WIZR (930 AM) is a

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 ...

that broadcasts a

hot adult contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul ...

format. Licensed to Johnstown, New York, United States, the station serves the

Mohawk Valley The Mohawk Valley region of the U.S. state of New York is the area surrounding the Mohawk River, sandwiched between the Adirondack Mountains and Catskill Mountains, northwest of the Capital District. As of the 2010 United States Census, ...

area. The station is owned by the Cranesville Radio Network and features hit songs from the past five decades including songs from the 1970s until today. WIZR also plays a variety mix of

pop music Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom.S. Frith, W. Straw, and J. Street, eds, ''iarchive:cambridgecompani00frit, The Cambridge Companion to Pop ...

, R&B,

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

, soft ac, classic hits and more. By day, WIZR transmits with 1,000

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, but to avoid interference with other stations on 930 AM, at night it reduces power to 28 watts. Programming is also heard on two

FM translator A broadcast relay station, also known as a satellite station, relay transmitter, broadcast translator (U.S.), re-broadcaster (Canada), repeater ( two-way radio) or complementary station (Mexico), is a broadcast transmitter which repeats (or tr ...

s, at 102.9

MHz 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 u ...

in Johnstown and 104.3 MHz in Northville.

History

WIZR

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 ...

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 – In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patria ...

, airing a middle of the road format. Four years later,

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 ...

WIZR-FM 104.9 signed on,

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 AM station's programming. In 1973, the stations flipped to a

top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is a list of the 40 currently most popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "To ...

simulcast, with the FM side flipping to

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 ...

in 1980. With the decline of top 40 formats on AM, WIZR switched to the syndicated "

Music of Your Life Music of Your Life is an American syndicated music radio format featuring adult standards music. First created by recording executive Al Ham in 1978, the format achieved popularity in the 1980s among AM radio stations in the United States and Ca ...

" format under the

call sign In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign (also known as a call name or call letters—and historically as a call signal—or abbreviated as a call) is a unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be formally as ...

WMYL (in reference to the format) in 1981. WIZR-FM signed off in 1982 and returned after a one-year absence, simulcasting the AM's

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 ...

format. In 1984, Joe Caruso acquired the stations and reinstated the WIZR call sign on the AM side, while the FM took on a new format and the WSRD call letters. In early 1998, Joe Caruso sought to move FM 104.9 closer to the Albany market by securing a

construction permit Planning permission or building permit refers to the approval needed for construction or expansion (including significant renovation), and sometimes for demolition, in some jurisdictions. House building permits, for example, are subject to bu ...

to relocate WSRD to

Altamont, New York Altamont is a village located in the town of Guilderland in Albany County, New York, United States. The village is in the western part of the town. The population was 1,675 at the 2020 census. The name means "high mountain." History In colo ...

. Later that year,

Pamal Broadcasting Pamal Broadcasting, Ltd. is a family-owned radio group with twenty-three stations in medium-to-small markets in the Northeast. Based in the Albany suburb of Latham, New York, Pamal Broadcasting was founded in 1987 as Albany Broadcasting Company, ...

acquired both stations for $2.2 million. Upon the closure of the sale, former sister station WSRD moved to its new transmitter site and is now

WINU WINU (104.9 FM broadcasting, FM, "Big Country 104.9 & 97.9") is a commercial radio, commercial radio station city of license, licensed to Altamont, New York, Altamont and serving New York's Capital District, New York, Capital District. The stati ...

, while WIZR began to carry ABC's now-defunct Timeless radio network. In December 2008, WIZR went silent as Pamal Broadcasting prepared for the sale of the radio station. Eventually, Dr. Thomas J. Kuettel purchased the station in early 2010. He installed a classic country format under

Dial Global Westwood One, Inc. is an American radio network owned by Cumulus Media. The company syndicates talk, music, and sports programming. The company takes its name from an earlier network also named Westwood One, a company founded in 1976. The c ...

's True Country satellite service on March 15, 2010. On June 1, 2011, the station changed to Dial Global's

network. In March 2013, WIZR changed FM translator frequencies to 102.9, also adopting a new slogan, "Your Home For Classic Hits", as Dial Global had changed and updated the format. In April 2014, the sale of WIZR began, with the Cranesville Radio Network of Amsterdam, New York, purchasing it. The station was flipped to an

adult contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul ...

format, with a change to hot adult contemporary coming in July 2014. The license transfer for WIZR and W243CV was consummated on October 31, 2014, at a price of $150,000. WIZR became the fourth station in the Cranesville Amsterdam cluster, joining WCSS, WKAJ, and WYVS. Undated, WIZR changed to its current hot adult contemporary format which includes hit songs from the past five decades (from the 1970s to present) with a variety mix of

, R&B,

, soft ac, classic hits and more. The stations' current branding is ''WIZR 930 AM and 102.9 FM The Star of Johnstown''. WYVS 96.5 FM

Speculator, New York Speculator is a village in Hamilton County, New York, United States. The population was 406 at the 2020 census. The Speculator Mountain rises just south of the village. Speculator is the only incorporated village within Hamilton County and is w ...

is also included in WIZR's station identifications. In August 2024, it was announced that Mariano and Wilhelmina Simms’ Simms Broadcasting will acquire Cranesville Block Company’s four stations and four translators in Upstate New York for $600,000. The stations included in the sale are: 96.5 WYVS Speculator, 930 WIZR/102.9 W275BS Johnstown and 104.3 W282CU Northville along with 1490 WCSS/106.9 W295CZ Amsterdam and 1120 WKAJ/97.9 W250CX Saint Johnsville.STATION SALES WEEK OF 8/16
''radioinsight.com'', August 16, 2024

Former logos

Image:WIZR-AM 930 former logo.png, Former logo of the radio station used from early 2010 through June 1, 2011 Image:W275BS-FM 102.9 logo.png, Former logo of W275BS 102.9 FM translator for WIZR circa. 2014 Image:WIZR-AM 930 logo.png, WIZR AM 930 former logo circa. 2014

References

External links

WIZR/WYVS logo (undated)
* * * * {{Adult Contemporary Radio Stations in New York IZR Radio stations established in 1964 1964 establishments in New York (state) Hot adult contemporary radio stations in the United States