WSSV

WSSV (1160 AM) is a radio station licensed to Mechanicville, New York, United States. The station serves the Albany area. The station is currently owned by Loud Media.[1]

For the virus, see White spot syndrome virus.
WSSV
CityMechanicville, New York
Broadcast areaAlbany area
Frequency1160 kHz
BrandingStar Radio
SloganYour Station, Your Music
Programming
FormatClassic hits
Ownership
OwnerLoud Media LLC
WABY
History
First air date
1973 (as WMVI at 1170)
Former call signs
WMVI (1972-2002)
WABY (2002-2014)
WAIX (2014-2019)
Former frequencies
1170 kHz (1973-1980s)
Call sign meaning
W Saratoga Springs Voice
Technical information
Facility ID41582
ClassB
Power5,000 watts daytime
570 watts nighttime
Transmitter coordinates
42°55′12″N 73°42′08″W
Translator(s)93.3 W227DW (Saratoga Springs)
Links
Webcasthttps://www.starsaratoga.com/player
Websitehttps://www.starsaratoga.com

History

WMVI signed on the air in 1973, at 1170 kHz with 250 watts, daytime only operation. It was originally owned by John Farrina and had a middle-of-the-road (MOR) format, focusing on standards and big bands. Early disc jockeys included Don Kirby, John Butler, and Rene' Tetro. WMVI had a race wire installed and broadcast thoroughbred and harness racing results, three times per hour from 1:00 pm until sign off, a unique feature in the Albany region. This helped the station gain an audience above what would normally be expected for a small radio station competing directly with larger Albany stations.

WPTR legend "Boom Boom Branigan" (Joe Motto), who also owned other small AM stations around the Northeast U.S., purchased WMVI in 1979. Following the change in ownership, the station had a hybrid format of oldies, standards and big-band music, which underwent very little change until the early 1990s. During the late 1980s, WMVI had secured a construction permit to switch to 1160 kHz with 50,000 watts daytime power and modest nighttime power. However, ownership could not afford the upgrades the station needed for high-power, directional operation and the permit was left to expire. Later, WMVI did secure another permit to switch to 1160 kHz with 5 kW days/570w nights, non-directional. Coming under Branigan's ownership once again in late 1995, WMVI would return after a brief period, being off the air with an oldies/variety format which featured Branigan himself as the centerpiece of the station. Though the format proved popular with local listeners, the station had an extremely difficult time retaining advertising accounts due to repeated transmitter & 'telco' STL failures, forcing the station off the air repeatedly, sometimes for days at a time. As station employees moved to more secure jobs and operating funds became scarce, Branigan leased the station in 1998 to a group which aired Black Gospel music. Again, money shortages and aging, unreliable equipment forced Branigan to sell the station outright.

In August 2000, Anastos Media bought WMVI and brought it back on the air as a testing format of 1960s–1970s music as Sunny 1160 before entering a simulcast with co-owned pop-standards station WUAM in Saratoga Springs. Two years later, WMVI would take the abandoned WABY calls as a tribute to its former rival and the station, whose death led to its rebirth.

The WUAM portion of the simulcast ended in April 2008, with the format change of WUAM to an audio simulcast of local cable TV news outlet Capital News 9.

Ernie Anastos sold his Albany-area stations—WABY, WQAR, WUAM and its translator W291BY, and WVKZ—to Empire Broadcasting Corporation in June 2012, at a purchase price of $1.2 million.[2] The transaction was consummated on September 7, 2012. W291BY would later switch its originating station from WUAM to WABY.

In May 2014, WABY began simulcasting on sister WUAM, which dropped their simulcast of Capital News 9. The simulcast was moved full-time on June 23, while WABY began stunting with Gregorian chants. On June 26, at 4 pm, the station adopted an adult hits format, branded as "Mix 106.1."[3] On June 26, 2014, the WABY call letters moved to WUAM, while 1160 adopted the WAIX calls to match the "Mix" branding. On June 27, 2016, WAIX changed their format from adult hits to business news, branded as "Empire News Network".[4] On June 1, 2017, WAIX changed their format from business news (which is still airing on WPTR 1240 AM Schenectady) to adult album alternative, branded as "106.1 The X".[5] On March 12, 2018, WAIX changed their format from adult album alternative to hot adult contemporary, branded as "106.1 The Jockey".[6] On May 15, 2018, WAIX and its sister AM stations went silent (off the air).[7]

On May 6, 2019, Loud Media's Saratoga Radio LLC filed to acquire WSSV from Empire Broadcasting.[8] Saratoga Radio LLC relaunched the station on May 15, 2019, as Saratoga's "Star Radio".[9]

On May 27, 2019, WAIX changed its call sign to WSSV.

Previous logos

References
  1. "WSSV Facility Record". United States Federal Communications Commission, audio division.
  2. Pickney, Barbara (June 14, 2012). "Joe Reilly purchases 4 Albany area radio stations". The Business Review. Retrieved August 17, 2012.
  3. https://radioinsight.com/blog/headlines/89254/new-mix-in-albany/
  4. Albany Trio Switches to Business Radioinsight - June 29, 2016
  5. AAA 106.1 Debuts in Albany Radioinsight - June 1, 2017
  6. The Jockey Returns to Albany Radioinsight - March 12, 2018
  7. Trio of Albany AMs Go Silent Radioinsight - May 17, 2018
  8. FCC Website - May 6, 2019
  9. - Star Radio
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