WCTW
| City | Catskill, New York |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Upper Hudson Valley, lower Capital District |
| Branding | 98.5 The Cat |
| Frequency | 98.5 MHz |
| First air date | September 6, 1990 |
| Format | Hot AC |
| ERP | 4,700 watts |
| HAAT | 114 meters |
| Class | A |
| Facility ID | 63527 |
| Callsign meaning | W CaT W |
| Former callsigns | WQKZ (1990-92) |
| Owner |
iHeartMedia, Inc. (CC Licenses, LLC) |
| Website | 985thecat.com |
WCTW ("98.5 The Cat") is a hot adult contemporary music formatted radio station licensed to Catskill, New York, and serving Columbia and Greene counties as well as the upper Hudson Valley, the southern Capital District, and Berkshire County, Massachusetts. The station is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. and broadcasts at 4.7 kW ERP from the center tower of the three tower array used by former sister station WCKL, on Route 9-G in Greenport, NY. WCTW's signal can be received as far north as Albany and as far south as Poughkeepsie; however, the station begins to mix with co-channel WCKM and WTRY-FM (on 98.3) north of Albany.
The 98.5 frequency, the first FM station in Greene County, first came into being in early 1988 as a construction permit bearing the WCKL-FM calls as a sister to WCKL. Originally, the plans for the station were to simulcast the popular standards format of WCKL but at some point in 1990 these plans were changed for the 98.5 frequency to go on its own under the WQKZ calls. With those calls, the station would begin testing late that August and on September 6 would sign on with a CHR format as Z98.5. Being an all-local station outside of signing off overnights and some weekend programming, Z98.5 did well but given its position as a station in a small, unrated market going against established rivals such as WSPK, WBPM, and WFLY the station began to lose money.
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