WMSX

WMSX (96.1 FM) is a radio station licensed to and broadcasting from Buffalo, New York, which has a soft adult contemporary format. The station is owned by Townsquare Media and has studios based in the Rand Building downtown; the station's transmitter is located on the roof of the same building.

WMSX
CityBuffalo, New York
Broadcast areaBuffalo, New York
Frequency96.1 MHz (HD Radio)
Branding96.1 The Breeze
SloganRelaxing Favorites at Work
Programming
FormatSoft adult contemporary
Ownership
OwnerTownsquare Media
(Townsquare Media of Buffalo, Inc.)
WBLK, WBUF, WYRK
History
First air date
1966 (1966) (as WBNY-FM)
Former call signs
WBNY-FM (1965–1979)
WJYE (1979–2014)
Call sign meaning
WMSX (sounds like "Mix", previous branding)
Technical information
Facility ID1915
ClassB
ERP47,000 watts
HAAT154 meters (505 ft)
Links
WebcastListen Live
Website961thebreeze.com

History

The station signed on the air as WBNY-FM in 1966 as a sister station to WJJL, an AM station at 1440, in Niagara Falls. (The WBNY call letters had previously been used on WYSL, and the station is unrelated to today's WBNY, a college radio station at 91.3 FM). At the time, WJJL and WBNY were owned by the Niagara Frontier Broadcasting Corp. In 1973, the station was acquired by McCormick Broadcasting.[1] The station adopted the WJYE call letters on February 1, 1979, and was known as "JOY-FM-96." The station's format throughout its history has rarely ranged from light music; it adopted its current AC format in 1988 after years as a beautiful music/easy listening station and only converting as the latter formats severely declined in stature. The station has used the branding "Joy-FM" for years, though with some breaks in between where other branding was used. It also historically carried a Christmas music format from the middle of November to New Year's Day (typically changing formats within hours of rival WTSS).

In 1995, WJYE abandoned the "Joy 96" branding and began identifying by its call sign WJYE. It returned to the "Joy 96" branding in the late 2000s. In the late 1990s, WJYE was acquired by Infinity Broadcasting, which was later incorporated into CBS Radio.

In the summer of 2000, Delilah was added for evenings.

Lance Diamond was the station's Saturday evening host for much of the 1990s and 2000s. The station began to stream over the Internet in November 2006. Also in 2006, WJYE, along with their Buffalo sister stations, were sold to Regent Broadcasting, which was later renamed Townsquare Media.

Starting in 2007, the station transitioned from its previous soft rock format to a more adult contemporary format. In recent times, the station has added limited rhythmic songs to their playlist that would be appropriate for their format, but they are mainly rare on the WJYE playlist. It is one of three AC stations in the Buffalo radio market, one being WTSS, along with CHRE-FM in St. Catharines, Ontario, though those two are more Hot AC in nature.

On September 2, 2014, WJYE changed its call letters to WMSX, and changed its on-air branding to Mix 96. The format itself did not change from that of recent years, although it stopped playing Christmas music up until the 2018 winter season. The nationally syndicated Delilah, which aired on 96.1 for nearly two decades, moved to WECK in January 2016.[2][3] When local radio legend Buddy Shula purchased WECK, Shula’s first mission was to dump Delilah, as he did not not like the syndicated, cheap programming. Delilah returned to 96.1 in February 2019.[4]

On December 25, 2018, after playing Christmas music since mid-November, WMSX rebranded as “96.1 The Breeze”. The format shifted to a softer-leaning AC, and follows the lead of many stations across the country stemming from the original “98.1 The Breeze” in San Francisco. The station described the format as "modified soft rock," returning to the format the station held before 2007, and brought back Joe Chille, the station's previous morning host from that era (Chille was at WECK for a short time).[5][6]

References
  1. Broadcasting Yearbook 1974 page B-139
  2. "WJYE Buffalo Rebrands As Mix 96". Radio Insight. Retrieved 2 September 2014.
  3. http://talkintv.buffalonews.com/2016/01/27/ch-7-moving-abcs-this-week-directly-opposite-nbcs-meet-the-press/
  4. https://buffalonews.com/2019/02/13/neaverth-to-take-weck-monday-morning-shift-delilah-is-on-the-breeze-nightly/
  5. https://www.wnypapers.com/news/article/current/2019/01/04/135424/joe-chille-returns-home
  6. "96.1 The Breeze" Blows into Buffalo

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