WPIG
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| WPIG | |
 |
|
| City of license | Olean |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Olean/Jamestown, NY |
| Branding | The Big Pig 95.7 |
| Slogan | Today's Sizzlin' Country |
| Frequency | 95.7 |
| First air date | 1947 (current format began in 1989) |
| Format | Country music |
| Power | 93,000 Watts |
| Callsign meaning | W PIG |
| Owner | Backyard Broadcasting |
| Website | http://www.wpig.com/ |
WPIG is an FM radio station located in Olean, New York. Branded as the "Big Pig," "The Pig" or simply by its frequency and callsigns at times, the station operates at 95.7 MHz on the FM dial.
Contents |
[edit] History
The station originally signed on as WHDL-FM in 1947 and in its early years was affiliated, like most upstate New York FMs of the time, with WQXR in New York City. In Nov. 1989, the station switched formats to the rapidly burgeoning country music format and became "WPIG-- The Big Pig 95.7, Today's Sizzlin' Country," which is its current motto.
[edit] Programming
Two programs have been on WPIG ever since its launch: the Morning Pigpen, the station's morning show, and the Country Call-in Café, an all-request lunch hour (although both have changed hosts since their inception). WPIG relies heavily upon local content.
WPIG's program director is Mark Thompson and the music director is Jesse Garon.
[edit] Weekday Schedule
[edit] The Morning Pigpen
The Morning Pigpen is one of WPIG's oldest programs and currently features Mark Thompson, Casey Hill, weather with Wayne Mahar and newsman Gary Nease. It airs weekdays from 6-9 a.m.
[edit] Midday Mayhem Show
The Midday Mayhem Show airs from 9am-noon on WPIG. This position is currently vacant.
[edit] Country Call In Cafe
This all-request lunch hour, airing from noon to 1 p.m., usually plays a mix of parody songs, classic country, and new or upcoming music. Virtually none of the station's regular playlist is used in this hour, and the station has been known to play everything from Hank Williams, Sr. to Hank Williams III. Comedy songs by artists such as Rodney Carrington and Cledus T. Judd have been prominently featured during the Cafe.
[edit] Smitty
Mike "Smitty" Smith, in addition to hosting the Cafe, also hosts the 1-6 p.m. shift. Requests for more mainstream songs that are requested during the Country Call-in Cafe are usually played during the 1:00 hour as "leftovers," while classics that they cannot fit into the regular show are postponed and played at the 3:00 hour, also as "leftovers." In addition, Smith's son, Ron, frequently makes appearances on the show, and the station is applying to the Guinness Book of World Records to have Ron Smith recognized as the world's youngest disc jockey.
[edit] Jesse Garon
Jesse Garon hosts from 6 p.m. to midnight. Garon, a former homeless teenager who ended up in Olean, ended up getting a job with WPIG and is now one of the station's most popular hosts, in addition to a side job as a DJ.
Features heard on Garon's Sizzlin' Country Nights:
-
- 6:10-6:40 PM "Top 6 at 6" Daily countdown, based upon listener requests to the station.
- 6-9 PM "Spotlight Artist" An artist is featured with several songs throughout the night scattered throughout the playlist. Also during this time period, requests are taken, but in contrast to the Country Call-in Cafe, the songs played during this request period are usually more mainstream hits.
- 7:15 PM "Sizzle or Fizzle" A brand new song (never played before on the station) is played and callers vote on whether or not they like the song. Results announced at 7:50pm.
- Wednesdays, 8-9 PM All new and upcoming music
[edit] Miscellaneous
- 12 M-6 AM After Midnite with Blair Garner
- Weather is provided by Wayne Mahar of WSTM in Syracuse, New York and national news is provided by ABC News Radio.
[edit] Weekend Programs
- Saturdays, 8-10 AM: Z-Max Racing Country from the Performance Racing Network
- Saturdays, 10 AM-3 PM: A live remote from one of the weekday hosts
- Saturdays, 7 PM-12 M: Country Gold Saturday Night from Westwood One
- Sundays, 6:45 AM Public affairs
- Sundays, 7-8 AM: Country Gospel Music Hour
- Sundays, 8-10 AM: The Country Oldies Show with Steve Warren
- Sundays, 10 AM-12 N: NASCAR USA from the Motor Racing Network
- Sundays, 12 N-7 PM: Live sporting events
Interns and part-time weekend jocks (Bethany, Nick Purcio [formerly known as morning host "Christopher Neggs"]and Chrissy) fill in during any open timeslots. The station only runs on autopilot on Sunday nights.
[edit] Sports programming
- WPIG is the flagship station of the St. Bonaventure men's basketball team.
- Buffalo Bills of the NFL
- NASCAR Nextel Cup Series
[edit] Special Programming
- On every August 16, Jesse Garon, whose name is borrowed from the name of Elvis Presley's twin brother, plays a tribute to Elvis to commemorate the anniversary of his death. The tribute can range from a few songs to a six-hour special; the full six hour special airs every five years, and has thus far aired on the 25th and 30th anniversary of Presley's death.
- WPIG airs A WPIG Country Christmas, an automated selection of country-themed Christmas music, throughout Christmas Eve through Christmas Day.
[edit] Discontinued programming and hosts
- WPIG has no nationally syndicated weekend countdown show. Their last countdown show, The Foxworthy Countdown, was dropped by the station on June 30, 2004.
- Earl Pitts Uhmerikun was dropped by WPIG in 1999.
- Southern Fried Friday, a local program dedicated to Southern rock, was discontinued sometime after 2000 and replaced by the Foxworthy Countdown.
- The 80s at 8, a weekly hourlong feature (usually airing Thursday night) featuring all 80s country. Discontinued 2006.
- Smokin' Joe Bacon and Peggy Banks - former co-hosts of the Morning Pigpen in the 1990s.
- Kerry Monroe - Left for WBKX in 2007.
- Michael Hamm, former afternoons drive host-currently working as mid-days host and PD at nearby WMXO.
- Mindy Cunningham, former co-host of the Morning Pigpen and later host of Midday Mayhem show. Left station in June 2008. Status currently unknown.
[edit] Audience
WPIG's 93,000 watts of power allows the station to boom its signal through Erie, Chautauqua, Cattaraugus, Allegany, and Wyoming Counties in New York, as well as McKean and Potter Counties in Pennsylvania.
The station regularly registers by far the top Arbitron ratings in the Olean market.
WPIG does not stream its programming on the Internet at this time.
[edit] Other Uses
- An entirely fictional "WPIG" radio station made several appearances on the CBS sitcom WKRP in Cincinnati, where it was the hated cross-town rival of the titular station. The punchline was that the air staff at WPIG Cincinnati was "a bunch of swine."
- A different fictional "WPIG" - WPIG Aurora - appeared in the 1993 motion picture Wayne's World 2. The station featured two memorable characters in the form of "Handsome Dan" and "Mr. Scream," portrayed by Harry Shearer and Ted McGinley respectively.
- See also KPIG.
[edit] External links
- WPIG Official Web site
- Query the FCC's FM station database for WPIG
- Radio Locator information on WPIG
