How WKTU Launched The Modern Era Of Radio

“On Saturday, February 10, 1996 at 12pm, a format change took place that set the stage for how radio programming would function for the next three decades.

Following a week of stunting simulcasting co-owned stations KKBT Los Angeles, WRCX Chicago, WXKS Boston, KIOI San Francisco, and WLUP Chicago to give pre-streaming Wall Street investors the ability to sample the company’s products. Evergreen Media flipped the former Country 103.5 WYNY Lake Success NY to Dance leaning CHR 103.5 KTU resurrecting the WKTU call letters that had previously been heard on 92.3 in the early 1980s.

The original version of WKTU entered New York at a time where there was a gaping hole in the market for pop based Rhythm. “Hot 97” WQHT had moved from Dance CHR to Hip Hop a couple years earlier, CHR “Z100” WHTZ was very Alternative Rock leaning, and Hot AC 95.5 WPLJ had become very reliant on music from the 1970s and 80s. KTU’s impact was immediate. When its first ratings book came out, the station did not just lead the market, it had established a nearly one share lead over WQHT. KTU was also helped by being one of the early stations to pick up on a song that spring called “Macarena” that would become a cultural smash in 1996.

It took just months for stations, in particular Z100 to react. By April, Tom Poleman had been recruited from KRBE Houston to program WHTZ and with him a number of names would follow including future WKTU morning host Paul ‘Cubby’ Bryant. One of Poleman’s first moves was to drop morning host Steve Cochran after just three months with the station and promote afternoon host Elvis Duran to mornings, a place he remains to this day. After researching potential format changes to Modern AC, WHTZ would begin to rebound with the new programming leadership and changes in the music cycle that began in-part to the launch of WKTU.

The next big change would come in early 1997 as WKTU owner Evergreen Media and the radio holdings of Viacom would be absorbed into WHTZ owner Chancellor Media bringing the two competitors along with Classic Rock “Q104.3” WAXQ and AC “106.7 Lite-FM” WLTW under common ownership. From that point on WKTU has more or less served as an older skewing flanker to WHTZ. When CBS launched Rhythmic AC “Mix 102.7” WNEW in 2003, WKTU would skew older. When CBS launched CHR “92.3 Now” WNOW-FM in 2009, WKTU would push closer to it and Z100 to muddy the hole for the new competitor. When 95.5 WPLJ dropped Hot AC after its 2019 sale to K-Love, WKTU would shift to partially fill that hole. All the while, it kept its brand and Rhythmic pop lean in-tact to keep its core audience satisfied as documented by Sean Ross here.

One of the last standalone formats launched in New York just as the era of deregulation took hold, WKTU’s lasting power has become its ability to evolve while staying true to its brand. Each of the five FM brands that would become part of iHeartMedia New York were all struggling in the mid 1990s. WKTU was born from a struggling Country station. Z100 was on the verge of dropping Top 40. WAXQ flipped from Hard Rock to Classic Rock in July 1996, but would take years following the demise of all of its Rock competitors to thrive. WLTW was on the upswing in the mid-90’s and on its way to dominating the market for years. The cluster was rounded out by the 1998 purchase of 105.1 WNSR just as it was about to launch a challenger to WLTW. After years of rebrands and music shifts from Beautiful Music to AC to Hot AC to Modern AC to a post sale move to Jammin Oldies, that station would finally find stability with its 2002 flip to Hip Hop “Power 105.1” WWPR-FM.

Very few clusters have been able to match the top-to-bottom success of iHeartMedia New York, but WKTU in many ways is the lynchpin to that success. The station has its core brand, even its logo has not changed in 30 years outside of the occasional recoloring. Its ability to adapt and evolve to its competitive landscape, while staying true to its identity and audience has allowed it to remain strong throughout its three decades of life. While it likely will never replicate the successes of its first year, that is no longer its purpose. Worst to first gave WKTU life, but flexibility gave it longevity.