| WMML simulcast | |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Capital District |
| Frequency | 104.9MHz |
| Branding | Big Country 104.9 & 97.9 |
| Programming | |
| Format | Classic country |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| History | |
First air date | 1968; 57 years ago (1968) |
Former call signs |
|
Call sign meaning | "Win" (former format) |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 27551 |
| Class | A |
| ERP | 530watts |
| HAAT | 284 meters (932 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 42°38′11″N74°0′2″W / 42.63639°N 74.00056°W /42.63639; -74.00056 |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen live |
| Website | bigcountrylegends.com |
WINU (104.9FM, "Big Country 104.9 & 97.9") is acommercialradio stationlicensed toAltamont and serving New York'sCapital District. The station is owned byPamal Broadcasting and airs aclassic countryradio format.
WINU has aneffective radiated power (ERP) of 530watts. Thetransmitter is on Pinnacle Road in theHelderberg Escarpment tower farm inNew Scotland, amid thetowers for other Albany-area TV and FM stations.[2] The programming is asimulcast of co-ownedWMML1230 AM inGlens Falls and on itsFM translator on 97.9 MHz.
WINU is one of several signals to have moved into the Albany market in recent years. Prior to its relocation in March 1999, it was licensed toJohnstown, New York, as thesister station toWIZR (930 AM). It firstsigned on the air on June 26, 1968, as WIZR-FM.[3] At first, it was asimulcast of its AM companion. In 1980, it began broadcasting a live and localoldies format. That lasted until the station wentdark in 1982.
It returned to the air in 1983 once again simulcasting WIZR. In early 1984, it got its owncall sign as WSRD ("The Wizard") as it switched to a short-lived live and localalbum rock format. It flipped to a satellite-deliveredadult contemporary format in late 1984, and eventually to satellite delivered oldies in 1987. The oldies format remained in place until early 1999.
In early 1998, longtime WIZR/WSRD owner Joe Caruso obtained aFederal Communications Commission (FCC)construction permit to move WZMR to the Albany suburb of Altamont. That put it in the Albany-Schenectady-Troyradio market, making the station more valuable. In October 1998, Caruso sold the stations to Albany Broadcasting (today'sPamal Broadcasting) for $2.2 million.[4] Albany Broadcasting closed on the stations in March 1999 and quickly moved WSRD into its studios.
The new call sign for the station was WAAP. The transmitter site was initially on the Channel 23 tower with sister stationWAJZ, but was later moved to theWYJB tower in November 2000. The format was changed tomodern adult contemporary asThe Point when it began broadcasting from its new transmitter, on March 10, 1999.
The switch to Modern AC was an attempt to capitalize on the then-recent flips of WXLE (nowWTMM-FM) torhythmic oldies,WRVE to a more mainstream format, and the then-stuntingWKLI. It was WKLI which spoiled these plans, as Albany Broadcasting was sued byCBS Radio, then-owners of thePoint name, on the behalf of WKLI-owner-in-waiting Tele-Media. In response, the station relaunched as WZMR with theZ104.9 branding and amodern rock format. ThePoint name surfaced on WKLI (which changed to WCPT) that May.[5] However, the ratings were not what Albany Broadcasting had hoped for.
On October 2, 1999, WHRL (nowWGY-FM) switched fromsmooth jazz tomodern rock, Albany Broadcasting took advantage of the format hole. Within two weeks, WZMR flipped to smooth jazz at 6:00 a.m. on October 18, 1999, as "Smooth Jazz 104.9."[6] The final song played under WZMR's short-lived modern rock format was "You Get What You Give" byThe New Radicals, also the first song played under the format. Though the return of smooth jazz was initially a success, ratings had declined at the station by early 2003.
In June 2003, the format was tweaked tourban adult contemporary (as a complement to then-urbanWAJZ). WZMR addedR&B andsoul music to the smooth jazz playlist, with the branding104.9 Love FM.[7] However, the new format failed to attract listeners as well as advertising revenue, and the station was up for sale in 2004 to prepareWNYQ (105.7 FM) for a move-in. However,Regent Communications would eventually buy that station after the sale to Pamal fell through, and Pamal instead retained WZMR.
After playingChristmas music in December 2004, the format was again changed on January 6, 2005, to a simulcast ofcountry music stationWFFG-FM inCorinth, New York.[8]
After a weekend ofstunting, WZMR flipped formats toactive rock on February 13, 2006, as104.9 The Edge, picking up the format abandoned by the formerEdge, 103.9WQBK-FM and 103.5WQBJ in December 2005.[9] WZMR saw the most success during this time, with the station'sEdgefest concerts, and brought inJohn Mulrooney for its morning show. However, with WQBK-FM and WQBJ reverting to their previous active rock format in 2008, and WHRL tweaking from modern rock to active rock one year later, the future of WZMR's active rock format was cloudy. However, by the end of 2010, only WQBK-FM and WQBJ remained with the active rock format in the Albany market.
At 10:49 a.m. on February 26, 2010, the final song under theEdge format, "Cat Scratch Fever" byTed Nugent, was anticlimactically interrupted, as WZMR returned to a country music format under the104.9 The Cat branding, taking on a similar playlist and imaging to co-ownedWJEN inVermont.[10] The first song played under the new country format was "Building Bridges" byBrooks & Dunn.
At midnight on October 10, 2013, WZMR began simulcasting on sister stationWKLI-FM. The simulcast lasted until December 13, when, for 24 hours, WZMR began stunting with sound effects of a man hiking. WZMR launched anadult album alternative format at midnight on December 14, branded as "104.9 The Peak." The first song on "The Peak" wasStairway to Heaven byLed Zeppelin. The "Peak" name is also used by co-ownedWXPK in the northern suburbs ofNew York City.[11]
At Midnight on January 12, 2015, after playing "Be My Wife" byDavid Bowie, WZMR flipped tosports talk under new call sign WINU and the "Win 104.9" moniker. The station was silent for four minutes after DJ John Clark signed off until 12 a.m., when it went straight toCBS Sports Radio with the hourly "Sports Flash" update. The station utilized programming from CBS Sports, picking up thataffiliation fromAM 1240WPTR. The move gave Albany its fourth sports station joining WPTR, which has shifted toNBC Sports Radio,WOFX (Fox Sports Radio) andWTMM (ESPN Radio). From 2015 to 2017, WINU airedNew England Patriots football games andNew York Mets baseball. Even after WINU's sports format ended, the station retained Patriots broadcasts for the 2018 season along with co-ownedWROW; however, the Patriots did not return for the 2019 season.
On March 16, 2018, at 5 p.m., WINU returned to analternative rock format after nineteen years, this time branded as "Alt 104.9."[12] This was a preemptive strike as Townsquare's WQSH (now WQBK-FM) changed their website domain name to Alt1057Albany.com, which could make Townsquare have to find a new format, or new branding for the station. However, on March 1st 2018, Townsquare's "Remix 105.7" rebranded to "Alt 105.7", making it the second Alt branded station in the Capital District, and the 3rd station (at the time) with an alternative format in the Albany-Schenectady-Troy radio market, the 3rd one being WEQX, which has a rimshot signal to Albany but is considered a part of the Albany-Schenectady-Troy radio market by Nielson Media.
On September 18, 2023, at 5 p.m., after playing "Live in the Moment" byPortugal. The Man, WINU began simulcasting Glen Falls sister stationWMML's classic country format (which had itself relocated fromWKBE to that station just six months earlier) as "Big Country 104.9 & 97.9". The first song under the simulcast was "The Thunder Rolls" byGarth Brooks.[13]
