 | |
| |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Kiryas Joel–Poughkeepsie–Newburgh metropolitan area |
| Frequency | 101.5MHz (HD Radio) |
| Branding | 101.5 WPDH |
| Programming | |
| Format | Classic rock |
| Subchannels |
|
| Affiliations | |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| WCZX,WEOK,WKXP,WPDA,WRRV,WZAD | |
| History | |
First air date | 1962; 63 years ago (1962) |
Former call signs | WEOK-FM (1962–1972) |
Call sign meaning | Poughkeepsie Dutchess Hudson |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 71514 |
| Class | B |
| ERP | 4,400 watts |
| HAAT | 469 meters (1,539 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 41°43′08″N73°59′46″W / 41.719°N 73.996°W /41.719; -73.996 |
| Translators |
|
| Repeater | 106.1 WPDA (Jeffersonville) |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen live |
| Website | wpdh |
WPDH (101.5FM) is acommercial radio stationlicensed toPoughkeepsie, New York, and serving theKiryas Joel–Poughkeepsie–Newburgh metropolitan area. The station is owned byTownsquare Media and broadcasts aclassic rock radio format. Its studios and offices are on Pendell Road in Poughkeepsie.
WPDH has aneffective radiated power (ERP) of 4,400 watts. Itstransmitter site is onIllinois Mountain inHighland, New York.[2] WPDH is alsosimulcast on aclass A station, 106.1WPDA inJeffersonville, New York. Several translators relay WPDH'sdigital subchannels.
In 1962, the stationsigned on as WEOK-FM,sister station toWEOK (1390 AM). The main purpose of the station at the outset was to provideMuzak programming to area offices and stores via its subcarrier. By day, WPDHsimulcast the AM'smiddle of the road (MOR) format, with block programming airing between the AM's sign off and 10:00 p.m.
In 1972, WEOK AM and FM were sold to the Dyson family (also owners ofDyson Racing) and with the sale came key changes to the FM side. The transmitter moved from a site inMilton to the Illinois Mountain site. It upgraded to a fullClass B signal and addedFM stereo capabilities in the process.
At the end of these upgrades, it relaunched ascountry music formatted WPDH. With poor ratings playing country music, management saw a hole for analbum-oriented rock (AOR) station in theHudson Valley. In 1976 WPDH abandoned country for rock music.
WPDH spent the latter part of 1994 and early 1995 evolving toClassic rock.
Rob Dyson sold the Crystal Radio Group to Aurora Communications in 2001 which, in turn was acquired byCumulus Media in 2002. Amid an extended drop in ratings, WPDH was relaunched as amainstream rock station over Labor Day weekend 2003.
In January 2012, Andrew Boris, program director of sister stationWRRV, became the new program director of WPDH.[3]No formula changes in the programming were enacted. Boris later began hosting the morningdrive time show, in addition to his PD duties.
On August 30, 2013, a deal was announced in which Cumulus would swap its stations inDubuque, Iowa, and Poughkeepsie (including WPDH) toTownsquare Media in exchange for Peak Broadcasting'sFresno, California stations. The deal was part of Cumulus' acquisition ofDial Global. Townsquare, Peak, and Dial Global are all controlled byOaktree Capital Management.[4][5]
The sale to Townsquare was completed on November 14, 2013.[6]
 | This article's list of alumnimay not follow Wikipedia'sverifiability policy. Pleaseimprove this article by removing names that do not have independentreliable sources showing they merit inclusion in this articleand are alumni, or by incorporating the relevant publications into the body of the article through appropriatecitations.(January 2025) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Cumulus Broadcasting began upgrading its stations to HD Radio broadcasting in 2005. One of the first ten stations to be upgraded was WPDH.[7]
WPDH uses its HD2digital subchannel to rebroadcast co-ownedoldies WALL1340 AM and its HD3 subchannel to rebroadcastSpanishadult hitsWEOK1390 AM.