WTSS

WTSS
City of license	Buffalo
Broadcast area	Buffalo, NY
Branding	Star 102.5
Frequency	102.5 MHz (Also on HD Radio)
First air date	1934 (as W8XH)
Format	Hot Adult Contemporary/Christmas music
Callsign meaning	W The Star Station
Owner	Entercom Communications
Website	http://www.mystar1025.com

WTSS is an FM radio station located in Buffalo, New York. The station, branded as "Star 102.5", is located at 102.5 MHz and is owned by the Entercom Communications cluster. The station itself is the oldest radio station in America currently on FM, signing on in 1934 as an ultra-shortwave station.

History

The station now known as WTSS actually began as early as 1934 as W8XH, an ultra-shortwave radio station broadcasting at a wavelength of 5 meters, predating the country's first FM station by three years. In 1946, W8HX moved to 106.5 and became WBEN-FM (see WYRK). The 102.5 frequency was first used by WBEN-FM when the station moved to that frequency from 106.5 and became "Rock 102" under the leadership of Roger Christian. The station has also operated as WMJQ, branded as "Majic 102" and "Q102," the latter of which lasted until the late 1990s. The "Star" moniker was adopted when Sinclair Broadcast Group bought the station at that time. The station has, ever since the early 1980s, been a hot adult contemporary format geared heavily toward a female audience. In 2006, WTSS began streaming its programming on the Internet.

Programming and playlists

Star's playlist consists of two categories, each of which takes about half of the playlist. One half consists of hits from the 1970s through the 1990s. The other half, which is shared with sister station WKSE, is current and recurrent hits. Competition from new rival WHTT has caused an increased emphasis on the 1970s-1990s hits, although the hot adult contemporary staples remain in regular rotation.[1] (From the Thursday before Thanksgiving through December 25, Star disposes of this format in favor of Christmas music.) Christmas music can still be heard December 26 through January 1, although it's mixed in with their regular format. The station employs a number of gimmicks during the daily schedule, including 30-minute commercial-free music sweeps, a recently added 9-to-5 "no repeat workday" where no song is repeated between 9 AM and 5 PM, an hourlong "Cardio Radio" commercial-free exercise oriented block at 7:00 PM, and a daily "Eighties at Eight" hour at 8:00 PM. News is provided from sister station WBEN and weather comes from television station WGRZ.

DJs and programs

Local jockeys include longtime morning jock Rob Lucas, Roger Christian (who has been with the station since the WBEN-FM era in the 1970's), Sue O'Neill, Brian Demay, and John Anthony. Syndicated programs are Backtrax USA (both 80's and 90's versions) with Kid Kelly, American Top 20 with Casey Kasem, and Fox All Access with Chris Leary. WTSS also shares the internationally syndicated John Tesh Radio Show with Astral Media-owned CHRE-FM in St. Catharines, Ontario; WTSS airs the weekend show while CHRE airs the weeknight shows. The two stations are in no way affiliated with each other directly.

Broadcast signal

WTSS has one of the strongest FM signals in the western New York area. The station can be heard into the Rochester area, where it begins to interfere with WVOR, on the adjacent 102.3 frequency. East of WVOR, the station can sometimes still be heard along Lake Ontario until interference from WUMX in Utica factors in. It can also be heard going west well into Pennsylvania, and during good DXing conditions, can be heard into Erie. WTSS is the strongest FM signal from Buffalo in the Olean, New York area.

External links

• Star 102.5 Official site
• Query the FCC's FM station database for WTSS
• Radio Locator information on WTSS