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WBGK

Newport Village, New York United States
Broadcast area	Utica–Rome Mohawk Valley
Frequency	99.7 MHz
Branding	Bug Country
Programming
Format	Country music
Affiliations	Premiere Networks Westwood One
Ownership
Owner	Ken Roser (Roser Communications Network, LLC)
Sister stations	WUTQ-FM, WVTL, WSKU, WSKS
History
First air date	October 2000 (2000-10)
Call sign meaning	"Bug Country"
Technical information
Licensing authority	FCC
Facility ID	110
Class	A
ERP	1,400 watts
HAAT	206 meters (676 ft)
Transmitter coordinates	43°8′28.2″N 75°1′47.5″W / 43.141167°N 75.029861°W / 43.141167; -75.029861
Links
Public license information	Public file LMS
Webcast	Listen live
Website	www.bugcountry.com
WBUG-FM
Fort Plain, New York United States
Frequency	101.1 MHz
Ownership
Owner	Ken Roser (Roser Communications Network, LLC)
History
First air date	March 1, 1991 (1991-03-01)
Former call signs	WLKO (1989–1992)
Call sign meaning	"Bug"
Technical information
Facility ID	72625
Class	A
ERP	1,250 watts
HAAT	219 meters (719 ft)
Transmitter coordinates	42°52′44.2″N 74°47′5.5″W / 42.878944°N 74.784861°W / 42.878944; -74.784861 (WBUG-FM)
Links
Public license information	Public file LMS

WBGK (99.7 MHz) and WBUG-FM (101.1 MHz) are commercial radio stations simulcasting a country music radio format known as "Bug Country". WBGK is licensed to Newport Village, New York, and WBUG-FM is licensed to Fort Plain, New York. They are owned by Roser Communications Network, Inc. The signals of the two stations cover the Utica-Rome radio market 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 on March 1, 1991, as WLKO, a locally produced simulcast with WBUG (1570 AM) in Amsterdam. It became WBUG-FM on May 15, 1992. WBUG's programming was also heard on WBGG (900 AM) in Saratoga Springs, which carried a country format from August 1992 until becoming classic rock station WCKM in April 1994. It was replaced with WLFH (1230 AM) in Little Falls, which had itself been a country music station.

The stations then broadcast the Real Country satellite classic country format from ABC Radio, and added WBGK at 99.7 FM in October 2000. WLFH was later acquired by Clear Channel Communications 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, 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. 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 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

1. "Facility Technical Data for WBGK". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
2. "Facility Technical Data for WBUG-FM". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
3. "C'town gets new station". Freeman's Journal. March 13, 1991. p. 2. Retrieved July 15, 2024.
4. "Call Letter Changes". The M Street Journal. May 13, 1992. p. 5.
5. "New radio show offered". Freeman's Journal. October 19, 1993. p. 14. Retrieved July 15, 2024.
6. "Format Changes". The M Street Journal. July 22, 1992. p. 1.
7. "Format Changes & Updates". The M Street Journal. April 27, 1994. p. 1.
8. ^ Fybush, Scott (October 23, 2000). "WNSS Gets Funny, Utica Gets Buggy, Dodge Gets Arrested". North East RadioWatch. Retrieved July 15, 2024.

External links

• Official website
• Facility details for Facility ID 110 (WBGK) in the FCC Licensing and Management System
• WBGK in Nielsen Audio's FM station database
• Facility details for Facility ID 72625 (WBUG) in the FCC Licensing and Management System
• WBUG in Nielsen Audio's FM station database

• Radio stations in New York (state)
• Country radio stations in the United States
• Radio stations established in 2000
• 2000 establishments in New York (state)
• Herkimer County, New York