WQLE

WQLE (960 AM) was the last official call sign of a now defunct radio station in Kane, Pennsylvania.

History

WQLE signed on as WADP in 1954. In the 1970s, it was purchased by Bilbat Radio, a Hornell, New York based ownership cluster that currently owns radio station WHHO and operates WKPQ. Under the call sign WKZA, it became one of the most listened to stations in McKean County, and faced very little competition outside Bradford-based WESB. In 1984, WKZA faced its first direct competition from "WIFI", but WKZA still was easily winning the battle as WIFI lost money.

However, in 1989 WIFI changed ownership and call signs to WLMI, and with that received a massive cash infusion to challenge WKZA. WKZA staffers began to defect to WLMI, and the downhill spiral began. WKZA was sold to Bill Shannon in 1990 and a year later changed hands to Walter R. Pierre in December 1991. Pierre changed the call signs to its final call sign, WQLE, in a last-ditch attempt to save the station. It was unsuccessful. On December 21, 1992, WQLE 960 went silent. It never formally forfeited its license.

The WKZA calls currently reside on a radio station in Lakewood, New York, broadcasting on 106.9 MHz as a KISS FM station.