In 1976, 107.3 FM belonged to WAJB, which was a beautiful music station with studios at the Tiger Point Country Club in Gulf Breeze, until it was purchased by Colonial Broadcasting in 1979. The format was changed to country music along with new call letters, WOWW to become known as "WOW 107", moving its studios to Davis Highway in Pensacola.
As the 1980s progressed, "WOW 107" would rise up to become a country music power house, overthrowing the heritage country station in the market, WXBM-FM, and winning several Billboard Magazine's Station of the Year (small market) awards. It was also known for its full-time News department, winner of multiple AP news awards.
As the 1980s ended, so did WOW 107's run of being a ratings king, now owned by Sun Media Group. The 1990s saw several re-imaging attempts, including "The New WOW 107.3" and "107 Thunder Country", until its demise as a country station in 1995 when it became "New Rock One Zero Seven", flipping to alternative rock. Riding the popularity wave of mid-1990s alternative music, WOWW debuted at #1 in Arbitron's Persons 18-34, where it remained until the purchase and format flip by Paxson. "New Rock 107" staff included Steve Williams as Operations Manager/Morning Show host, Program Director/Midday host Joel Sampson, Music Director/Afternoon host LaLaine, and evening host Suzy Boe, among others.
In 1996, the station was purchased by Southern Broadcasting, which owned New Rock 107's only competition, WTKX, "TK101". Two months later, both were purchased by Paxson Communications. After the Paxson purchase, TK101, being a heritage rock station since the mid-1970s, brought over WOWW's PD Joel Sampson, retained Midday personality Mark "the Shark" Dyba and added a majority of WOWW air staff and re-imaged itself as "The Rock Station", dropping the moniker "The New Rock Alternative", leaving WOWW without an airstaff or a format.
After stunting for two days playing "Macarena" by Los del Rio non-stop, WOWW changed formats to oldies from the 1950s and 1960s, and changed its call letters to WYCL (which stood for "Way Cool"). As time went on, they phased out the 1950s music to include more 1970s songs.
A billboard in downtown Pensacola advertising the change in format.
Then, in late 2004, the station's owner, now iHeartMedia, Inc. (formerly Clear Channel Communications), switched the format to "My 107.3", and played 1970s and 1980s music. However, the "My 70s, My 80s" positioner was discontinued and the station used "My Variety" as its main positioner, in order to include a slightly wider variety of music. The playlist remained mostly 1970s and early 1980s, with a fair amount of 1960s and other 1980s songs, making it a classic hits format.
For three years after the September 11, 2001 attacks, the station played breaking news bulletins every hour on top of the hour (first provided by ABC News, then by Clear Channel Worldwide News), as well as "The Star-Spangled Banner" at the start and close of each workday.
Kiss FM logo, 2015-2017
In February 2010, the station ceased the "My 107.3" format and began simulcasting sister stationWMXC. On February 26, 2010, at 8:00a.m., WYCL flipped to rhythmic adult contemporary format, branded as "107.3 The Groove". The first song on The Groove was "Into the Groove" by Madonna. On March 5, 2010, WYCL changed their call letters to WRGV to go with "The Groove" branding. After a year as a Rhythmic AC, WRGV evolved to Rhythmic Top 40 in April 2011. On September 2, 2011, WRGV changed their format to Top 40 (CHR), branded as "107.3 Hit Music Now". It featured the syndicated Elvis Duran Morning Show and former WABB staffers Reid and Matt McCoy. On July 20, 2015, WRGV rebranded as "107.3 Kiss FM".[1]
WGVX, WLUP and WWWM-FM are three separate radio stations that make up a trimulcast serving the Minneapolis-St. Paul radio market. The three stations are owned by Cumulus Media, along with sister stations KQRS-FM and KXXR. The three stations broadcast a soft adult contemporary radio format, with the moniker "Love 105."
WSBB-FM is a commercial radio station licensed to Doraville, Georgia, and serving Metro Atlanta. It is owned by the Cox Media Group. WSBB-FM is simulcast with WSB, both airing a news/talk radio format. On the air, the stations are referred to as "95.5 WSB," only occasionally mentioning the FM station's call sign or the AM station's frequency.
WBZY – branded Z105.7 – is a commercial radio station licensed to Canton, Georgia, broadcasting a Spanish CHR format. Owned by iHeartMedia, WBZY serves the Atlanta metropolitan area. The WBZY studios are located in Atlanta, while the station transmitter resides in the nearby suburb of Marietta. Besides a standard analog transmission, WBZY broadcasts over two HD Radio channels, and is available online via iHeartRadio. WBZY also repeats over the 32.25 digital subchannel of Atlanta television station WANN-CD and previously did so on a number of occasions with sister station WBZW, the most recent lasting until November 5, 2021.
WFAN-FM, is a commercial radio station licensed to New York, New York. Owned by Audacy, Inc. the station simulcasts a sports radio format known as "Sports Radio 66 AM and 101.9 FM", or "The FAN", along with co-owned WFAN 660 AM. Its studios are in the Audacy facility in the Hudson Square neighborhood of Lower Manhattan.
KQKS is a Rhythmic Top 40 radio station, licensed to Lakewood, Colorado. It is owned by Audacy, Inc. and serves the Denver-Boulder metropolitan area. KQKS's current slogan is #1 For Today's Hottest Music, referring to a musical mix of R&B, hip hop and Rhythmic Pop hits.
KKSS is a commercial radio station licensed to Santa Fe, New Mexico, and broadcasting to the Santa Fe and Albuquerque metropolitan area. KKSS airs an urban-leaning rhythmic contemporary radio format branded as "Kiss 97.3". Owned by American General Media, its radio studios and offices are in Northeast Albuquerque.
WLLZ is a commercial FM radio station licensed to Detroit, Michigan. It is owned by iHeartMedia and it broadcasts a classic rock radio format, focusing mostly on active rock titles from the 1980s and 1990s. Its studios are in the Detroit suburb of Farmington Hills on Halsted Road.
KLIF-FM is a commercial radio station licensed to Haltom City, Texas, and serving the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. The station is owned by Cumulus Media, and the broadcast license is held by Radio License Holding SRC LLC. It broadcasts a hot adult contemporary radio format, mainly focusing on hits from the 1990s and 2000s while also playing some songs from the 1980s, 2010s and today. The studios and offices are in the Victory Park district in Dallas just north of downtown.
KTHT is a commercial radio station licensed to Cleveland, Texas, and serves the northern section of Greater Houston. The station airs a classic country radio format and is owned by Cox Radio, along with KGLK, KHPT and KKBQ. The studios and offices are in 3 Post Oak Central in the Uptown Houston district.
WMIA-FM is a hot adult contemporary radio station that is licensed to Miami Beach, Florida. The station is owned and operated by iHeartMedia. Its studios are located in Miramar, and the transmitter site is in Miami Gardens.
WKAZ-FM is a radio station licensed to Miami, West Virginia. Owned by West Virginia Radio Corporation, it broadcasts a country music format serving the Charleston area.
KDHT is a commercial FM radio station in Denver, Colorado. KDHT broadcasts a top 40 format branded as "Hits 95.7", and is owned by iHeartMedia. The station has studios and offices on South Monaco Street in the Denver Tech Center, while the transmitter site is atop Lookout Mountain in Golden.
KVBH is a commercial radio station in San Antonio, Texas. The station is owned by Univision and it airs a rhythmic adult contemporary radio format. Studios and offices are located on Network Boulevard in Northwest San Antonio. The transmitter site is in Elmendorf, on Elmendorf-Lavonia Road.
KKFR is a commercial radio station that is licensed to Mayer, Arizona, and serves the Phoenix metropolitan area. The station is owned and operated by Riviera Broadcast Group and airs a rhythmic contemporary radio format. KKFR broadcasts with an effective radiated power of 41 kW. The station's studios are located on 7th Street in Midtown Phoenix and its transmitter is located in Crown King, Arizona, producing a rimshot signal from 50 miles (80 km) northwest of Phoenix. KKFR is the flagship station of the nationally syndicated program Dana Cortez Show.
WPOI - branded as Hot 101.5 - is an FM radio station in Tampa, Florida but is licensed to St. Petersburg. Owned by Cox Radio, the station airs a Top 40/CHR format. The studios are located in St. Petersburg, and the transmitter site is in Riverview. With a good radio, it can be heard in Orlando.
The year 1998 in radio involved some significant events.
The year 1993 in radio involved some significant events.
The year 1992 in radio involved some significant events.
WYOH – branded as Real Talk 1540 WYOH on weekdays and La Nueva Mia 1540 on weekends – is a commercial daytime-only radio station licensed to serve Niles, Ohio. Owned by Sagittarius Communications, LLC., the station covers the Youngstown metropolitan area. WYOH broadcasts a conservative talk format on weekdays and tropical music on weekends. The WYOH studios and transmitter are both located in Mineral Ridge; in addition to a standard analog transmission, WYOH is also available online.
KRBQ is a classic hip hop radio station in San Francisco, California and owned by Audacy, Inc. The station transmits its signal from Mount Beacon atop the Marin Headlands above Sausalito, California, while studios are located in the KPIX-TV building in the North Beach district of San Francisco.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
