On December 23, 1998, WPTR changed its format to Urban Contemporary, the first such station in the market, as "Jamz 96.3" with the WAJZ calls following several weeks later. For its first half-decade, the station maintained very good numbers, but increased competition from rivals WVCR-FM (Siena College) and rhythmic-leaning WKKF forced the station to reevaluate its stance. In September 2005, it started shifting its direction towards a Rhythmic Contemporary approach (similar to WPKF in Poughkeepsie) due to the station not having competitors when they were an urban station. Since 2011, the station has returned to an Urban Contemporary direction, with most dance product shifting to sister station WFLY; however, the station is still reported as a Rhythmic Contemporary by Mediabase and Nielsen BDS.