Network
Ownership
OwnerEntercom
(Entercom License, LLC)
KDKA, KDKA-FM, WBZZ
History
First air date
August 6, 1962 (1962-08-06)
Former call signs
WYRE-FM (1962–63)
WEEP-FM (1963–77)
Call sign meaning
W DAISY (former on-air moniker)
Technical information
Facility ID18525
ClassB
ERP17,500 watts
HAAT252 meters (827 ft)
Transmitter coordinates
40.4723°N 79.9945°W / 40.4723; -79.9945
Links
WebcastListen live (via Radio.com)
Websitey108.radio.com

WDSY-FM has an effective radiated power (ERP) of 17,500 watts. The transmitter is located off Shreve Street in Pittsburgh's Spring Hill district.[1] WDSY-FM broadcasts in the HD Radio hybrid format.

History
WDSY's HD Radio Channels on a SPARC Radio with PSD and EAS.

On August 6, 1962, WYRE-FM first signed on, co-owned with AM 1080 WYRE (now WWNL).[2] Originally as a fully simulcast outlet of its AM sister station, it was owned by Golden Triangle Broadcasting and carried a country music format. WYRE (AM) was a daytimer station, with WYRE-FM operated primarily as a vehicle to serve listeners after the AM station was mandated to shut down after sunset. The following year, both stations switched their call signs to WEEP and WEEP-FM.[3]

In the late 1960s, the Federal Communications Commission ordered FM stations to air separate programming from their AM counterparts most of the day. WEEP-FM broke away from its AM sister during the required hours, airing a softer vocal-based country music format, while its AM sister played more contemporary country hits. In 1977, WEEP-FM changed its call letters to WDSY-FM, and adopting the moniker "We're fresh as a Daisy!...The all new WDSY FM 108."

As more listeners began tuning to FM stations for music, WDSY-FM took on more of a flagship approach between the two stations, with WEEP simulcasting it, rather than the other way around. WDSY-FM evolved into a contemporary country station, and eventually was recognized as the exclusive country music outlet serving the Pittsburgh area. The station's ratings flourished in the late 1980s with the addition of two on-air personalities from top album rock station 102.5 WDVE joining the WDSY-FM lineup: morning DJ Jimmy Roach and midday personality Chris DeCarlo.

In 1991, then-owner Entercom decided to change the station's branding and the station became known as "Pittsburgh's Country, Y108," though the music and call letters remained the same. Channel mentions of 107.9 later were incorporated into the branding as more radios came equipped with digital tuners.

In 1993, WDSY-FM moved from its longtime home in the Fulton Theatre (now known as the Byham Theater) building in downtown Pittsburgh to Gateway Towers, occupying space formerly used by AM 730 WPIT, which had moved to Green Tree.

The station was acquired by CBS Radio in 1998.[4] WDSY-FM then moved to studios and offices in Foster Plaza in Green Tree, about three miles southwest of downtown Pittsburgh.

On February 2, 2017, CBS Radio announced it would merge with Entercom, bringing WDSY-FM back to its former owners for the first time in nearly 20 years.[5] The merger was approved on November 9, 2017, and was consummated on the 17th.[6][7] Ever since the Entercom merger, the station’s playlist has tightened significantly and has moved in a Top 40 direction both stylistically and musically.

In April 2020, longtime station employee and afternoon drive host Brian “Wookie” Kostek was laid off as part of massive cuts by parent company Entercom due to the COVID-19 Pandemic.[8] As of September 2020, morning show producer “Cowboy” Curt Hughes has also parted ways with the station, and night host Elista Hathaway’s role has been reduced to her duties with sister station WBZZ only.

Due to a corporate mandate, local programming has been reduced to morning drive time only. Middays and weeknights now feature generic, “plug-and-play” voice tracked shows piped in from sister stations WNSH-FM in Newark, New Jersey and WYCD-FM Detroit, Michigan respectively.[9] Afternoons are now tracked for the station by Sean “Coop” Tabler out of Philadelphia.[10] In addition, the station has replaced popular Westwood One syndicated shows Country Countdown USA and American Country Countdown with in-house syndicated programming from Entercom corporate, including a new countdown show and a classic country Sunday morning program, featuring music from artists that have not been heard on the station in recent years, including Tracy Byrd, Clay Walker, Shenandoah, and Randy Travis.

WDSY-FM HD2

WDSY-FM HD2 initially aired a classic country format, branded as "The Wolf." This lasted until June 2017, when it switched to a rebroadcast of sister station 100.7 WBZZ, airing a Hot Adult Contemporary format.

WDSY-FM HD3

WDSY-FM HD3 initially aired a format of all-new country songs, branded as "The Bull." On July 19, 2017, WDSY-FM HD3 flipped to a 24/7 traffic and weather format powered by co-owned AM 1020 KDKA called "KDKA Traffic and Weather Together." Reports aired every 3 minutes and was live weekdays from 5 a.m.-7 p.m., with road closures, construction reports and freshly updated weather forecasts inserted regularly at all other times.[11]

In August 2019, WDSY-FM HD3 flipped to "Channel Q," Entercom's Talk/EDM service for the LGBTQ community.

References
  1. Radio-Locator.com/WDSY-FM
  2. Broadcasting Yearbook 1963 page B-159
  3. Broadcasting Yearbook 1965 page B-132
  4. Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 1999 page D-383
  5. CBS Radio to Merge with Entercom
  6. "Entercom Receives FCC Approval for Merger with CBS Radio". Entercom. November 9, 2017. Retrieved November 17, 2017.
  7. Venta, Lance (November 17, 2017). "Entercom Completes CBS Radio Merger". Radio Insight. Retrieved November 17, 2017.
  8. "Ongoing List Of Those Affected By Entercom's Massive Cuts". RadioInsight. 2020-04-07. Retrieved 2020-05-20.
  9. www.bizjournals.com https://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/news/2020/09/15/layoffs-hit-entercom-country-alternative-stations.html. Retrieved 2020-10-08. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  10. "Daily Schedule". Y108. Retrieved 2020-10-08.
  11. CBS Radio Debuts KDKA Traffic and Weather Together
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.