As an artist, you want to keep up to date with all the latest hits and news to keep your work fresh and get a better understanding of your fanbase. At 106.7 Lite FM live, you can listen to the hottest new adult contemporary tracks, news and Christmas tunes. Plus the website offers podcasts/ celebrity gossip and more!
Let’s learn more about the station!
What Is 106.7 Lite FM?
106.7 FM Lite or WLTW 106.7 Lite FM is a New York based soft adult contemporary radio show servicing the greater Metropolitan area. The station is owned by iHeartMedia. 106.7 Lite FM live is one of the most listened to radio shows in the area and online. Shows presented by Helen Little and Rich Kaminski bringing in the most listeners during the day. One of the station’s biggest pulls is Christmas time where the station switches its songs for the holiday season.
The origins of 106.7 Lite FM can be traced all the way back to the early 60s. On the 1st of January, 1961 106.7 Lite FM, then known as WRVR, broadcasted live for the very first time. When the station first went live it primarily played classical and jazz music. WLTW was originally owned by the Riverside Church in Manhattan. The station also used to include some religious programming intertwined with news and public affairs.
Despite a very dedicated audience, 106.7 Lite FM live had very low ratings, so the managers decided to sell the station. This decision was met with a lot of contention as the new owners of the station wanted to change the format of 106.7 FM to align more with the rock format of WRVR’s sister station, 104.3 FM. A not-for-profit group was even formed to try and block 106.7 Lite FM then-owner, Starr Broadcasting, from making the change. The group, titled the WNCN Listeners Guild, were unsuccessful in their efforts, despite entering partnerships to strengthen their cause.
By the late 70s, WNCN had fallen into severe financial difficulty. Finally, Sonderling Broadcasting bought 106.7 from Riverside Church for roughly $2 million, with the intention of adapting its format to attract more listeners. After a wave of numerous protests, Sonderling decided to keep the jazz format of the station.
106.7: The 70’s – 90’s
There was little change made to the format of 106.7 FM during the early 70s. The only change was adapting “smooth” jazz programming. The drastic change came when Viacom purchased the entire Sonderlining Chain in 1978. Not only were the stations’ call letters changed to WKHK, 106.7 was also transformed into a country music radio station. This format change, which happened overnight, once again brought in many protests from jazz fans in New York. The change was intended to boost ratings, however, the change actually hurt WKHK’s ratings. 106.7 FM was unable to compete against the already popular country radio station WHN.
In 1984 106.7 adapted a MOR programming format. New call letters were also added to the station, WLTW along with a new on-air branding “Lite FM”. WLTW started trialling an easy- listening station, many referring to the programming as “elevator music”. The station played music from artists such as Barbra Streisand, Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett and Andy Williams. Softer music was also played from artists such as Elton John, The Beatles and Elvis Presley. By the late 80’s, WLTW’s ratings were one of the highest in New York and the additions of tracks by artists such as The Doobie Brothers and Whitney Houston only boosted their ratings.
WLTW slowly adapted a mainstream adult contemporary format and eventually killed off the soft contemporary adult programming. In 1997 106.7 Lite FM’s owner, Viacom, was bought by Clear Channel Communications (which later became iHeartMedia). This merge brought little change to the format of WLTW, however more up-tempo, pop songs were added into the 106.7 Lite playlist.
2000’s
106.7 Lite FM live experienced a major decline in listenership which led to a decline in profits. In a bid to cut costs, Clear Channel got rid of Bill Buchner who presented the morning show and J.J. Kennedy who was an evening presenter – both were veterans of the 106.7 Lite FM with many years of experience. Hosts Karen Carson (102.7) and Christine Nagy were brought on board as replacements and in the hopes of increasing ratings.
You can also catch Karen Carson (102.7) on NEW 102.7!
The Delilah show, hosted by famed radio personality, Delilah Rene went on air for the first time on November 20, 2006. This was another tactic introduced to boost the show’s ratings as the Delilah show was very popular before 106.7 Lite FM picked it up, but it was only heard in outer areas of New York. The Delilah show has about 8 million listeners weekly.
2007 brought a massive change for the call name and branding of 106.7 WLTW. The “Lite” was removed from the station’s name as they were concerned this branding was related to much older listeners. This change did little to attract a younger demographic and increased competition from stations such as Fresh 102.7. This made it even harder for 106.7 to gain younger listeners. Towards the end of 2007, the “Lite FM” was restored to the station’s branding.
Recently
Further cost-cutting actions were taken in the following years by the station owners which resulted in axing popular shows and radio presenters such as Valerie Smaldone and Al “Bernie” Berstein. Clear Channel got rid of the station’s long-standing Program Director Jim Ryan.
To this day, 106.7 Lite FM Lite is still a mainstream radio station in New York and still is considered one of the best stations in the New York area. According to the Nielsen Audio numbers, in 2012, 106.7 Lite finished with an almost 8% share. This was despite facing very fierce competition from two very similar radio stations, WCBS-FM and WHTZ-FM.
The station still has ties to the Riverside Church, the Church the station originally belonged to. Every Sunday morning at 5 AM 106.7 broadcasts a recorded sermon.
106.7 Lite FM Schedule
Monday-Friday mornings begin with Cubby and Christine’s morning show at 5.30 am – 9.30 am. Other hosts during the week include; Delilah, Helen Little, Victor Sosa and Rich Kaminski. On the weekends you have Marc Coppola, The Ellen K Weekend Show, Nina Del Rio, Joe Davis and more!
106.7 FM Holiday Programming
The ratings for 106.7 Lite FM radio peak during the last few months of the year. The Thanksgiving – Christmas period is an important time as the show’s usual programming is swapped in for Christmas music. During the run-up to Christmas and Christmas day, 106.7 FM plays purely Christmas music. The format of the station is also slightly changed up to a “feel-good” style of radio.
106.7 FM has dominated the market share in terms of radio Christmas programming. Listeners tune in live as well as online. The Long Island-based version of 106.7 FM, WALK-FM, also adopts a similar format of holiday programming from thanksgiving evening. During the holiday period of 2008, WLTW saw it’s highest number of listeners ever, drawing in almost a third of all New York Radio listeners.
106.7 Contests
The station regularly holds contests for listeners and viewers. This includes free tickets to the 2020 iHeartRadio Music Festival Viewing Party, free book giveaways. Plus free food and drinks for various restaurants such as ‘Dunkin’ Donuts’. Another really exciting competition is that listeners could be within a chance of winning a 1-2-1 call with celebrities such as Keith Urban. The contest gets updated regularly so there’s always something exciting to win!
Summary WLTW 106.7 Lite FM
Despite radio seeming like a dying breed to many with the rise in music streaming services like Spotify, Tidal and YouTube music, WLTW 106.7 Lite FM New York still has millions of listeners weekly. Despite its many changes throughout the decades, the station still includes faith programming. As well as a contemporary playlist heard on many stations throughout the US. WLTW 106.7 FM is a great radio show to tune into, especially for those in the New York area. Not only does the radio show feature a carefully curated list of new releases and classic hits, but it also provides listeners with weather, traffic and local, national and international news. The station is a great place for aspiring artists as it can help musicians stay updated with the local music trends and tastes.
