WFFG-FM

Infobox Radio station
name = WFFG-FM


city = Corinth, New York
area = Saratoga Springs-Glens Falls area
slogan = "Jumpin' Country"
branding = "Froggy 107.1"
frequency = 107.1 MHz
repeater =
airdate =
share =
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format = Country music
power =
erp = 2.85 kilowatts
haat = 147.0 metres
class = B
facility_id = 49176
coordinates = coord|43|14|40.00|N|73|46|16.00|W|region:US_type:city
callsign_meaning = W F FrogGy
former_callsigns = WHTR (1996–2001)
owner = Pamal Broadcasting
licensee =
sister_stations = WKBE, WENU, WNYQ, WMML
webcast =
website = [http://www.froggy107.com/ froggy107.com]
affiliations =

WFFG-FM "(Froggy 107.1)" is the callsign of a country music radio station licenced to Corinth, New York and serving the Glens Falls-Lake George, New York area plus Saratoga County, the Capital Region, and western Vermont. The station is owned by Pamal Broadcasting and broadcasts on 107.1 MHz at 6 kilowatts ERP from a transmitter located outside Corinth.

History

The 107.1 frequency signed on in June 1996 as WHTR "(Hot 107.1)", licenced to Hudson Falls and owned by Bradmark Communications, owner of several other stations in the market. At its outset, the station had a locally-run Top 40 market going against several out-of-market stations. WHTR's most famous alumni of this period was a young Joe Rosati, now better known as "Joey Kidd" of WHTZ (with stops at WFLY, WKKF, and WQSX along the way, who made his debut at the station.

Though WHTR did fairly well in the ratings and was able to sell many ads in the summer months when tourism in the area is high, Bradmark wanted a station that was more compatible with other stations in their cluster. In October 1997, WHTR's format was flipped from Top 40 to oldies under the new moniker "Wheels 107.1". Though all satellite-fed programming, the station got a small but steady listener base to the south of listeners who were tired of Capital District oldies station WTRY-FM, however it's ratings were worse than that of Hot 107.1 and the revenues were only marginally better overall.

In 2000, Bradmark Communications was sold to Vox Media. Unlike Bradmark, Vox was committed to locally based radio and planned to take the oldies format local until a construction permit was filed to move sister station WZZM-FM into the Albany market. At the start of 2001, the country format of WZZM-FM was moved to the 107.1 frequency, localized, and became WFFG with the "Froggy" branding popular in other markets throughout the Northeast. WHTR and its satellite-fed oldies format were moved to WZZM-FM's 93.5 MHz frequency and remained there until the station moved to the Albany market in April 2002 where it is today WYAI, an affiliate of the "Air 1" network. With that move, WFFG's community of licence changed to Corinth to satisfy FCC community of license concerns.

The new format of the 107.1 frequency was a success of sorts from the outset. Ratings in both the Glens Falls area and in the Albany-Schenectady-Troy market where it resides increased with WFFG beating some in-market FM's in the latter and proving to be a threat to that market's powerhouse, WGNA-FM, outrating it in some key suburban towns in Saratoga County. This trend has held up through the several years the station has had a country format.

In 2004, Vox Media sold it's Glens Falls cluster minus WNYQ (which itself would move into the Albany market in 2006) to Pamal Broadcasting. Pamal decided to celebrate the purchase, in some way, by giving WFFG an Albany market simulcast when that market's 104.9 WZMR began to simulcast WFFG in February 2005. Though Pamal had hoped that the simulcast would push WGNA down enough to make their WYJB #1 in the market, instead WFFG's Albany market numbers declined and in January 2006 WZMR flipped to active rock.

External links