City | Piqua, Ohio |
---|---|
Broadcast area |
Miami County Miami Valley |
Branding |
1570 WPTW 98.1 WPTW |
Slogan | Classic Hits |
Frequency | 1570 kHz |
Translator(s) | 98.1 W251BC (Piqua) |
First air date | December 7, 1947 |
Format |
Oldies Local sports Community radio |
Power | 250 watts |
Class | B |
Facility ID | 70521 |
Callsign meaning | W Piqua, Troy and Sidney |
Affiliations |
Weather Channel ABC Radio Network Cincinnati Bengals Radio Network Ohio State IMG Sports Network |
Owner | Muzzy Broadcasting Group |
Webcast | Listen Live |
Website | 981wptw.com |
1570 WPTW 98.1 WPTW
WPTW "The Voice of the Upper Miami Valley, Ohio" (for Piqua, Troy and West Milton) is a commercial AM radio stations in Piqua, Ohio, U.S.A. on 1570 kHz with a power output of 250 watts. It is owned by Muzzy Broadcasting Group. ABC Radio Network news and local news. Its music format is a mix of 1960s', 1970s', and 1980s' classic hits as an affiliate of The True Oldies Channel. Local high school sports coverage remains a tradition at the station in addition to Ohio State Buckeyes football.
WPTW began operation as a daytime-only AM station with a middle of the road format on December 7, 1947 and was founded by the Miami Valley Broadcasting Company. It operated with extended hours during the November 1950 blizzard.
For much of its early years WPTW held the distinction as the only commercial radio station in the Upper Miami Valley between Dayton and Lima...as such,the station opened up several locally originating studios in its service area including the Hotel Lollis in Troy,the Ohio Building in Sidney plus a studio on South Broadway in Greenville. That distinction was held until the late 1950s and early 1960s with the founding of stations in Bellefontaine, Sidney, Greenville, Urbana and Wapakoneta.
Much of WPTW's programming was simulcast on both AM and FM airing traditional middle of the road music using a sophisticated reel-to-reel automation system....with a few minor exceptions for separate programming on WPTW-AM. The syndicated "Dell-O Morning Show" hosted by Dell Olmay was pre-recorded onto automation tapes. In the mid 1970s, there was also a live weekday afternoon show on 1570 AM hosted by Dave Brennan (later of Dayton's WING). The vintage on-air studio gear (a Collins tube-type audio console with original transmitter and Gates transcription turntables almost dating back to the station's beginnings) were properly maintained in mint condition thanks to its long time chief engineer Don Kuether and remained in use until upgrades were made in the late 1970s and 80s. As the newer stations emerged in neighboring counties, the Troy,Sidney and Greenville studios were eventually closed by the mid-1960s,however its legal ID remained until 1974 as the ever formal: "This is WPTW...FM Stereo...(brief silence on AM frequency to allow for FM ID)...transmitting from Piqua, Ohio."