WBVG (1050

kHz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), often described as being equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose formal expression in terms of SI base uni ...

) was an AM

radio station Radio broadcasting is the broadcasting 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 rad ...

licensed to Baldwinsville, New York serving the

Syracuse metropolitan area The Syracuse Metropolitan Statistical Area, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, is an area comprising three counties in central New York, with the city of Syracuse as its core. The three counties are Onondaga, Madison, and Oswego ...

. WBVG was last owned by Leatherstocking Media Group and aired a 1950s - 1960s

oldies Oldies is a term for musical genres such as pop music, rock and roll, doo-wop, surf music from the second half of the 20th century, specifically from around the mid-1950s to the 1980s, as well as for a radio format playing this music. Since 2 ...

radio format A radio format or programming format (not to be confused with broadcast programming) describes the overall content broadcast on a radio station. The radio format emerged mainly in the United States in the 1950s, at a time when Radio broadcasting, ...

. The

transmitter In electronics and telecommunications, a radio transmitter or just transmitter (often abbreviated as XMTR or TX in technical documents) is an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna (radio), antenna with the purpose of sig ...

was on Hencle Boulevard (Route 631) in Baldwinsville. WBVG was powered at 2,500

watt The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of Power (physics), power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantification (science), quantify the rate of Work ...

s by day. But because

AM 1050 The following radio stations broadcast on AM frequency 1050 kHz: 1050 AM is a Mexican clear-channel frequency. XEG in Monterrey (Guadalupe, Nuevo León) is the dominant Class A station on this frequency. See also List of broadcast station ...

is a clear channel frequency, WBVG reduced power at night to only 19 watts to avoid interference. Outside of Baldwinsville, the 1050 frequency in

Central New York The central region of New York state includes: * Auburn in Cayuga County * Cortland in Cortland County * Oneida in Madison County * Syracuse, the largest city of Central New York, in Onondaga County * Fulton and Oswego in Oswego County ...

at night is either occupied by WEPN

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

or CHUM

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, both 50,000 watt stations. They sometimes were heard over WBVG at night, even a mile or two from its transmitter.

History

On February 25, 1959, the station first

signed on A sign-on (or start-up in Commonwealth countries except Canada) is the beginning of operations for a radio broadcasting, radio or television station, generally at the start of each day. It is the opposite of a sign-off (or closedown in Commonw ...

as WSEN and was licensed by Century Radio Corp. Owners Robert Stockdale, Donald Menapace, and James Lowery started WSEN as a middle of the road and

adult standards Adult standards (also sometimes known as the nostalgia or Big Band format) is a North American radio format heard primarily on AM or class A FM stations. Adult standards started in the 1950s and is aimed at "mature" adults, meaning mainly tho ...

station, but changed to

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

in 1962 and called it "The first country station north of the

Mason–Dixon line The Mason–Dixon line, sometimes referred to as Mason and Dixon's Line, is a demarcation line separating four U.S. states: Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware and West Virginia. It was Surveying, surveyed between 1763 and 1767 by Charles Mason ...

." On-air personalities Early Williams and Fred Lewis played the current country hits and announced with a western "twang", unique to central New York at that time. In 1967,

sister station In broadcasting, sister stations or sister channels are radio or television stations operated by the same company, either by direct ownership or through a management agreement. Radio sister stations will often have different formats, and somet ...

92.1 WSEN-FM (now

WOLF-FM WOLF-FM (92.1 Hertz, MHz) is a radio station serving the community of Baldwinsville, New York, in the Syracuse metropolitan area. The station is owned by Craig Fox (radio host), Craig Fox and Sam Furco, through licensee FoxFur Communications, LL ...

) began operations,

simulcast Simulcast (a portmanteau of "simultaneous broadcast") is the broadcasting of programs or events across more than one resolution, bitrate or medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at exactly the same time (that is, simultaneously) ...

ing the same country music, allowing listeners with FM receivers to hear the format around the clock. Century Radio sold the stations in 1974 to Sentry Radio, led by principal owners Roger O'Connor, Robert Orenbach, and manager Shirley Zakrazek, one of the early female station managers. A more "modern country" approach was taken which resulted in a younger audience and larger sales dollars. In 1977, "Downes, Merchant and Company", a two man team of Ted Downes and Bill Merchant, took over the morning show along with a cast of characters. Other on-air talent included Dick Kuklinski, Bob Mason, Ed McKee, and Al Jenner, with Dave Kramer and Pete McKay on production. In 1979, chief engineer Richard Kane donated $1500 in a stock purchase so the station could go to

stereo Stereophonic sound, commonly shortened to stereo, is a method of sound reproduction that recreates a multi-directional, 3-dimensional audible perspective. This is usually achieved by using two independent audio channels through a configurat ...

. It was led by new Program Director Daniel Dunn, who attained record audience ratings for the station and its, by then, "

progressive country Progressive country is a term used variously to describe a movement, radio format or subgenre of country music which developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as a reaction against the slick, pop-oriented Nashville sound.''Cosmic Cowboys and ...

" format, with artists such as

Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, actor and activist. He was one of the main figures of the outlaw country subgenre that developed in the late 1960s as a reaction to the conservative restr ...

Jerry Jeff Walker Jerry Jeff Walker (born Ronald Clyde Crosby; March 16, 1942 – October 23, 2020) was an American country and folk singer-songwriter. He was a leading figure in the progressive country and outlaw country music movement. He also wrote t ...

and

Waylon Jennings Waylon Arnold Jennings (June 15, 1937 – February 13, 2002) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. He is considered one of the pioneers of the Outlaw country, outlaw movement in country music. Jennings started playing ...

. WSEN-AM-FM flipped to an

format in 1986.

2000s

WSEN was owned by

Buckley Broadcasting Buckley Broadcasting (or Buckley Radio) was an American broadcasting company that previously held radio stations in the states of New York, Rhode Island, California and Connecticut. History Buckley Broadcasting Radio was founded in 1954 as Buck ...

, simulcasting the oldies format on both the AM and FM, during much of the early 2000s until being sold in 2008.

2010s

WSEN 1050 split from simulcasting WSEN-FM in 2011. This came as part of a national trend for oldies outlets transitioning to classic hits. At the time, WSEN/WSEN-FM was airing 1960s and 1970s music. As part of the split, WSEN became a "true oldies" outlet focusing on the 1960s, while WSEN-FM shifted to classic hits of the 1970s and added 1980s music to its

playlist A playlist is a list of video or audio files that can be played back on a media player, either sequentially or in a shuffled order. In its most general form, an audio playlist is simply a list of songs that can be played once or in a loop. ...

. In 2016, Leatherstocking Media Group sold WSEN-FM 92.1 FM (now WOLF-FM) to the

Family Life Network The Family Life Network is a Christian radio network, broadcasting on FM stations across Western and Central New York, as well as northern Pennsylvania, from flagship station WCIK (103.1) in Avoca, New York. It is owned and operated by the Fam ...

, which in turn sold it to Craig L. Fox. When the call letters of WSEN-FM were changed to WOLF-FM, Fox changed the call letters of one of his stations, WNDR-FM 103.9 FM, to WSEN-FM. He insisted that Leatherstocking Media Group change the call letters of WSEN to avoid confusion with his FM station. On September 18, 2016, WSEN went silent for technical reasons. The station resumed broadcasting on July 10, 2017, with a 1950s and 1960s Oldies format. The call letters of the station were changed to WBVG on August 14, 2017, one day before the station went silent again on August 15, 2017. WBVG signed back onto the air on July 23, 2018, to go off the air again soon afterwards. In the summer of 2019, WBVG signed on once again with the commercial-free 1950s and 1960s Oldies format.

2020s

WBVG's license was deleted on June 2, 2022, after being silent for two years, as owners Leatherstocking Media Group failed to file a license renewal application for the station.

References

External links

Facility details for Facility ID 7712 (WBVG)
in the FCC Licensing and Management System
FCC History Cards for WBVG
(covering 1957-1981 as WSEN) {{coord, 43, 10, 46, N, 76, 20, 19, W, type:landmark_region:US_source:FCC, display=title BVG Radio stations established in 1959 1959 establishments in New York (state) Radio stations disestablished in 2022 2022 disestablishments in New York (state) Defunct radio stations in the United States BVG