WDCD (AM)

[2] On July 10, 2013, The NEW 1540 AM was announced with a news/talk format including Laura Ingraham, Bob Dutko, Neil Boron, Jerry Doyle and Andrea Tantaros.

In 1953, the station gained the ABC Radio affiliation from exiting WXKW, and primarily programmed a mix of popular and country music along with news & sports.

It was during this period that 1540 increased power to 50,000 watts full-time to combat nighttime interference from co-channel stations KXEL in Waterloo, Iowa and ZNS-1 in Nassau, Bahamas (although the official explanation to the Federal Communications Commission [FCC] was the "poor ground conductivity" at the transmitter site).

On final approach, while still miles west of the airport, the Convair descended too low, and, at an altitude of 308 feet (94 m), struck two of the set of three 365 foot (111 m)-tall radio masts arrayed northeast to southwest.

By 1957, in an effort to become more competitive with the more established stations in the region, a new "top 40" format was introduced to Capital District listeners.

The popular rock-and-roll format had a loyal following among listeners both locally, and throughout the northeastern United States, as well as a good portion of eastern and Maritime Canada.

By the early 1960s, WTRY had switched to top 40 music programming full-time, and a ratings war of sorts began between the two stations that lasted well into the 1970s.

In 1960, the studios were moved to the more prominent 1820 Central Avenue location in Colonie, where they remained until a fire severely damaged the interior of the building in 1964.

On January 9, 2000, the company brought its secular "Legends" adult standards music format to the station, along with the classic WPTR call letters and Boom Boom Brannigan as morning host; WDCD's religious programming was continued at 96.7 FM, which had simulcast AM 1540 since May 1996.

The "Legends" format was a ratings success (putting WPTR back in the top 10 for the first time in 15 years), but a financial pitfall.

Several months later, WPTR at the 96.7 FM frequency dropped "Legends" for contemporary Christian music, but flipped to oldies in 2011 due to increased competition from K-LOVE and Air 1, and later began simulcasting WDCD again the same year.