WALY (103.9
FM, "WALY 103.9") is an American
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 radi ...
serving the
Altoona, Pennsylvania
Altoona is a city in Blair County, Pennsylvania. It is the principal city of the Altoona Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). The population was 43,963 at the time of the 2020 Census, making it the eighteenth most populous city in Pennsylvania. T ...
, area. The station is owned by Seven Mountains Media. currently playing an
adult contemporary
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, quie ...
format.
History
The station began playing a format of Top 40 and middle of the road music in its early days, first signing on as WHGM on March 28, 1970, more than three and a half years after the construction permit had been issued in the spring of 1966.
WHGM was originally owned by John Powley, whose interests were primarily in television. Powley owned a financial stake in
KHFI AM-FM-TV in
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...
and would sign on an
ABC-TV affiliate in
Altoona six years later, known as
WOPC-TV.
On New Year's Eve of 1986, the station was sold to Mid-Atlantic Radio, Inc., a company headed by Gregory Guise. The sale happened about ten months after Powley had sold the license of his television station, which had been silenced due to financial problems. The format was then changed to adult contemporary and the station moved from its transmitter location atop Wopsononock Mountain in Dysart to downtown Altoona. The following March 9, 1987, the call letters were changed to WALY, which are still used today. WALY was later used on a Local Access Channel in the early 90s.
The station was sold again to S&P Broadcasting in February 1989 for $1 million, and then to its current owner, then known as Forever Broadcasting, Inc. in 1997.
Founder John Powley died in 2008.
It was announced on October 12, 2022 that Forever Media is selling 34 stations, including WALY and the entire Altoona cluster, to
State College-based Seven Mountains Media for $17.3 million. The deal closed on January 2, 2023.
Sister stations
The sister stations of WALY in the Altoona market are 98.1
WFGY, 100.1
WWOT, 104.9
WRKY-FM
WRKY-FM is a classic rock formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania, serving Altoona, Pennsylvania
Altoona is a city in Blair County, Pennsylvania. It is the principal city of the Altoona Metropolitan Statistica ...
, 1290
WFBG, and 1430
WTNA
WTNA (1430 AM) is an oldies radio station licensed to Altoona, Pennsylvania. The station airs an oldies format and is branded as "Toona 1430 & 99.7". The station is owned by Seven Mountains Media.
WTNA is the flagship station for Altoona Curve b ...
.
Weekday programming
*6 a.m. to 10 a.m. - K.C. O'Day
*10 a.m. to 3 p.m. - Bill Kurtis
*3 p.m. to 7 p.m. - JoJo
*7p.m. to 12 a.m. - Intelligence For Your Life with John Tesh
Saturday Programming
*7 p.m. to 12 a.m. - Totally Awesome 80s with Kent Jones
Sunday Programming
*7 a.m. to 12 p.m. - Intelligence For Your Life with John Tesh
*12 p.m. to 5 p.m. - Totally Awesome 80s with Kent Jones (Repeat)
*7 p.m. to 12 a.m. - Intelligence For Your Life with John Tesh (Repeat)
References
External links
*
*
ALY
Mainstream adult contemporary radio stations in the United States
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