WBGK (99.7

MHz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose expression in terms of SI base units is s−1, meaning that one he ...

) and WBUG (101.1 MHz) are

commercial Commercial may refer to: * a dose of advertising conveyed through media (such as - for example - radio or television) ** Radio advertisement ** Television advertisement * (adjective for:) commerce, a system of voluntary exchange of products and s ...

radio station Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radio ...

simulcast Simulcast (a portmanteau of simultaneous broadcast) is the broadcasting of programmes/programs or events across more than one resolution, bitrate or medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at exactly the same time (that is, simultane ...

ing a

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

radio format A radio format or programming format (not to be confused with broadcast programming) describes the overall content broadcast on a radio station. The radio format emerged mainly in the United States in the 1950s, at a time when Radio broadcasting, ...

known as "Bug Country." WBGK is

licensed A license (or licence) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit). A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another party (licensee) as an element of an agreeme ...

to Newport Village, New York, and WBUG is licensed to

Fort Plain, New York Fort Plain is a village in Montgomery County, New York, United States. As of the 2010 census, the village population was 2,322. The village is named after a fort built during the American Revolution at the junction of the Mohawk River and its tr ...

. They are owned by Roser Communications Network, Inc. The signals of the two stations cover the Utica-

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

radio market A media market, broadcast market, media region, designated market area (DMA), television market area, or simply market is a region where the population can receive the same (or similar) television and radio station offerings, and may also incl ...

as well as the Mohawk Valley. Although WBGK is licensed to the village of Newport, New York, the license states "Newport Village" as the city of license. There is no city or village in New York State called "Newport Village".

History

WBUG-FM began as a locally produced simulcast with WBUG in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

and WBGG in

Saratoga Springs Saratoga Springs is a city in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population was 28,491 at the 2020 census. The name reflects the presence of mineral springs in the area, which has made Saratoga a popular resort destination for over ...

. WBGG broke from the simulcast in 1994, and it was replaced with Little Falls-licensed WLFH (now WIXT, a simulcast of variety hits-formatted

WKLL WKLL, WKRL-FM, and WKRH are a series of radio stations owned by Galaxy Communications. The FM stations, broadcasting at 94.9 MHz, 100.9 MHz, and 106.5 MHz respectively, are all branded as " K-Rock" and run an active rock format. T ...

-HD2), which had itself been a country music station. The stations then broadcast the

Real Country Real Country is a 24-hour radio format produced by Westwood One. Real Country is marketed at the demographic of men aged 35 to 64. Its programming consists of a fairly broad playlist of "Today's Stars and the Legends." Classic country is the st ...

satellite classic country format from ABC Radio, and added WBGK at 99.7FM in 2001. WLFH was later acquired by

Clear Channel Communications iHeartMedia, Inc., formerly CC Media Holdings, Inc., is an American mass media corporation headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It is the holding company of iHeartCommunications, Inc. (formerly Clear Channel Communications, Inc.), a company fou ...

and left Bug Country to join the "Sports Stars" network of WADR/WUTQ and WRNY. In 2004, WBUG left Bug Country to become talk-formatted

WVTL WVTL (1570 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station broadcasting a classic country radio format to the Mohawk Valley in the U.S. state of New York. It is licensed to Amsterdam, New York, and is owned by Roser Communications Network, Inc. WVTL's ...

, leaving WBGK and WBUG-FM as the only two stations in the Bug Country network. In November 2009, WBGK and WBUG-FM dropped Real Country and swapped it with a continuous automated selection of country

Christmas music Christmas music comprises a variety of genres of music regularly performed or heard around the Christmas season. Music associated with Christmas may be purely instrumental, or, in the case of carols or songs, may employ lyrics whose subject ma ...

. After the holidays, their current format of mainstream country was launched and the station returned to local production. WBGK had been providing live play-by-play

high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...

games but that ended in 2011. On March 30, 2015, Roser Communications moved the studios of all their stations, including WBGK/WBUG-FM, to new facilities located at the Canal Park off Leland Avenue. Prior to this, Roser Communications had been leasing space at the Adirondack Bank building on Genesee Street.

References

External links

* * * {{Country Radio Stations in New York BGK Country radio stations in the United States