WFGY (98.1 FM, "Froggy 98.1") is a

commercial Commercial may refer to: * a dose of advertising conveyed through media (such as - for example - radio or television) ** Radio advertisement ** Television advertisement * (adjective for:) commerce, a system of voluntary exchange of products and s ...

radio station Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radi ...

licensed to serve

Altoona, Pennsylvania Altoona is a city in Blair County, Pennsylvania. It is the principal city of the Altoona Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). The population was 43,963 at the time of the 2020 Census, making it the eighteenth most populous city in Pennsylvania. T ...

. The station is owned by Seven Mountains Media through licensee FM Radio Licenses, LLC, and broadcasts a Froggy-branded

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while ...

format. WFGY is the flagship station of the Froggy Radio network of stations in the region, which also includes

WFGI-FM WFGI-FM (95.5 MHz, "Froggy 95.5") is a Froggy branded country music formatted radio station in Pennsylvania serving the Johnstown area. The station is owned and operated by Seven Mountains Media, LLC. History The station began at 96.5 ( ...

(Froggy 95.5 on 95.5

MHz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose expression in terms of SI base units is s−1, meaning that one he ...

), licensed to serve

Johnstown, Pennsylvania Johnstown is a city in Cambria County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 18,411 as of the 2020 census. Located east of Pittsburgh, Johnstown is the principal city of the Johnstown, Pennsylvania, Metropolitan Statistical Area, whi ...

, and WFGE (Big Froggy 101.1 on 101.1

), licensed to serve

State College, Pennsylvania State College is a home rule municipality in Centre County in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is a college town, dominated economically, culturally and demographically by the presence of the University Park campus of the Pennsylvania Sta ...

. WFGY is a

grandfathered A grandfather clause, also known as grandfather policy, grandfathering, or grandfathered in, is a provision in which an old rule continues to apply to some existing situations while a new rule will apply to all future cases. Those exempt from t ...

“superpower” station. While the station’s

effective radiated power Effective radiated power (ERP), synonymous with equivalent radiated power, is an IEEE standardized definition of directional radio frequency (RF) power, such as that emitted by a radio transmitter. It is the total power in watts that would h ...

(ERP) is within the maximum limit allowed for a Class B FM station, its antenna

height above average terrain Height above average terrain (HAAT), or (less popularly) effective height above average terrain (EHAAT), is the vertical position of an antenna site is above the surrounding landscape. HAAT is used extensively in FM radio and television, as it i ...

(HAAT) is too high for its ERP according to current FCC rules.

Sister stations

The sister stations of WFGY in the Altoona market are 100.1 WWOT-FM, 103.9 WALY-FM, 104.9

WRKY-FM WRKY-FM is a classic rock formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania, serving Altoona, Pennsylvania Altoona is a city in Blair County, Pennsylvania. It is the principal city of the Altoona Metropolitan Statistica ...

, 1290 WFBG-AM, and 1430

WTNA WTNA (1430 AM) is an oldies radio station licensed to Altoona, Pennsylvania. The station airs an oldies format and is branded as "Toona 1430 & 99.7". The station is owned by Seven Mountains Media. WTNA is the flagship station for Altoona Curve b ...

History

Beginnings as WFBG-FM

The

Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdicti ...

granted Triangle Publications, Inc. a construction permit for the station on April 8, 1959, with the WFBG-FM call sign. The station signed on October 17, 1960, and was granted its first license on March 26, 1962. On September 20, 1972, the FCC granted a voluntary reassignment of the station's license to The Gilcom Corporation. The station was best known for being Blair County's exclusive

easy listening Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to 1970s. It is related to middle-of-the-road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit songs, n ...

station, primarily automated, like others of its day. However, change would come by the start of the 1990s.

Switchover to Froggy

On April 2, 1991, the station's call sign was changed to WFGY. Forever of PA, LLC (Forever Media) purchased the station on July 31, 1996, with the sale consummating on August 31, 1996. The station adopted the "Froggy 98" branding while changing format to country music. The station became known for its colorful presentation, with jingles resembling a frog's croak (or, as they proclaimed, "ribbit"), as well as the even more colorful names assigned to its on-air staff. The station also promoted a family-friendly image and did station giveaways catering to families. Among the on-air names used at Froggy by the DJs over the years were Roger Ribbit, Web Foote, Holly Hopper, Jeff Jumper, Davey Croak-it, Cricket, Tad Pole, Pete Moss, Polly Wogg, Kellie Green, Steve "The Frogman" Kelsey, Jumpin' Jim, JoJo, Leapin' Lily, and James Pond.

Pending sale to Seven Mountains Media

It was announced on October 12, 2022, that Forever Media is selling 34 stations, including WFGY and the entire Altoona cluster, to State College-based Seven Mountains Media for $17.3 million. The deal closed on January 2, 2023.

References

External links

Froggy 98
* {{Froggy Radio stations FGY Country radio stations in the United States Radio stations established in 1960 1960 establishments in Pennsylvania