WLOF (101.7

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 ...

) is a

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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

Elma, New York :'' For other places with this name, see Elma (disambiguation), Elma''. Elma is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Erie County, New York, United States. The population was 11,721 at the 2020 census. The town is named after the ...

and serving the

Buffalo metropolitan area Buffalo most commonly refers to: * True buffalo or Bubalina, a subtribe of wild cattle, including most "Old World" buffalo, such as water buffalo * Bison, a genus of wild cattle, including the American buffalo * Buffalo, New York, a city in the n ...

. It broadcasts a

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talk and teaching

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. Referred to as ''

The Station of the Cross The Station of the Cross is a network of Catholic radio stations owned and operated by Holy Family Communications. It is an affiliate of the EWTN Global Catholic Radio network. Current stations Former stations Notes External links Th ...

'', WLOF is owned and operated by Holy Family Communications. 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 ...

represent Our Lady of Fatima, to whom this station is dedicated. WLOF has an

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 ha ...

(ERP) of 2,800

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. Programming is

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) ...

on WHIC 1460 AM in

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, and WLGU 90.7 FM in

Lancaster, New York Lancaster is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Erie County, New York, Erie County, New York (state), New York, United States, centered 14 miles east of downtown Buffalo, New York, Buffalo. Lancaster is an outer ring suburb of ...

. WLGU is powered at 1,000 watts. The stations rely on the EWTN Global Catholic Radio Network for much of their programming.

History

The station

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 ...

the air on . The original call letters were WBTF and it called itself "BT Country," airing a

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 ...

format. It was the

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 ...

WBTA WBTA (1490 AM) is a radio station broadcasting a soft adult contemporary format. Licensed to Batavia, New York Batavia is a city in and the county seat of Genesee County, New York, United States. It is located near the center of the county, ...

1490 AM in

Batavia, New York Batavia is a city in and the county seat of Genesee County, New York, United States. It is located near the center of the county, surrounded by the Town of Batavia, which is a separate municipality. Batavia's population, as of the 2020 census, ...

. WBTF was originally licensed to

Attica Attica (, ''Attikḗ'' (Ancient Greek) or , or ), or the Attic Peninsula, is a historical region that encompasses the entire Athens metropolitan area, which consists of the city of Athens, the capital city, capital of Greece and the core cit ...

. Beginning on February 13, 1998, 101.7 FM was acquired by Broben Communications, Inc. and used WXOX as its call sign. WXOX then required nearby station WHUG in Jamestown to change frequencies in an effort to gain coverage area. As WXOX, the station broadcast

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. ...

as "The Spot", supposedly covering "Attica, Amherst and Buffalo" and acting as a challenger to

WEDG WEDG (103.3 FM) is a commercial radio station in Buffalo, New York, serving Western New York. It is owned by Cumulus Media and calls itself "103.3 The Edge," broadcasting an alternative rock radio format. The studios and offices are on the e ...

. It made a significant advertising blitz in the Buffalo

media market A media market, broadcast market, media region, designated market area (DMA), television market area, or simply market is a region where the population can receive the same (or similar) television station, television and radio broadcasting, ra ...

and even created its own "Spotfest" music festival, but it never even registered a measurable audience in the ratings. WXOX had a weak signal in Buffalo and

Niagara Falls Niagara Falls is a group of three waterfalls at the southern end of Niagara Gorge, spanning the Canada–United States border, border between the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario in Canada and the state of New York (s ...

. On August 15, 1999, Holy Family Communications acquired WXOX and began broadcasting Catholic programming as WLOF. It became the sixth Catholic radio station in the United States. On August 15, 2009, WLOF celebrated its tenth anniversary by hosting Fr. John Corapi, a member of the Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity (SOLT), at the

HSBC Arena HSBC Arena may refer to: * Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro, known as HSBC Arena from 2008 to 2017 * KeyBank Center KeyBank Center is a multipurpose indoor arena located in Buffalo, New York, United States. Originally known as Marine Midlan ...

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is a Administrative divisions of New York (state), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and county seat of Erie County, New York, Erie County. It lies in Western New York at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of ...

. Over 11,000 people attended this celebration. By 2024, WLOF had acquired a closer signal to Buffalo on FM 90.7, which it granted the call sign WLGU (for

Our Lady of Guadalupe Our Lady of Guadalupe (), also known as the Virgin of Guadalupe (), is a Catholic title of the Blessed Virgin Mary associated with four Marian apparitions to Juan Diego and one to his uncle, Juan Bernardino reported in December 1531, when t ...

). In August of that year, Holy Family Communications opted to keep WLOF instead and spin WLGU (along with a translator in Fredonia) off to

CSN International CSN Radio is a Christian radio network based in Twin Falls, Idaho. KAWZ, 89.9 MHz, in Twin Falls is the uplink station, feeding over 348 broadcast translators and 59 full-power radio stations across the United States, including Alaska and the ...

References

External links

* * {{Buffalo Radio LOF Catholic radio stations Radio stations established in 1977 1977 establishments in New York (state)