WTHK (100.7 FM; "The Peak") is a

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 ...

broadcasting a

classic rock Classic rock is a US radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the mid 1990s, primar ...

format. It is licensed to

Wilmington, Vermont Wilmington is a town in Windham County, Vermont, United States. The population was 2,255 at the 2020 census. History The town was chartered in 1751 by Benning Wentworth, colonial governor of New Hampshire. It was named in honor of Spencer Comp ...

. The station is currently owned by Jeffrey Shapiro's Great Eastern Radio, and currently simulcasts sister station

WKKN WKKN (101.9 FM; "The Peak") is a radio station licensed to Westminster, Vermont, United States, with studios located in Keene, New Hampshire. The station is owned by Great Eastern Radio, LLC. The station is simulcast on WTHK (100.7 FM) in Wilm ...

(101.9 FM).

History

WTHK began its radio life as WVAY. The station was part of the 'wave' of upscale

smooth jazz Smooth jazz is a genre of commercially-oriented crossover jazz and easy listening music that became dominant in the mid 1970s to the early 1990s. History Smooth jazz is a commercially oriented, crossover jazz which came to prominence in the 19 ...

formatted stations that were very trendy in the mid to late 1980s. The station was owned and operated by Rothschild Broadcasting. Founding Program Director Roger Coryell left the station in 1990 for a position as morning host on San Francisco "Smooth Jazz" outlet KKSF. WVAY's slogan evolved from "Smooth Sounds - 100.7 WVAY" to ''100.7 WVAY, Different by Design'' as the station evolved into more of a triple-A formatted radio station. At one time WVAY also had additional translators at 99.7 in

Marlboro, Vermont Marlboro is a town in Windham County, Vermont, United States. The population was 1,722 at the 2020 census. The town is home to both the Southern Vermont Natural History Museum and Marlboro College, which hosts the Marlboro Music School and Festi ...

, which was sold to Harvest Broadcasting, a religious broadcaster, and had an arrangement to operate a translator at 100.1 which helped WVAY have a stronger signal in

Manchester, Vermont Manchester is a town in, and one of two shire towns (county seats) of, Bennington County, Vermont. The population was 4,484 at the 2020 census. Manchester Village, an incorporated village, and Manchester Center are settlement centers within t ...

. At one time WVAY was positioned as ''100.7/100.1 WVAY Different By Design''. The station was sold to Dynacom Corporation in 1998, and wound up having many simulcast partners of the Dynacom stable which included being part of the

soft AC Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quiet sto ...

, "Wish" stations (now

WXLF WXLF (95.3 FM, "95.3 and 107.1 The Wolf") is a radio station licensed to serve Hartford, Vermont. The station is owned by Binnie Media. It airs a country music format. The station is simulcast on WZLF (107.1 FM) in Bellows Falls, Vermont. The s ...

), and AOR formatted ''Q 106'' (

WHDQ WHDQ (106.1 FM, "Q106") is a radio station broadcasting a classic rock format. Licensed to Claremont, New Hampshire, United States, the station serves the Lebanon-Rutland-White River Junction area. The station is owned by Jeffrey Shapiro's Great ...

) from

Claremont, New Hampshire Claremont is the only city in Sullivan County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 12,949 at the 2020 census. History Pre-colonial native populations Before colonial settlement, the Upper Connecticut River Valley was home to the Pe ...

. Eventually the simulcast partner became

WRSI WRSI (93.9 FM, "93.9 The River") is a radio station licensed to serve Turners Falls, Massachusetts. The station is owned by Saga Communications and licensed to Saga Communications of New England, LLC. It airs an adult album alternative music fo ...

(then at

95.3 FM The following radio broadcasting, radio stations broadcast on FM broadcasting, FM frequency 95.3 MHz: Argentina * 95.3 Ayacucho in Ayacucho, Buenos Aires * Acción (radio station), Acción * Atlántida (radio station), Atlántida in Buenos ...

), an AAA station from

Greenfield, Massachusetts Greenfield is a city in and the county seat of Franklin County, Massachusetts, United States. Greenfield was first settled in 1686. The population was 17,768 at the 2020 census. Greenfield is home to Greenfield Community College, the Pioneer Val ...

. The WVAY call letters were shelved in favor of WMTT during this time. In October 2000, the WRSI simulcast with WMTT ended and was moved to

WRSY WRSY (101.5 MHz) is a commercial FM radio station licensed to Marlboro, Vermont. The station is owned by the Monadnock Radio Group subsidiary of Saga Communications. WRSY airs an adult album alternative radio format, via a simulcast of 93.9 WRS ...

(101.5 FM) in

which had a better signal into

Brattleboro Brattleboro (), originally Brattleborough, is a town in Windham County, Vermont, United States. The most populous municipality abutting Vermont's eastern border with New Hampshire, which is the Connecticut River, Brattleboro is located about nor ...

, yet continued to serve the Deerfield Valley. WMTT's new simulcast partner became WEXP (101.5 FM) from

Brandon, Vermont Brandon is a town in Rutland County, Vermont, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 4,129. History On October 20, 1761, the town of Neshobe was chartered to Capt. Josiah Powers. In October 1784, the name of the town was chang ...

and together the stations were known on air as ''Classic Rock 101, The Fox''. It was at that time that the WVAY call sign were restored to 100.7. In 2004

Nassau Broadcasting Partners Nassau Broadcasting Partners LP was a company based in Princeton, New Jersey that owned radio stations in New England and the Mid-Atlantic United States. Nassau's stations, which included both AM and FM frequencies, were located in Maryland, New J ...

purchased WEXP and WVAY as well as an entire portfolio of radio stations in Vermont and New Hampshire from the Vox Radio Group. While the station has evolved into "Rutland's Rock Station, 101.5 The Fox", the WVAY call sign went away again in favor of Nassau's warehousing of the WTHK call sign on November 16, 2006, where they remain to this day. The call sign was previously used on an 97.5 FM station in

Trenton, New Jersey Trenton is the capital city of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County. It was the capital of the United States from November 1 to December 24, 1784.Bill Binnie (owner of WBIN-TV in

Derry Derry, officially Londonderry (), is the second-largest city in Northern Ireland and the fifth-largest city on the island of Ireland. The name ''Derry'' is an anglicisation of the Old Irish name (modern Irish: ) meaning 'oak grove'. The ...

), on May 22, 2012. The station, and 12 of the other stations, would then be acquired by Vertical Capital Partners, controlled by Jeff Shapiro; however, WTHK was not included in the subsequent sale of simulcast partner WEXP to Electromagnetic Company. (updated June 14, 2012) The sale of WTHK and the other 12 stations was consummated on November 30, 2012, at a purchase price of $4.4 million. The Vertical Capital Partners stations were transferred to Shapiro's existing Great Eastern Radio group on January 1, 2013. On January 22, 2013, WTHK dropped its simulcast of WEXP and began simulcasting new sister station WXXK (100.5 FM). The WXXK simulcast ended on March 16, 2015, when WTHK, along with

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bu ...

(a station in the

Keene, New Hampshire Keene is a city in, and the County seat, seat of Cheshire County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 23,047 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, down from 23,409 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. Keene is ho ...

area that had also been serving as a WXXK simulcast), launched an adult album alternative format branded as "The Peak." Under the new format, the WTHK signal is marketed to the

Bennington Bennington is a town in Bennington County, Vermont, United States. It is one of two shire towns (county seats) of the county, the other being Manchester. As of the 2020 US Census, the population was 15,333. Bennington is the most populous to ...

area. The stations switched to a

format on May 14, 2018, while retaining their existing branding.

Translator

WTHK also operates translator station W284AB (

Jamaica, Vermont Jamaica is a town in Windham County, Vermont, United States. The population was 1,005 at the 2020 census. The town includes the villages of Jamaica, East Jamaica and Rawsonville. Its ZIP code is 05343. The town is home to Jamaica State Park, ...

) that transmits a directional signal from the top of Stratton Mountain. The translator can be heard at 104.7 FM.

References

External links

* * * {{Classic Rock Radio Stations in Vermont THK Radio stations established in 1989 1989 establishments in Vermont Classic rock radio stations in the United States