Amid an extended drop in ratings, WPDH was relaunched as a mainstream rock station over Labor Day Weekend 2003. Rob Dyson sold the Crystal Radio Group to Aurora Communications in 2001 which, in turn was bought out by Cumulus Media in 2002. It was the regular #2 to WSPK's #1 by the turn of the 21st Century. WPDH's ratings went through some instability in the early years as classic rock. WPDH spent the latter part of 1994 and early 1995 evolving to Classic Rock while WKOJ flipped to alternative rock WRRV in April 1995. With this purchase came an opportunity to both solve the new rock dilemma and to strengthen WPDH by owning its only direct competition. In 1994, WPDH owners Crystal Radio Group (the Dyson family spinoff headed by Rob Dyson) purchased Middletown-based 92.7 WKOJ and 1340 WALL from Orange & Rockland Utilities. The station remained successful and was a solid #1 in the market in the early 1980s, and by the 1990s was alternating the #1 spot in the market with 104.7 WSPK's Top 40 sound. The station added heavy metal into the playlist as well as early modern rock and European imports. The splintering of rock in the 1980s and early 1990s had varying effects on WPDH. The format evolved through the 1980s as the station gradually tightened its playlist to the top selling albums of the day, and the last couple of decades of rock. Then, it added DJs, playing progressive rock along with an occasional jazz track. At the outset, it was automated, with no disc jockeys. Through its decades in rock radio, there have been several variations of WPDH's format. In 1976 WPDH abandoned country for rock music, and this format remains to this day. The leading rock stations from New York City, 95.5 WPLJ and 102.7 WNEW-FM, were difficult to receive so far from Manhattan. With the poor ratings playing country music, management saw a hole for an album-oriented rock (AOR) station in the Hudson Valley.
WPDH was beaten by New York City signal WHN after that station flipped to country. At the time, only some people owned FM receivers and almost no car radios were equipped for FM radio.
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It upgraded to a full Class B signal and added FM stereo capabilities in the process.Īt the end of these upgrades, it relaunched as country music formatted WPDH. The transmitter moved from a site in Milton (now used by WVKR) to the current Illinois Mountain site. In 1972, WEOK AM and FM were sold to the Dyson family (also owners of Dyson Racing) and with the sale came key changes to the FM side. By day, WPDH simulcast the AM's middle of the road (MOR) format, with block programming airing between the AM's sign off and 10:00 p.m. The main purpose of the station at the outset was to provide Muzak programming to area offices and stores via its subcarrier. It was the sister station to WEOK 1390 AM and was Poughkeepsie's second FM station after WKIP-FM (today's WSPK). In 1962, the station signed on as WEOK-FM.
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