WZCR
Encyclopedia
WZCR is an oldies
radio station licensed to Hudson, New York
, and serving Columbia
and Greene
counties as well as the upper Hudson Valley
, the southern Capital District
, and Berkshire County, Massachusetts
. The station is owned by Clear Channel Communications
and broadcasts from a tower located near the Hudson River
in Hudson.
and the first FM station between Kingston and Albany. Initially airing automated easy listening
music, the station would flip to a simulcast of WHUC's successful Top 40 format by 1971, a format it would keep for the next decade. During this time, it was not uncommon for the WHUC stations to appear in the ratings for the Albany market to the point that some Albany businesses advertised on the stations.
With The FCC requiring stations to stop simulcasting, the simulcast was broken in April 1981 with WHUC-FM flipping to Automated AC from Drake Chenault and taking the WRVW calls. This format was selected by the station's current General Manager. The station would take several variations of AC before flipping to country in 1988. Country would only last a couple of years before the station went through a variety of formats, including standards, big band, and an oldies format called 93Gold FM.
WRVW's oldies format was never a winning proposition, with two strong Albany oldies stations, WGY-FM
and WTRY
dominating the Hudson market. This would continue until early 1995 when Straus Media, owners of WCTW
and WCKL in Catskill, bought WHUC and WRVW. Straus had earlier purchased WELV and 99.3 WWWK in Ellenville and all those stations, with the exception of WELV moved to the studios on Route 9G in Hudson.
In the Spring of 1995, WRVW and WWWK joined together as Thunder Country, a satellite-fed "Hot Country" format; with this format change, WRVW took the WTHK calls. WTHK struggled against WGNA-FM
to the north and WRWD
to the south, however the station did last out the 1990s. It was in 1997 that Straus's Hudson/Catskill stations were relocated to the company's Poughkeepsie headquarters, a move met with some local criticism.
The sale of Straus Media to Clear Channel Communications
in 2000 led to the divesture of the Hudson/Catskill stations and WBPM in Kingston to Concord Media, an affiliated holding company. With this sale came the relocation of WTHK and its sister stations to its old facility in Hudson along with a format change that November to its current oldies format with the WZCR calls soon following. Clear Channel would later buy the Hudson/Catskill stations (less WCKL) in early 2003 with satellite-fed programming being soon replaced. WZCR would drop satellite broadcasting and go local in January of 2005. The station continues to be a strong ratings leader with the oldies format.
On two occasions (in 2004 and 2005), WZCR has been simulcasted on WCKL as filler programming as Clear Channel has unsuccessfully tried to sell that station due to market concentration concerns.
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....
radio station licensed to Hudson, New York
Hudson, New York
Hudson is a city located along the west border of Columbia County, New York, United States. The city is named after the adjacent Hudson River and ultimately after the explorer Henry Hudson.Hudson is the county seat of Columbia County...
, and serving Columbia
Columbia County, New York
Columbia County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2010 census, the population was 63,096. The county seat is Hudson. The name comes from the Latin feminine form of the name of Christopher Columbus, which was at the time of the formation of the county a popular proposal...
and Greene
Greene County, New York
Greene County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. Its name is in honor of the American Revolutionary War general Nathanael Greene. Its county seat is Catskill...
counties as well as the upper Hudson Valley
Hudson Valley
The Hudson Valley comprises the valley of the Hudson River and its adjacent communities in New York State, United States, from northern Westchester County northward to the cities of Albany and Troy.-History:...
, the southern 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...
, and Berkshire County, Massachusetts
Berkshire County, Massachusetts
Berkshire County is a non-governmental county located on the western edge of the U.S. state of Massachusetts. As of the 2010 census, the population was 131,219. Its largest city and traditional county seat is Pittsfield...
. 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 broadcasts from a tower located near the Hudson River
Hudson River
The Hudson is a river that flows from north to south through eastern New York. The highest official source is at Lake Tear of the Clouds, on the slopes of Mount Marcy in the Adirondack Mountains. The river itself officially begins in Henderson Lake in Newcomb, New York...
in Hudson.
History
WZCR signed on in 1969 as WHUC-FM, sister to WHUCWHUC
WHUC is a radio station broadcasting a Adult Standards/MOR format. Located near Hudson, New York, USA, the station serves the Albany area. The station is owned by Clear Channel Communications and features programming from CNN Radio....
and the first FM station between Kingston and Albany. Initially airing automated 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...
music, the station would flip to a simulcast of WHUC's successful Top 40 format by 1971, a format it would keep for the next decade. During this time, it was not uncommon for the WHUC stations to appear in the ratings for the Albany market to the point that some Albany businesses advertised on the stations.
With The FCC requiring stations to stop simulcasting, the simulcast was broken in April 1981 with WHUC-FM flipping to Automated AC from Drake Chenault and taking the WRVW calls. This format was selected by the station's current General Manager. The station would take several variations of AC before flipping to country in 1988. Country would only last a couple of years before the station went through a variety of formats, including standards, big band, and an oldies format called 93Gold FM.
WRVW's oldies format was never a winning proposition, with two strong Albany oldies stations, WGY-FM
WRVE
WRVE is a Hot Adult Contemporary radio station licensed to Schenectady, New York and serving the Capital District and Upper Hudson Valley of New York. It broadcasts at 99.5 FM at 14.5 kilowatts ERP from a transmitter in Guilderland, New York...
and WTRY
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...
dominating the Hudson market. This would continue until early 1995 when Straus Media, owners of WCTW
WCTW
WCTW is a hot adult contemporary music formatted radio station licensed to Catskill, New York, and serving Columbia and Greene counties as well as the upper Hudson Valley, the southern Capital District, and Berkshire County, Massachusetts...
and WCKL in Catskill, bought WHUC and WRVW. Straus had earlier purchased WELV and 99.3 WWWK in Ellenville and all those stations, with the exception of WELV moved to the studios on Route 9G in Hudson.
In the Spring of 1995, WRVW and WWWK joined together as Thunder Country, a satellite-fed "Hot Country" format; with this format change, WRVW took the WTHK calls. WTHK struggled against WGNA-FM
WGNA-FM
WGNA-FM is a country music-formatted radio station licensed to Albany, New York and serving New York's Capital District. The station is owned by Townsquare Media, and broadcasts at 12.5 kilowatts from the Helderberg Mountains tower farm in New Scotland...
to the north and WRWD
WRWD-FM
WRWD-FM are the call letters of a country music radio station licensed to Highland, New York and primarily serving the mid-Hudson Valley of New York. The station broadcasts at 6 kilowatts ERP from a tower near Illinois Mountain in Marlborough, New York shared with sister station WBWZ...
to the south, however the station did last out the 1990s. It was in 1997 that Straus's Hudson/Catskill stations were relocated to the company's Poughkeepsie headquarters, a move met with some local criticism.
The sale of Straus Media to 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...
in 2000 led to the divesture of the Hudson/Catskill stations and WBPM in Kingston to Concord Media, an affiliated holding company. With this sale came the relocation of WTHK and its sister stations to its old facility in Hudson along with a format change that November to its current oldies format with the WZCR calls soon following. Clear Channel would later buy the Hudson/Catskill stations (less WCKL) in early 2003 with satellite-fed programming being soon replaced. WZCR would drop satellite broadcasting and go local in January of 2005. The station continues to be a strong ratings leader with the oldies format.
On two occasions (in 2004 and 2005), WZCR has been simulcasted on WCKL as filler programming as Clear Channel has unsuccessfully tried to sell that station due to market concentration concerns.