WUSP (AM)
| Broadcast area | Central New York Region |
|---|---|
| Frequency | WUSP: 1550 kHz WRCK: 1480 kHz |
| Programming | |
| Format | Silent |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| History | |
First air date | WUSP: 1962 (as WBVM) WRCK: 1956 (as WREM) |
Former call signs | WUSP: WUTQ (1962-2012) WRCK: WADR (1966-2012) |
Call sign meaning | WUSP: Utica SPorts WRCK: RoCK 107 (former slogan of 107.3 FM under the classic rock and CHR formats) |
| Technical information | |
| Facility ID | WUSP: 4680 WRCK: 466 |
| Class | WUSP: D WRCK: D |
| Power | WUSP: 1,000 watts day 3 watts night WRCK: 5,000 watts day |
Transmitter coordinates | WUSP: 43°6′48.00″N 75°15′25.00″W / 43.1133333°N 75.2569444°W WRCK: 43°19′31.00″N 75°10′29.00″W / 43.3252778°N 75.1747222°W |
| Translator(s) | 95.5 W238CA (Utica, relays WUSP) |
WUSP and WRCK are AM radio stations that previously operated at 1550 kHz and 1480 kHz and located in Utica, New York and Remsen, New York respectively. The stations are currently owned by Frank Abadessa and Thomas Coyne, through licensee Good Guys Broadcasting Corporation. In July 2010, the stations added an FM simulcast in W238CA 95.5 FM in Middleville.
WRCK was known as WREM from its sign on in 1956 by owners Ed Slusarczyk and Jerry Prouty, until March 2012. WREM was unusual in that it used a shunt fed antenna. WBVM was built in 1962 by owners Mike and Dan Fusco. WBVM was named after the Blessed Virgin Mary. The WRCK call letters were previously used by the stations now known as WUTQ-FM and WKVU. From the late 1990s onward, WADR and WUTQ (AM) were two of the four stations collectively known as the "Sports Stars Radio Network," a collection of four AM radio stations (WLFH/Little Falls and WRNY/Rome being the others) carrying a mix of local and national sports talk. When station owner Clear Channel Communications exited most of its small markets in 2007, the network was broken up: WLFH (now WIXT) and WRNY went to Galaxy Communications (who joined them with WTLB to form a new sports network) while WUTQ and WADR were sold to Ken Roser and became full-service outlets. In 2011, WADR was renamed WRCK after the Educational Media Foundation sold its Air 1 affiliate broadcasting under that call sign to Roser, who began simulcasting WRCK/WUTQ's programming on the station as WUTQ-FM.
On July 27, 2012, it was announced that Good Guys Broadcasting Corporation, a company led by two former executives at WKTV, would be purchasing WRCK and WUTQ from Roser and converting the two stations to sports radio.[1] The purchase was consummated on December 21, 2012, at a purchase price of $350,000. The stations then began airing programming from Sports Byline USA and the USA Radio Network, with Tom Coyne (one of the two stations' owners) hosting morning drive and longtime radio host Hank Brown returning for his third stint at the station in middays. Since April 2014, the weekday Monday thru Friday 9 till noon slot has featured the Mohawk Valley Memories musical program, featuring music from the 1940s up to the 1980s. [2] Sports include the New York Mets and the New England Patriots. The stations' previous format moved to FM 100.7 and kept the WUTQ call sign and branding, while the former WUTQ was renamed WUSP. Ethnic/specialty programming such as the "The Saturday Polka Review" Polish/American show with Gary Sroka, "Radio 202" Bosnian Radio Show, The 95.5FM Hispanic Show, all on Saturday, and on Sunday; "The Family Rosary Radio" followed by "The Voice Of The New Italy" were retained by WUSP. (When WUSP ceased operations, "Radio 202" and "The Voice of New Italy" both returned to WUTQ; Sroka took his polka show to WHCL.)
In August 2013, WUSP/WRCK dropped its Sports Byline USA affiliation and affiliated with CBS Sports Radio and Yahoo! Sports Radio.[3]
On August 5, 2015 WUSP and WRCK both went silent as a result of financial and some ongoing technical problems.[4] The ownership's last public statement was to quote the last line of "A Visit from Saint Nicholas" ("merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night.") put out through its social media pages on Christmas Eve 2015.
External links
- Facility details for Facility ID WUSP ({{{2}}}) in the FCC Licensing and Management System
- {{{2}}} in Nielsen Audio's AM station database
- Facility details for Facility ID WRCK ({{{2}}}) in the FCC Licensing and Management System
- {{{2}}} in Nielsen Audio's AM station database
- Template:FMQ
- W238CA at FCCdata.org