WIPS (AM)

WIPS (1250 AM) was a radio station broadcasting a classic hits format. Licensed in Ticonderoga, New York, United States, the station served mainly Essex County, New York and Addison County, Vermont from a transmitter site on Lake Champlain near Fort Ticonderoga. The station was owned by Bisiblue, L.L.C.[3]

WIPS
CityTiconderoga, New York
Broadcast areaNorth Country, New York
Frequency1250 kHz
SloganThe Bridge
Programming
FormatDefunct, was classic hits
AffiliationsABC Radio
Ownership
OwnerBisiblue, L.L.C.
History
First air dateJuly 1955[1]
Last air dateOctober 30, 2009[2]
Call sign meaningWe're International Paper's Station
Technical information
Facility ID468
ClassD
Power1,000 watts day
85 watts night
Transmitter coordinates43°51′16″N 73°23′24″W

WIPS started in July 1955[1] as an AM station located on Route 74 in Ticonderoga. The studio and its transmitter were both located on the shores of Lake Champlain. In 1981, a fire burned the original studios to the ground. Limestone Communications ran WIPS for a while, eventually adding an FM station on 103.9 MHz (WXTY, now WANC). While WIPS broadcast from sunrise to sunset originally, the station was later allowed to broadcast after sunset with 85 watts. After Bisiblue purchased the station, the WIPS studios were located in Crown Point, New York, 12 miles from the original site. WIPS broadcast the Timeless Favorites format from ABC Radio.

After losing thousands of dollars per month, WIPS went silent on February 29, 2008.[4] According to reporter Scott Fybush, WIPS went back on the air shortly before its license was scheduled to be deleted in April 2009.[5] WIPS was eventually deleted two years later, on August 4, 2011 as Bisiblue, LLC asked to cancel the license;[6] in its request, Bisiblue noted that the station had been silent since October 30, 2009, and that under federal law the WIPS license had effectively expired on October 30, 2010.[2] In January 2018, the WIPS name was reused by J. Walter Broadcasting (a company controlled by Robert Streeter) for a group of Internet radio stations, featuring six music formats and local news for Ticonderoga.[7] However, the project failed six weeks after launch owing to financial mismanagement, and fraud. A criminal investigation into Robert Streeter and the WIPS operation was launched by the Ticonderoga Police Department.[8]

References
  1. Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 2009 (PDF). 2009. p. D-390. Retrieved August 31, 2018.
  2. Lyon, Jr., George L. (August 4, 2011). "RE: …Cancellation of License" (PDF). CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved August 31, 2018.
  3. "WIPS Facility Record". United States Federal Communications Commission, audio division.
  4. "WIPS Radio goes dark".
  5. http://www.fybush.com/NERW/2009/090413/nerw.html
  6. http://www.fybush.com/NERW/2011/110822/nerw.html
  7. Moore, Suzanne (January 8, 2018). "WIPS radio delivered on internet". Press-Republican. Retrieved August 31, 2018.
  8. DeMola, Pete (2018-03-14). "WIPS sudden exit leaves cloud of uncertainty, questions — and criminal investigation". Sun Community News & Printing. Retrieved 2019-01-16.


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