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| Broadcast area | Western New York |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 106.5MHz (HD Radio) |
| Branding | Country 106.5 WYRK |
| Programming | |
| Format | Country |
| Affiliations | Compass Media Networks |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
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| WBLK,WBUF,WTSS | |
| History | |
First air date | 1962; 63 years ago (1962) (as WADV) |
Former call signs | WADV (1962–1981) |
Call sign meaning | Western New York |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 1908 |
| Class | B |
| ERP | 50,000watts |
| HAAT | 142 meters (466 ft) |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | wyrk.com |
WYRK (106.5FM) is acommercialradio station inBuffalo, New York, and servingWestern New York. It is owned byTownsquare Media and it broadcasts acountry musicradio format. Thestudios and offices are on Lafayette Square in Buffalo in theRand Building, 12th Floor.
WYRK has aneffective radiated power (ERP) of 50,000watts. Thetransmitter is atop the Rand Building.
The stationsigned on the air in 1962 asWADV. The 106.5 MHz frequency that was originally assigned in 1946 to WBEN-FM (nowWBKV), which had moved to 102.5 MHz in 1959. WADV had aMOR/easy listening format, and was the first station in Western New York to air anFM stereo signal.[2] Dan and Nancy Lesniak owned the station under the name "Adver-Cast, Inc.," from which it drew its originalcall sign. Initially sharing a church office with a scouting troop, the station moved to theRand Building a year after sign on, where the station has remained ever since.
Dan Lesniak, who had previously been a disc jockey atWWOL prior to launching WADV, became terminally ill in 1981 and sold the station to Stoner Communications; he died a year later.
Stoner immediately changed the station to acountry music format and adopted the call sign used today. The initial format wassemi-automated, with livedisc jockeys added a few years later. The station was not immediately successful.Ramblin' Lou Schriver-ownedWXRL1300 AM had been Buffalo's heritage country outlet for over a decade by the time WYRK had adopted the format. WYRK received a major boost in popularity with country music's shift in style in the early 1990s and embraced the new country sound. In the 1990s, most country music listeners had shifted from hearing the format on AM radio to the FM band.
WYRK, according to theNielsen ratings service, is often the most popular radio station inWestern New York. WYRK remains a largely local operation, with the onlysyndicated programs on the station beingTaste of Country Nights weekday evenings at 7 pm,Bob Kingsley's Country Top 40 on Sunday morning at 10 am, andAmerican Country Countdown on Sunday evening at 10 pm.
WYRK began streaming its programming on theInternet in November 2006.
WYRK usually hosts three concert series each year. The longest-running is the Taste of Country that is held every year in June. This event, held atSahlen Field, celebrated its 16th anniversary on June 12, 2015, with performances byDierks Bentley,Joe Nichols,Frankie Ballard,Canaan Smith andA Thousand Horses. Its recent series additions are acoustic concerts with one held in the fall and one held in the winter. These feature performances by up-and-coming national artists and can be seen at theUB Center for the Arts.
In 2013, WYRK hosted the Taste of Country June 14 with acts includingDarius Rucker,Sheryl Crow,Rodney Atkins,Gloriana, andJana Kramer.
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42°53′10″N78°52′23″W / 42.886°N 78.873°W /42.886; -78.873
