WLOF
WLOF is a Catholic radio station broadcasting from Elma, New York. WLOF is located at 101.7 MHz on the FM dial and covers much of Western New York, including Buffalo and Niagara Falls. Referred to as The Station of the Cross, WLOF is owned and operated by Holy Family Communications which also owns and operates WHIC in Rochester, New York. The call letters represent Our Lady of Fatima, to whom this station is dedicated. Both stations rely on the EWTN Global Catholic Radio Network for the bulk of their programming.
City | Elma, New York |
---|---|
Broadcast area | Buffalo, New York |
Frequency | 101.7 MHz |
Branding | The Station of the Cross |
Slogan | "Proclaiming the fullness of truth with clarity and charity." |
Programming | |
Format | Catholic radio |
Ownership | |
Owner | Holy Family Communications |
History | |
First air date | November 9, 1977 |
Former call signs | WBTF (1977–1998) WXOX (1998–1999) |
Call sign meaning | Our Lady Of Fatima |
Technical information | |
Class | A |
ERP | 2,800 watts |
HAAT | 148 meters (486 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 42.783°N 78.458°W |
Links | |
Website | www.thestationofthecross.com |
History
The station signed on November 9, 1977,[1] as WBTF "BT Country". It was the sister station to WBTA in Batavia, New York. Its first license was issued on June 8, 1978; the station was originally located in Attica.[2]
Beginning on February 13, 1998, 101.7 FM was acquired by Broben Communications, Inc. and used WXOX as its callsign. WXOX then forced nearby station WHUG in Jamestown to change frequencies in an effort to gain coverage area. As WXOX, the station broadcast modern rock as "The Spot", supposedly covering "Attica, Amherst and Buffalo" and acting as a challenger to WEDG. It made a significant advertising blitz in the Buffalo market and even created its own "Spotfest" music festival, but it never even registered a measurable audience in the ratings books, let alone make a serious challenge at any Buffalo station, because of its very weak signal (it had 1/15th of the signal strength of another Wyoming County station, WNUC, which was an average station at its best).[3]
On August 15, 1999, Holy Family Communications acquired WXOX and began broadcasting Catholic programming as WLOF becoming the sixth Catholic Radio station in the United States.[4]
On August 15, 2009, WLOF celebrated its tenth anniversary by hosting Fr. John Corapi, SOLT at the HSBC Arena in Buffalo, New York. Over 11,000 people attended this celebration.[5]
References
- Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 2009 (PDF). 2009. p. D-371. Retrieved May 6, 2020.
- FCC history cards for WLOF. Retrieved June 24, 2018.
- Fybush, Scott. New England Radio Watch. January 22, 1999.
- Call Sign History
- Buffalo News, August 16, 2009
External links
- Official website
- WLOF in the FCC's FM station database
- WLOF on Radio-Locator
- WLOF in Nielsen Audio's FM station database