 | |
| |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Rochester metropolitan area |
| Frequency | 1280kHz |
| Branding | Fox Sports 1280 Rochester |
| Programming | |
| Language | English |
| Format | Sports radio |
| Affiliations | |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| WAIO,WDVI,WHAM,WKGS,WNBL,WVOR | |
| History | |
First air date | 1947; 78 years ago (1947) |
Former call signs |
|
Call sign meaning | Hot Talk (former format) |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 37549 |
| Class | B |
| Power | 5,000 watts |
Transmitter coordinates | 43°5′54.00″N77°35′1.00″W / 43.0983333°N 77.5836111°W /43.0983333; -77.5836111 |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen live (viaiHeartRadio) |
| Website | foxsports1280 |
WHTK (1280kHz) is anAM radio station broadcasting asports radio format. Licensed toRochester, New York, and serving the Rochester area, the station is owned byiHeartMedia. Its studios are located at theFive Star Bank Plaza building in downtown Rochester while itstransmitter is located inBrighton. It features programming fromFox Sports Radio. WHTK carries theNew York Jets,Rochester Red Wings, andRIT Tigers Men's Ice Hockey among other local and national sports. The station's weekday lineup includesThe Dan Patrick Show,The Herd with Colin Cowherd, and a local show hosted by John DiTullio.
Prior to that, the station was first known as WVET, signing on in 1947, under ownership of a group of returning World War II veterans calling themselves Veterans' Broadcasting Company. It operated successfully for many years with a personalityfull service adult popular music format. It changedcall sign from WVET to WROC when Veterans boughtWROC-TV from Transcontinent Television Corporation in 1961. Simultaneously, an FMsister station, WROC-FM, signed on, first playing classical music and laterautomatedjazz and pop standards. Veterans sold the WROC radio stations in 1964 toRust Craft Broadcasting, who then sold the stations to Associated Broadcasters (which later became Pyramid Broadcasting) in 1979. TheAM station continued with its full service format until late in the 1970s, when it tried anall-news format first as WROC and then as WPXN. It later changed calls letters to WPXY and aired the satellite-fed "Music of Your Life"adult standards format before dropping that in January 1984 for a simulcast with its FM sister station, by the early 1980s known asWPXY-FM and airing a contemporary hit music format, which WPXY-FM still runs today. In 1990, the AM split from the simulcast and returned to Music of Your Life. In 1991, WPXY (AM) changed tooldies as WKQG,[2] then back to asimulcast with the FM (again as WPXY).
On November 1, 1993, after The Lincoln Group began to operate the station from Pyramid (who kept the FM), it flipped to mostly syndicated "hot talk", a lineup of talk and sports programming meant to appeal to young adult men branding itself as "Hot Talk 1280".[3] At that time, it adopted the WHTK call sign (the "HTK" meant to stand for "hot talk") which it still uses today. Over the next few years, the station added more sports-oriented programming. In 1996, WHTK was split from WPXY-FM permanently when the station was sold toJacor (after several subsequent mergers, Clear Channel Communications (nowiHeartMedia) acquired the station in 2000).
In 2008, the station re-branded itself as "Sportsradio 1280". As of 2014, the station is now known as "FOX Sports 1280 Rochester".
WHTK was the longtime radio home of theRochester Americans of theAmerican Hockey League. The Americans jumped toWROC in 2016 as a result of a five-year deal betweenPegula Sports and Entertainment (the Americans' owners) andEntercom.
On September 9, 2009, at midnight,WROO changed callsigns to WHTK-FM and changed their format fromcountry music, as "Country 107.3" to sports, simulcasting WHTK 1280 AM, as "1280 WHTK & FM 107.3."[4] The change was made to address nighttime signal limitations of WHTK (AM), which must protect co-channel signals in New York City and the midwestern US by using adirectional antenna after sunset. The FM station filled in signal nulls which limited WHTK's nighttime and early morning reach in southeasternMonroe County, southernWayne County andOntario County. The FM simulcast ended on May 5,2012.