SYRACUSE -- Another sign that helps confirm the still-unconfirmed buzz that Clear Channel is transitioning 106.9FM from the urban-AC "Power" to a simulcast of sister station NewsRadio 570 WSYR. The FCC's call sign database shows an application was filed yesterday to bring the WSYR-FM calls back to Syracuse.
Longtime area residents might remember when WSYR-FM was the call sign for what's now WYYY. Since then, Clear Channel moved the calls to an AC-formatted station in Florida. That station is now owned by the "Aloha Stations Trust," the company Clear Channel created to absorb stations that would have otherwise put the company over FCC ownership limits when it was acquired by a private equity firm in 2008.
If you visit the FCC Call Sign Query system and type in "WSYR" you'll see the existing WSYR (in Syracuse, registered by CC Licenses), WSYR-FM (in Gifford, FL, registered by Aloha), and WSYR-TV (in Syracuse, registered by Newport Television). At the bottom of the page, it says CC Licenses has filed an application on 12/27/10 for WSYR-FM.
Conversely, if you query for "WPHR" you'll see the existing WPHR (106.9 in Syracuse), with an application filed on 12/27/10 by Aloha to take over the call sign.