WOFX (AM)
Encyclopedia
WOFX, known as Fox Sports 980, is an AM
radio station
broadcasting on 980 kHz licensed to Troy, New York
. The station is owned by Clear Channel Communications
and runs a sports radio
format and is the Fox Sports Radio
affiliate for the Capital District
, Adirondacks, and Berkshires.
. When WROW
took the CBS affiliation in 1954, they briefly were the ABC affiliate before WPTR took that affiliation several years later. In the early 1960s, the station took a Top 40 format (which gained a simulcast on 106.5 MHz, now classic rock WPYX
, briefly in the early 1970s), which they maintained in some form until the early 1980s when it went through a long-term evolution which resulted in the station becoming oldies
in 1986. In 1992, WTRY gained a simulcast on 98.3 FM
which they lost in 1994, then regained in a mutual arrangement two years later in which the FM became primary and the AM secondary with the AM splitting for alternate programming at points. WTRY went through several ownership changes: in 1965, the station was acquired by Kopps-Monahan Communications, Inc. In 1972, WTRY-AM and WTRY-FM (today's WPYX
) were sold to Scott Broadcasting Company of Pennsylvania. In 1985, television personality Merv Griffin
through his company Merv Griffin Enterprises brought the stations and then sold to Capstar Broadcasting (which was controlled by billionaire mogul Tom Hicks
) in 1994. In 1999, Capstar merged with another Hicks-owned company Chancellor Media Corporation to form AMFM Inc.
After the merger of AMFM Inc. and Clear Channel in 2000, the WTRY stations were permanently split with the AM flipping to sports and becoming WOFX while the oldies format stayed on the FM side. In its 60 years as WTRY, it gave birth or adopted three other stations at varying times: WTRI-FM 102.7 (in the early 1950s, went silent), WTRI-TV (1954–1959; now WNYT), and WTRY-FM 106.5 (now WPYX
).
On September 20, 2010, with the flip of WHRL to a simulcast of talk radio
WGY, WOFX's programming can now be heard on WGY-FM's HD2 channel.
in middays. The First Team on Fox is from 6:00 AM to 9:00 AM, then Big Board Sports from 9:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. (hosted by WNYT sportscaster Rodger Wyland). The Drive on Fox is from 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM. One other local program, the auto racing
show Racing with Heart with Kim Hart, airs Sunday evenings at 9:00 p.m during the racing season. Previously, WOFX aired Imus in the Morning
, a program which predated the sports format, however the show was taken off the schedule at the end of 2006 and replaced by Fox Sports Radio's Steve Czaban
.
In addition to sports talk, the station clears a sizeable amount of play by play on both the local and national levels. WOFX currently is home to New York Mets
baseball, University at Albany
football and men's basketball, some Syracuse University
basketball games not heard on WGY, plus Westwood One
's coverage of the National Football League
and the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship
among other events. Previously, WOFX has held the rights to the New York Giants
(which were moved to sister WPYX
), New York Jets
football (currently on WTMM-FM), as well as Albany Devils
(previously the Albany River Rats
) hockey (currently on WTMM-FM). WOFX is also the Albany market home to the syndicated Cigar Dave
show, currently airing Sunday mornings from 8:00-10:00 a.m.
In the rare case of play by play conflicts, the latter games are usually heard on sister WTRY-FM
, a procedure that has become more solidly done in the wake of the mild success of UAlbany football and the success of the Mets in the 2006 season.
AM broadcasting
AM broadcasting is the process of radio broadcasting using amplitude modulation. AM was the first method of impressing sound on a radio signal and is still widely used today. Commercial and public AM broadcasting is carried out in the medium wave band world wide, and on long wave and short wave...
radio station
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
broadcasting on 980 kHz licensed to Troy, New York
Troy, New York
Troy is a city in the US State of New York and the seat of Rensselaer County. Troy is located on the western edge of Rensselaer County and on the eastern bank of the Hudson River. Troy has close ties to the nearby cities of Albany and Schenectady, forming a region popularly called the Capital...
. The station is owned by Clear Channel Communications
Clear Channel Communications
Clear Channel Communications, Inc. is an American media conglomerate company headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It was founded in 1972 by Lowry Mays and Red McCombs, and was taken private by Bain Capital LLC and Thomas H. Lee Partners LP in a leveraged buyout in 2008...
and runs a sports radio
Sports radio
Sports radio is a radio format devoted entirely to discussion and broadcasting of sporting events. A popular format with an almost exclusively male demographic in most areas, sports radio is characterized by an often-boisterous on-air style and extensive debate and analysis by both hosts and...
format and is the Fox Sports Radio
Fox Sports Radio
Fox Sports Radio, abbreviated FSR, is an international radio network consisting of sports talk programming. The network is a service of Premiere Networks...
affiliate for the Capital District
Capital District
New York's Capital District, also known as the Capital Region, is a region in upstate New York that generally refers to the four counties surrounding Albany, the capital of the state: Albany County, Schenectady County, Rensselaer County, and Saratoga County...
, Adirondacks, and Berkshires.
History
From the station's signon in 1940 until 2000, the station was known as WTRY which made an early splash by taking the CBS affiliation from WOKOWDDY
WDDY is an AM radio station licensed to Albany, New York. It broadcasts in HD Radio from facilities located in Delmar, New York, operating with 5000 watts of power on 1460 kHz...
. When WROW
WROW
WROW is a radio station broadcasting to Albany, New York, with its towers in Glenmont, New York. The station is owned by Pamal Broadcasting and runs a Adult Standards/Oldies format under the branding Magic 590...
took the CBS affiliation in 1954, they briefly were the ABC affiliate before WPTR took that affiliation several years later. In the early 1960s, the station took a Top 40 format (which gained a simulcast on 106.5 MHz, now classic rock WPYX
WPYX
WPYX is a Classic Rock radio station licensed to Albany, New York and primarily serving New York's Capital Region, the Adirondacks, and surrounding areas...
, briefly in the early 1970s), which they maintained in some form until the early 1980s when it went through a long-term evolution which resulted in the station becoming oldies
Oldies
Oldies is a term commonly used to describe a radio format that concentrates on music from a period of about 15 to 55 years before the present day....
in 1986. In 1992, WTRY gained a simulcast on 98.3 FM
WTRY-FM
WTRY-FM, or 98.3 WTRY, is an oldies station licensed to Rotterdam, New York and serving New York's Capital District and Mohawk Valley. The station is owned by Clear Channel Communications, and broadcasts at 6 kilowatts ERP from a tower in between Altamont and Duanesburg, New York off U.S...
which they lost in 1994, then regained in a mutual arrangement two years later in which the FM became primary and the AM secondary with the AM splitting for alternate programming at points. WTRY went through several ownership changes: in 1965, the station was acquired by Kopps-Monahan Communications, Inc. In 1972, WTRY-AM and WTRY-FM (today's WPYX
WPYX
WPYX is a Classic Rock radio station licensed to Albany, New York and primarily serving New York's Capital Region, the Adirondacks, and surrounding areas...
) were sold to Scott Broadcasting Company of Pennsylvania. In 1985, television personality Merv Griffin
Merv Griffin
Mervyn Edward "Merv" Griffin, Jr. was an American television host, musician, actor, and media mogul. He began his career as a radio and big band singer who went on to appear in movies and on Broadway. From 1965 to 1986 Griffin hosted his own talk show, The Merv Griffin Show on Group W Broadcasting...
through his company Merv Griffin Enterprises brought the stations and then sold to Capstar Broadcasting (which was controlled by billionaire mogul Tom Hicks
Tom Hicks
Thomas Ollis Hicks, Sr. , is an American 'leveraged buyout' businessman living in Dallas, Texas. Despite Forbes Magazine estimating Hicks' wealth at USD 1 billion in 2009, Hicks was unable to pay off joint loans of circa £200 million the following year...
) in 1994. In 1999, Capstar merged with another Hicks-owned company Chancellor Media Corporation to form AMFM Inc.
After the merger of AMFM Inc. and Clear Channel in 2000, the WTRY stations were permanently split with the AM flipping to sports and becoming WOFX while the oldies format stayed on the FM side. In its 60 years as WTRY, it gave birth or adopted three other stations at varying times: WTRI-FM 102.7 (in the early 1950s, went silent), WTRI-TV (1954–1959; now WNYT), and WTRY-FM 106.5 (now WPYX
WPYX
WPYX is a Classic Rock radio station licensed to Albany, New York and primarily serving New York's Capital Region, the Adirondacks, and surrounding areas...
).
On September 20, 2010, with the flip of WHRL to a simulcast of talk radio
Talk radio
Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often feature interviews with a number of different guests. Talk radio typically includes an element of listener participation, usually by broadcasting live...
WGY, WOFX's programming can now be heard on WGY-FM's HD2 channel.
Programming
In addition to Fox Sports network programming, the station is home to The Jim Rome ShowThe Jim Rome Show
The Jim Rome Show is a sports radio talk show hosted by Jim Rome. It airs live for three hours each weekday from 9 a.m. to noon Pacific. The show is produced in Los Angeles, California, syndicated by Premiere Radio Networks, and can be heard on more than 200 affiliate radio stations in the U.S...
in middays. The First Team on Fox is from 6:00 AM to 9:00 AM, then Big Board Sports from 9:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. (hosted by WNYT sportscaster Rodger Wyland). The Drive on Fox is from 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM. One other local program, the auto racing
Auto racing
Auto racing is a motorsport involving the racing of cars for competition. It is one of the world's most watched televised sports.-The beginning of racing:...
show Racing with Heart with Kim Hart, airs Sunday evenings at 9:00 p.m during the racing season. Previously, WOFX aired Imus in the Morning
Imus in the Morning
Imus in the Morning is an American radio show hosted by Don Imus on Cumulus Media Networks , and simulcast for television on Fox Business Network....
, a program which predated the sports format, however the show was taken off the schedule at the end of 2006 and replaced by Fox Sports Radio's Steve Czaban
Steve Czaban
Steve Czaban is an American sports radio personality. Czaban hosts The Steve Czaban Show on Yahoo! Sports Radio weekday mornings from 6 to 10 a.m., and co-hosts The Sports Reporters with Andy Pollin on "ESPN 980" WTEM weekday afternoons from 4 to 7 p.m...
.
In addition to sports talk, the station clears a sizeable amount of play by play on both the local and national levels. WOFX currently is home to New York Mets
New York Mets
The New York Mets are a professional baseball team based in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York. They belong to Major League Baseball's National League East Division. One of baseball's first expansion teams, the Mets were founded in 1962 to replace New York's departed National League...
baseball, University at Albany
University at Albany, The State University of New York
The State University of New York at Albany, also known as University at Albany, State University of New York, SUNY Albany or simply UAlbany, is a public university located in Albany, Guilderland, and East Greenbush, New York, United States; is the senior campus of the State University of New York ...
football and men's basketball, some Syracuse University
Syracuse University
Syracuse University is a private research university located in Syracuse, New York, United States. Its roots can be traced back to Genesee Wesleyan Seminary, founded by the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1832, which also later founded Genesee College...
basketball games not heard on WGY, plus Westwood One
Westwood One
Westwood One was an American radio network and was based in New York City. At one time, it was managed by CBS Radio, the radio arm of CBS Corporation, and Viacom and was later purchased by the private equity firm The Gores Group...
's coverage of the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
and the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship
NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship
The NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship is a single-elimination tournament held each spring in the United States, featuring 68 college basketball teams, to determine the national championship in the top tier of college basketball...
among other events. Previously, WOFX has held the rights to the New York Giants
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
(which were moved to sister WPYX
WPYX
WPYX is a Classic Rock radio station licensed to Albany, New York and primarily serving New York's Capital Region, the Adirondacks, and surrounding areas...
), New York Jets
New York Jets
The New York Jets are a professional football team headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, representing the New York metropolitan area. The team is a member of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
football (currently on WTMM-FM), as well as Albany Devils
Albany Devils
The Albany Devils are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League , founded in 2010. The top AHL affiliate of the National Hockey League 's New Jersey Devils, the team has as its home the Times Union Center in Albany, New York...
(previously the Albany River Rats
Albany River Rats
The Albany River Rats were an ice hockey team in the American Hockey League. They played in Albany, New York at the Times Union Center.- Founding to 2010 :...
) hockey (currently on WTMM-FM). WOFX is also the Albany market home to the syndicated Cigar Dave
Cigar Dave
David Zeplowitz , is the creator and host of Smoke This!-- a nationally syndicated radio program devoted entirely to cigar smoking and its accompanying lifestyle.-Biography:...
show, currently airing Sunday mornings from 8:00-10:00 a.m.
In the rare case of play by play conflicts, the latter games are usually heard on sister WTRY-FM
WTRY-FM
WTRY-FM, or 98.3 WTRY, is an oldies station licensed to Rotterdam, New York and serving New York's Capital District and Mohawk Valley. The station is owned by Clear Channel Communications, and broadcasts at 6 kilowatts ERP from a tower in between Altamont and Duanesburg, New York off U.S...
, a procedure that has become more solidly done in the wake of the mild success of UAlbany football and the success of the Mets in the 2006 season.