WPIE
Encyclopedia
WPIE signed on in 1989 as Tompkins County
's third AM
radio station
and the Ithaca, New York market's 12th station on both radio bands. It broadcasts on 1160 kHz.
licensed the station on April 16, 1986 as WJCU to Elmira
, New York
-area radio personality Joel Clawson and local engineer William Sitzman. Two Trumansburg businessmen also were silent partners in the venture.
About three months later, the FCC approved a call-letter change to WPIE, which was chosen in honor of Clawson's wife, a baker.
The station signed on in 1989, airing an easy listening
format that featured music from abroad obtained by Sitzman's programming company. Some of the music was not available commercially in the United States, and gave an alternative to common pop music heard in the US. Some of the music was also from custom recording sessions.
The studio was in a former gasoline station in the hamlet
of Jacksonville, New York
, about midway between Trumansburg and Ithaca
on Route 96
. One of the gas station's tanks had leaked several years earlier, rendering the water at the studio unpotable.
In 1991, WPIE began airing Northeast Satellite Entertainment's adult contemporary programming at night. The station began adding limited AC songs to the regular daytime format around that time.
The station began airing Trumansburg
High School football and basketball games, as well as South Seneca High School football, in 1992. Sports coverage was expanded the next year, when the Elmira-based Pembrook Pines Media Group bought the station.
The new owner brought a new format, country music
, which garnered the station more listeners and advertisers.
The station's sports coverage also attracted listeners. The high-school sports coverage, which featured Lansing
instead of South Seneca after 1993, was complemented by New York Yankees
baseball
, Buffalo Bills
football, Motor Racing Network
, and Syracuse University
football and basketball
. The Yankees were an immediate hit as they had not been on the air in the Ithaca market since the 1980s despite their popularity in the community.
Within a couple of years, the station moved into a new studio at its tower site, off Seneca Road in Trumansburg.
In the late 1990s, Pembrook Pines switched WPIE to an all-sports format, featuring ESPN Radio
, and moved its main studio into its Elmira headquarters, which includes the studios of all-sports WELM
, easy-listening WEHH
, urban contemporary
WLVY
and country WOKN
, all of which serve the Elmira-Corning
market rather than Ithaca.
Originally, WPIE and WELM aired different satellite-delivered programming with the exception of major sports broadcasts. Eventually, the stations began simulcasting, splitting only for WPIE's Ithaca-area local sports broadcasts.
In 2007, the station resumed its affiliation with Syracuse University. WPIE has also aired some Ithaca College
sports and Ithaca High School sports.
In August 2010, WPIE entered a joint sales agreement with Taughannock Media, owned by former WIII
/WKRT
manager Todd Mallinson and his wife, in anticipation of selling the station. The station dropped the Buffalo Bills in favor of the New York Jets
in the fall of 2010.
In November 2010, WPIE was purchased by Taughannock Media and moved its studio and offices to a brand new facility in Lansing, NY, though the towers and transmitter remain in Trumansburg. Many improvements have been made since, including brand new state-of-the-art studio and remote broadcasting equipment and transmitter upgrades that have vastly improved the station's quality. Shortly after relocating, the station added a local sports talk show - "Between the Lines" - to its programming lineup.
In January, 2011 WPIE become the flagship home of Cornell Wrestling broadcasts. The station also broadcast the Ithaca High School Lacrosse team's run to the NY State Championship game and plans to greatly expand its Live High School Sports Coverage in 2011-12.
Tompkins County, New York
Tompkins County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York, and comprises the whole of the Ithaca metropolitan area. As of the 2010 census, the population was 101,564. The county seat is Ithaca, and the county is home to Cornell University, Ithaca College and Tompkins Cortland Community...
's third AM
Amplitude modulation
Amplitude modulation is a technique used in electronic communication, most commonly for transmitting information via a radio carrier wave. AM works by varying the strength of the transmitted signal in relation to the information being sent...
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...
and the Ithaca, New York market's 12th station on both radio bands. It broadcasts on 1160 kHz.
History
The Federal Communications CommissionFederal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
licensed the station on April 16, 1986 as WJCU to Elmira
Elmira, New York
Elmira is a city in Chemung County, New York, USA. It is the principal city of the 'Elmira, New York Metropolitan Statistical Area' which encompasses Chemung County, New York. The population was 29,200 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Chemung County.The City of Elmira is located in...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
-area radio personality Joel Clawson and local engineer William Sitzman. Two Trumansburg businessmen also were silent partners in the venture.
About three months later, the FCC approved a call-letter change to WPIE, which was chosen in honor of Clawson's wife, a baker.
The station signed on in 1989, airing an easy listening
Easy listening
Easy listening is a broad style of popular music and radio format that emerged in the 1950s, evolving out of big band music, and related to MOR music as played on many AM radio stations. It encompasses the exotica, beautiful music, light music, lounge music, ambient music, and space age pop genres...
format that featured music from abroad obtained by Sitzman's programming company. Some of the music was not available commercially in the United States, and gave an alternative to common pop music heard in the US. Some of the music was also from custom recording sessions.
The studio was in a former gasoline station in the hamlet
Hamlet
The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...
of Jacksonville, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, about midway between Trumansburg and Ithaca
Ithaca, New York
The city of Ithaca, is a city in upstate New York and the county seat of Tompkins County, as well as the largest community in the Ithaca-Tompkins County metropolitan area...
on Route 96
New York State Route 96
New York State Route 96 is a northwest–southeast state highway in the Finger Lakes region of New York in the United States. The southern terminus of the route is at an interchange with NY 17 in the Southern Tier village of Owego, Tioga County. Its northern terminus is at a junction with...
. One of the gas station's tanks had leaked several years earlier, rendering the water at the studio unpotable.
In 1991, WPIE began airing Northeast Satellite Entertainment's adult contemporary programming at night. The station began adding limited AC songs to the regular daytime format around that time.
The station began airing Trumansburg
Trumansburg, New York
Trumansburg is a village in Tompkins County, New York, United States. The population was 1,581 at the 2000 census. The name is a variant spelling of the surname of the founder, Abner Treman...
High School football and basketball games, as well as South Seneca High School football, in 1992. Sports coverage was expanded the next year, when the Elmira-based Pembrook Pines Media Group bought the station.
The new owner brought a new format, country music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
, which garnered the station more listeners and advertisers.
The station's sports coverage also attracted listeners. The high-school sports coverage, which featured Lansing
Lansing, New York
Lansing, New York can refer to:*Lansing , New York, a town in Tompkins County.*Lansing , New York, a village in the town of Lansing....
instead of South Seneca after 1993, was complemented by New York Yankees
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...
baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
, Buffalo Bills
Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
football, Motor Racing Network
Motor Racing Network
The Motor Racing Network is the principal radio broadcasting operation of NASCAR, promoting themselves as "The Voice of NASCAR." It broadcasts coverage of most major NASCAR races at the top three levels of NASCAR at tracks owned by International Speedway Corporation as well as Dover International...
, and 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...
football and basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
. The Yankees were an immediate hit as they had not been on the air in the Ithaca market since the 1980s despite their popularity in the community.
Within a couple of years, the station moved into a new studio at its tower site, off Seneca Road in Trumansburg.
In the late 1990s, Pembrook Pines switched WPIE to an all-sports format, featuring ESPN Radio
ESPN Radio
ESPN Radio is an American sports radio network. It was launched on January 1, 1992 under the original banner of "SportsRadio ESPN." ESPN Radio is located at ESPN headquarters in Bristol, Connecticut...
, and moved its main studio into its Elmira headquarters, which includes the studios of all-sports WELM
WELM
WELM signed on in 1947 as Chemung County's second radio station and the Elmira-Corning, New York market's third. It broadcasts on 1410 kHz. The station uses a three-tower array, broadcasting at 5,000 watts from a single tower until sundown, when the power is lowered to 1,000 watts and the pattern...
, easy-listening WEHH
WEHH
WEHH signed on the air in 1956, the third AM radio station to sign on in Chemung County and the fifth to sign on in the Elmira-Corning market in New York state...
, urban contemporary
Urban contemporary
Urban contemporary is a music radio format. The term was coined by the late New York DJ Frankie Crocker in the mid 1970s. Urban contemporary radio stations feature a playlist made up entirely of hip hop/rap, contemporary R&B, pop, electronica such as dubstep and drum and bass and Caribbean music...
WLVY
WLVY
WLVY is a radio station broadcasting a contemporary hit radio format. Licensed to Elmira, New York, USA, the station serves the Elmira-Corning area. The station is currently owned by Pembrook Pines Elmira, Ltd. and features programing from CBS Radio and Westwood One.The station signed on by Frank...
and country WOKN
WOKN
WOKN is a radio station broadcasting a Country music format. Licensed to Southport, New York, USA, the station serves the Elmira-Corning area. The station is currently owned by Pembrook Pines Elmira, Ltd. and features programing from Jones Radio Network and AP Radio....
, all of which serve the Elmira-Corning
Corning (city), New York
Corning is a city in Steuben County, New York, United States, on the Chemung River. The population was 10,842 at the 2000 census. It is named for Erastus Corning, an Albany financier and railroad executive who was an investor in the company that developed the community.- Overview :The city of...
market rather than Ithaca.
Originally, WPIE and WELM aired different satellite-delivered programming with the exception of major sports broadcasts. Eventually, the stations began simulcasting, splitting only for WPIE's Ithaca-area local sports broadcasts.
In 2007, the station resumed its affiliation with Syracuse University. WPIE has also aired some Ithaca College
Ithaca College
Ithaca College is a private college located on the South Hill of Ithaca, New York. The school was founded by William Egbert in 1892 as a conservatory of music. The college has a strong liberal arts core, but also offers several pre-professional programs and some graduate programs. The college is...
sports and Ithaca High School sports.
In August 2010, WPIE entered a joint sales agreement with Taughannock Media, owned by former WIII
WIII
WIII may refer to:* Soekarno–Hatta International Airport in Jakarta, Indonesia* WIII 99.9, a radio station in Cortland, New York, United States* WSTR-TV, whose former calls were WIII, in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States...
/WKRT
WYBY
WYBY is an AM radio station serving the Ithaca market under a religious format. The station, licensed to Cortland, New York, broadcasts on AM frequency 920 kHz and is now a Bible Broadcasting Network Owned-and-operated station.- History :...
manager Todd Mallinson and his wife, in anticipation of selling the station. The station dropped the Buffalo Bills in favor of the 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...
in the fall of 2010.
In November 2010, WPIE was purchased by Taughannock Media and moved its studio and offices to a brand new facility in Lansing, NY, though the towers and transmitter remain in Trumansburg. Many improvements have been made since, including brand new state-of-the-art studio and remote broadcasting equipment and transmitter upgrades that have vastly improved the station's quality. Shortly after relocating, the station added a local sports talk show - "Between the Lines" - to its programming lineup.
In January, 2011 WPIE become the flagship home of Cornell Wrestling broadcasts. The station also broadcast the Ithaca High School Lacrosse team's run to the NY State Championship game and plans to greatly expand its Live High School Sports Coverage in 2011-12.