WLIR-FM (107.1
FM, ''Talkradio 107.1'') is a radio station licensed to
Hampton Bays, New York, and serving
eastern Long Island. The station's studios and offices are located on Third Avenue in
Midtown Manhattan
Midtown Manhattan is the central portion of the New York City borough of Manhattan, serving as the city's primary central business district. Midtown is home to some of the city's most prominent buildings, including the Empire State Building, the ...
, with additional offices on Long Island in
Bay Shore, and transmitting facilities located in
Northampton
Northampton ( ) is a town and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It is the county town of Northamptonshire and the administrative centre of the Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority of West Northamptonshire. The town is sit ...
in Suffolk County. The station is owned by businessman
John Catsimatidis through his Red Apple Media company.
History
The station went on the air on November 14, 1980, as WWHB under the moniker "The New 107 FM WWHB", with an
adult contemporary music
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, sou ...
format. In 1984, Eddie Simon along with his brother, singer
Paul Simon
Paul Frederic Simon (born October 13, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter known for his solo work and his collaborations with Art Garfunkel. He and Garfunkel, whom he met in elementary school in 1953, came to prominence in the 1960s as Sim ...
, purchased the station. Its format then shifted 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 ...
/
CHR format as "Laser Hot HB107". On September 1, 1990, WWHB began simulcasting
AOR station
WNEW-FM
WNEW-FM (102.7 FM broadcasting, FM, ''NEW 102.7'') is a hot adult contemporary-Radio format, formatted radio station, City of license, licensed to New York, New York and owned by Audacy, Inc. The station's studios are located at the Audacy faci ...
from New York City.
Country and Spanish quadcasts (1996–2003)
On December 7, 1996, the station became part of the Big City Radio
trimulcast (and eventual quadcast) with other 107.1 stations in
Briarcliff Manor, New York and northern New Jersey and later, the
Lehigh Valley
The Lehigh Valley () is a geography, geographic and urban area, metropolitan region formed by the Lehigh River in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, Lehigh and Northampton County, Pennsylvania, Northampton counties in eastern Pennsylvania. It is a co ...
/
Allentown, Pennsylvania
Allentown (Pennsylvania Dutch language, Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Allenschteddel'', ''Allenschtadt'', or ''Ellsdaun'') is a city in eastern Pennsylvania, United States. The county seat of Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, Lehigh County, it is the List o ...
area. WWHB and the other two multicast stations switched formats to
country
A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...
as "Y-107". The call sign was changed to WWVY on May 16, 1997, then to WWXY on March 22, 1999 (after 107.1 FM in
Briarcliff Manor, New York changed from WWXY to WYNY). On May 9, 2002, after a day of
stunting with construction noises, the quadcast adopted a
Tropical music format branded "Rumba 107". The format was ill-suited to the quadcast suburban signals, and at the end of the year, Big City Radio filed for bankruptcy and sold the quadcast to
Nassau Broadcasting, who broke up the quadcast and sold the individual stations.
Modern rock, ESPN, and Christian (2003–2011)
Jarad Broadcasting picked up WWXY in April 2003. 107.1 FM initially simulcasted WLIR (92.7 FM) from
Garden City, New York, but in January 2004, 92.7 FM was purchased by Univision and flipped to Spanish language "Latino Mix"
WZAA, simulcasting
WCAA.
107.1 FM then became a fully transplanted WLIR, taking on a
modern rock
Modern rock is an umbrella term used to describe rock music that is found on college and commercial rock radio stations. Some radio stations use this term to distinguish themselves from classic rock, which is based in 1960s–1980s rock music.
...
format and the WLIR-FM call sign, turning into "THE BOX".
This format lasted until September 2005, when a
smooth jazz/
chill music format called "NeoBreeze" was adopted. This format was a failure, and the modern rock format returned in December 2005. In January 2008, the music ended and WLIR began simulcasting
WEPN (
ESPN Radio
ESPN Radio, which is alternatively branded platform-agnostically as ESPN Audio, is an American sports radio network and extension of the ESPN television network. It was launched on January 1, 1992, under the banner "SportsRadio ESPN". The netw ...
, 1050 AM) in a
local marketing agreement. WLIR was sold to Livingstone in 2011 and flipped to a Christian format branded as "Hope Radio".
Christian and sports flips (2011–2017)
On August 5, 2013, Livingstone Broadcasting shifted the "Hope Radio" Christian format to
WBLI-HD2 along with translators 94.9 W235BB Hauppauge, New York; 96.5 W243BF Shirley, New York; 101.5 W268AN Plainview, New York and 104.5 W283BA Selden, New York. WLIR-FM dropped the Christian format and became "Champions Radio" touted as "Long Island's First & Only Sports Radio Station". WLIR-FM was broadcast on 107.1 and 96.9 W245BA in Suffolk County, New York. The format was short lived.
On February 24, 2014, WLIR-FM dropped all sports programming and reverted to Christian formatted "Hope Radio".
On August 1, 2014, Pillar of Fire began a lease of WLIR-FM.
WAWZ-FM, Zarephath, New Jersey (STAR 99.1) was broadcast on WLIR-FM as well as its translators as "STAR 107.1". The lease ended in April 2015 and WLIR-FM reverted to Christian formatted "Hope Radio".
On July 1, 2017, the station was sold to VMT Media Inc. and continued to air the "Hope Radio" format.

Real-FM (2018–2020)
On January 1, 2018, the station dropped "Hope Radio" and began broadcasting an unbranded mix of oldies and classic rock music as a transitional format, simulcasting on 96.9 W245BA. On April 20, 2018, the station officially re-launched as
classic hits "Real-FM".
WABC simulcast (2020–present)
On July 1, 2020, Red Apple Media – owner of
WABC in New York City – began operating the station through a local marketing agreement, and converted it to a near-simulcast of WABC's talk programming. An exception to the simulcast is a local morning program hosted by Frank Morano, which replaces
Brian Kilmeade (as it is already cleared by competitor
WRCN-FM). A week later, Red Apple Media announced its intent to acquire the station outright,
and that Morano would also join WABC's main lineup on weekday overnights and Sunday nights.
References
External links
* (
Guide to reading History Cards)
{{Authority control
1980 establishments in New York (state)
Conservative talk radio
Mass media in Suffolk County, New York
Radio stations established in 1980
LIR-FM
Talk radio stations in the United States