WPTR (AM)
| City | Schenectady, New York |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Albany, New York |
| Branding | Empire News Network |
| Frequency | 1240 kHz |
| First air date | 1942 (as WSNY) |
| Format | Business news |
| Power | 1,000 watts unlimited |
| Class | C |
| Facility ID | 8726 |
| Transmitter coordinates | 42°48′37″N 73°59′04″W / 42.81028°N 73.98444°W |
| Former callsigns | WSNY (1942-1975) WWWD (1976-1988) WVKZ (1988-2012) |
| Affiliations | Bloomberg Radio |
| Owner | Empire Broadcasting Corporation |
| Sister stations | WJKE, WAIX, WABY |
| Website | theempirenewsnetwork.com |
WPTR (1240 AM) is a radio station broadcasting a business news format known as "Empire News Network". Located west of Schenectady, New York, United States, the station serves the Albany area as well as Schenectady. The station is owned by Empire Broadcasting Corporation.
WPTR began as long running middle-of-the-road station WSNY in 1942. In 1968, WSNY flipped to Top 40, going into direct competition with more powerful and established stations WPTR (now WDCD) and WTRY (now WOFX). The format was initially a success. However, by the early 1970s, FM Top 40 began to take hold in the Albany market as well; by 1973, in addition to WPTR and WTRY, WSNY had to contend with WABY (now WAMC), WGFM (now WRVE), and WHSH (now WPYX). In 1974, WSNY left the air. In 1976, the station returned to the air as WWWD, with kind of a top 40/oldies hybrid format. WWWD began to add vast amounts of off-track betting racing to their schedule during the 1980s. In early 1988, the station became WVKZ and partially simulcasted WVKZ-FM (now WDCD-FM), with their rock based top 40 format. WVKZ drifted through various formats during the 1990s, including classic country and talk, before flipping to oldies in 2004. In February 2009, WVKZ started broadcasting Scott Shannon's True Oldies network after broadcasting as "Real Oldies" since 2004.
Ernie Anastos sold his Albany-area stations—WVKZ, WABY, WQAR, and WUAM and its translator W291BY—to Empire Broadcasting Corporation in June 2012 at a purchase price of $1.2 million. The transaction consummated on September 7, 2012. On September 8, 2012, the station adopted the historic WPTR call letters, formerly used on the stations now known as WDCD, WAJZ, and WDCD-FM.
...
Wikipedia