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WAQX-FM

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Coordinates: 43°00′24.7″N 76°05′38.0″W / 43.006861°N 76.093889°W / 43.006861; -76.093889
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WAQX-FM
Broadcast areaSyracuse metropolitan area; Central New York
Frequency95.7 MHz
Branding95X
Programming
FormatAlternative rock
AffiliationsWestwood One
Ownership
Owner
WNTQ, WSKO
History
First air date
August 23, 1978
Technical information[1]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID52606
ClassB1
ERP25,000 watts
HAAT91 meters
Transmitter coordinates
43°00′24.7″N 76°05′38.0″W / 43.006861°N 76.093889°W / 43.006861; -76.093889
Links
Public license information
WebcastListen live
Listen live (via iHeartRadio)
Websitewww.95x.com

WAQX-FM (95.7 MHz) is an alternative rock-formatted radio station licensed to Manlius, New York, United States, serving the Syracuse, New York, market. WAQX-FM is owned and operated by Cumulus Media.[2]

History

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On November 29, 1976, AGK Communications, Inc., a company owned by George Kimble, applied to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for a new radio station on 95.3 MHz to serve Manlius.[3] The application competed against a bid from Manlius Broadcasting Co., which was owned by Craig Fox.[4] The Kimble and Fox bids merged and won the construction permit on May 10, 1978.[3] Construction immediately ensued on studios in the Market Place complex on Route 92,[5] including Fox doing much of the construction himself as chief engineer,[6] and with an album-oriented rock (AOR) format, WAQX began broadcasting on August 23, 1978.[7] Fox, then 25, and two friends of his from Syracuse University felt that Syracuse could support a commercial AOR station; until then, WAER at the university and WOUR in nearby Utica were the only AOR stations serving the market.[6]

The small WAQX, which went on the air with an effective radiated power of 410 watts, had only been on the air a year when format competition came in the form of a much stronger station: WSYR-FM 94.5, which dropped WAQX's ratings by a full point nearly immediately. An attempt at an "adult rock" format proved to be a disaster, but an upgrade to 3,000 watts and the sale of WSYR-FM and its flip to another format helped lead to a rebound.[8] Ratings rose to double-digit shares in 1984 and 1985, a feat the station would only accomplish one other time—in 1994, when it made its lone appearance as the highest-rated station in Syracuse.[9]

In 1988, after an upgrade in the station's transmitting facility and power prompted it to relocate from 95.3 to 95.7 MHz,[10] Kimble and Fox negotiated the sale of the station to Atlantic Ventures Corporation, a Massachusetts company formed by former executives of the recently sold American Cablesystems, for $4.5 million.[11] The deal also included a construction permit for a new radio station at 670 kHz which would have required a divestiture of a Fox station anyway; Fox owned WOLF (1490 AM), which for five years had simulcast WAQX on the AM band.[12] New studios on James Street were built for WAQX.[13] However, Atlantic soon unloaded WAQX, selling it at a $500,000 loss to Pilot Communications in 1990 to focus on its stations in Rochester and Boston. Neither of the partners in Pilot had owned a radio station before;[14] Pilot would own seven stations in Syracuse and Augusta, Maine, when Broadcasting Partners, a unit of VS&A, invested in the group in 1997.[15]

In 1999, Citadel Communications purchased WAQX and three other Syracuse stations as part of a $190 million purchase of Broadcasting Partners involving 36 stations in 11 markets.[16] Citadel merged with Cumulus Media on September 16, 2011.[17]

References

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  1. ^ "Facility Technical Data for WAQX-FM". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  2. ^ "WAQX Facility Record". Federal Communications Commission, audio division. Archived from the original on September 10, 2001. Retrieved August 6, 2008.
  3. ^ a b FCC History Cards for WAQX-FM
  4. ^ "Await Manlius Radio Ruling". Eagle-Bulletin. December 7, 1977. p. 1. Retrieved March 17, 2022.
  5. ^ Wisniewski, John (August 8, 1978). "WAQX Promises Variety, Fewer Commercials". Syracuse Post Standard. p. 26.
  6. ^ a b Gelb, Jeff (October 13, 1978). "Dreams Come True" (PDF). Radio & Records. p. 42. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 1, 2021. Retrieved March 17, 2022 – via World Radio History.
  7. ^ "WAQX(FM)" (PDF). Broadcasting Yearbook. 1980. p. C-154. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 20, 2022. Retrieved March 17, 2022 – via World Radio History.
  8. ^ Feinstein, Steve (September 21, 1984). "WAQX: The Little Station That Could" (PDF). Radio & Records. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 5, 2022. Retrieved March 17, 2022.
  9. ^ Duncan, Jr., James H. (2004). "Syracuse" (PDF). Duncan's American Radio: The Markets. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 27, 2021. Retrieved March 17, 2022 – via World Radio History.
  10. ^ Mulder, James T. (July 19, 1988). "Rock station 95X sold for $4.5 million". Syracuse Herald-Journal. p. C5. Archived from the original on March 17, 2022. Retrieved March 17, 2022.
  11. ^ "Massachusetts Firm to Buy WAQX-FM for $4.5M". Syracuse Post Standard. July 19, 1988. p. B-5. Archived from the original on March 17, 2022. Retrieved March 17, 2022.
  12. ^ "AM listeners of 95X 'Turn It Up' no more". Syracuse Herald-Journal. October 12, 1989. p. C7. Archived from the original on March 17, 2022. Retrieved March 17, 2022.
  13. ^ Bruce, Caryn (April 29, 1989). "WAQX-FM to Move Studios to James Street Site". Syracuse Post Standard. p. C-8. Archived from the original on March 17, 2022. Retrieved March 17, 2022.
  14. ^ Kelly, J. Michael (July 3, 1990). "School buddies buy 95X for $4 million". Syracuse Herald-Journal. pp. B5, B7. Archived from the original on March 17, 2022. Retrieved March 17, 2022.
  15. ^ "Broadcasting Partners Lands Pilot Deal" (PDF). Radio & Records. January 24, 1997. p. 4. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 5, 2022. Retrieved March 17, 2022.
  16. ^ "Citadel Ropes In Broadcasting Partners Properties" (PDF). Radio & Records. November 5, 1999. p. 6. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 1, 2021. Retrieved March 17, 2022.
  17. ^ "Cumulus Now Owns Citadel Broadcasting". Business Journal. September 16, 2011. Retrieved May 19, 2016.
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