WLTB

WLTB (101.7 FM, "Magic 101.7") is a radio station licensed to Johnson City, New York, and serving the Greater Binghamton market. Owned locally by GM Broadcasting, the station broadcasts a rock hits format. The studios are located in Endwell, with a transmitter on Ingraham Hill in Binghamton. A translator, W273AB (102.5 FM), programs a second format of classic hits music.

WLTB
Broadcast areaGreater Binghamton
Frequency101.7 MHz
BrandingMagic 101.7 (FM/HD1)
102.5 The Vault (HD2)
Programming
FormatRock hits
SubchannelsHD2: Classic hits
Ownership
OwnerGM Broadcasting
History
First air date
1972 (1972) (as WEBO-FM)
Former call signs
WEBO-FM (1972–1979)
WWWT (1979–1985)
WQWT (1985–1987)
WQXT (1987–1992)
WGRG (1992–1998)
Call sign meaning
"Lite Binghamton"
Technical information
Facility ID71400
ClassA
ERP580 watts
HAAT312 meters (1,024 ft)
Translator(s)HD2: 102.5 W273AB (Vestal)
Links
WebcastListen Live
HD2: Listen live
Websitemagic1017fm.com
HD2: 1025thevault.com

History

WEBO Radio, Inc., the owner of WEBO (1330 AM), applied for a construction permit to build a new FM radio station in Owego on September 23, 1971, and received a construction permit on January 17, 1972.[1] WEBO-FM went on the air in September 1972 from a new tower in South Owego. It extended the service of WEBO, a daytime-only station, to nighttime hours.[2] Operation remained much the same until March 1, 1979, when WEBO-FM became WWWT "3WT" and flipped to an all-disco format,[3] except for morning drive when it continued to simulcast the AM.[4] The disco format gave way within several months to a straight contemporary hit radio approach.[5]

WWWT's hit radio gave way to adult contemporary in October 1985 as WQWT "The Lite Q", aiming for an older demographic than it had under its previous format.[6] The station returned to the hits, this time as WQXT "Q102", in 1987; two years later, the station activated a new tower and transmitter site on Bornt Hill, expanding its coverage area.[7] By 1991, when the Aubol family retired and sold WEBO and WQXT to Steven Gilinsky, it had changed to an oldies format.[8] The call letters were changed to WGRG in 1992, the same year that the station reverted to CHR known as Power 101,[9] and W273AB (102.5 FM), a translator in Binghamton, was added the next year. By 1996, the format changed to alternative rock.[10]

WGRG became WLTB "Lite 101.7", a soft adult contemporary station, in 1998. The call sign was retained in 2001 when the station shifted to hot adult contemporary as "Magic 101.7". Since that time, the station has changed formats three times while keeping the moniker, starting in 2016 by returning to CHR known as Binghamton's #1 Hit Music Station. In 2021, the station adopted an Adult Hits format, and in 2022, changed formats once more to Rock Hits.

The station has an HD subchannel called "The Vault", which began in 2017 and replaced the 102.5 simulcast of WLTB.[11]

Gilinsky, who had previously sold 75 percent of WLTB to Thomas Mollen, repurchased his stake in the station in 2015.[12]

References
  1. FCC History Cards for WLTB
  2. "New Tower Rises In Owego's Hills". The Evening Press. Binghamton, New York. July 22, 1972. p. Saturday 11. Archived from the original on January 14, 2022. Retrieved January 14, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. Grey, Gene (March 4, 1979). "Local stations muse: Is disco here to stay?". Press and Sun-Bulletin. Binghamton, New York. p. 16-C. Archived from the original on January 14, 2022. Retrieved January 14, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. "Owego radio station changes tune". Press and Sun-Bulletin. Binghamton, New York. February 28, 1979. p. 3A. Archived from the original on January 14, 2022. Retrieved January 14, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. DeGrasse, Diana (October 20, 1980). "The beat goes on". Press and Sun-Bulletin. Binghamton, New York. p. 1B. Archived from the original on January 14, 2022. Retrieved January 14, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. "Owego radio stations tune to changing audiences". Press and Sun-Bulletin. Binghamton, New York. September 25, 1985. p. 1B. Archived from the original on January 14, 2022. Retrieved January 14, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. "Owego station plants new tower". Press and Sun-Bulletin. Binghamton, New York. March 25, 1989. p. 1B. Archived from the original on January 14, 2022. Retrieved January 14, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. Karlson, Katherine (February 6, 1991). "Owego stations sold; WEBO to go country". Press and Sun-Bulletin. Binghamton, New York. p. 6B. Archived from the original on January 14, 2022. Retrieved January 14, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. "Format Changes and Updates" (PDF). M Street Journal. September 23, 1992. p. 1. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 30, 2021. Retrieved January 14, 2022.
  10. Mastronardi, Michelle; Puttanniah, Suraj; Komarinetz, Michael (December 17, 1996). "Radio raves: Teen-agers tune in with frequency". Press and Sun-Bulletin. Binghamton, New York. p. 1C, 3C. Archived from the original on January 14, 2022. Retrieved January 14, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. Venta, Lance (September 25, 2017). "Vault Opens In Binghamton". RadioInsight. Archived from the original on 2020-02-22. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
  12. Venta, Lance (August 7, 2015). "Station Sales Week Of 8/7". RadioInsight. Archived from the original on 2022-01-14. Retrieved 2022-01-14.

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