WKSL

WKSL (97.9 MHz) is a commercial FM radio station licensed to Neptune Beach, Florida, broadcasting to the Jacksonville metropolitan area. The station is owned and operated by iHeartMedia, Inc. WKSL airs a Top 40 - CHR radio format, calling itself KISS FM, a brand used on many iHeart Top 40 stations around the U.S. WKSL carries two weekday syndicated programs. The day starts with Elvis Duran and the Morning Show from WHTZ New York City and in middays, WKSL carries On Air with Ryan Seacrest based at KIIS-FM Los Angeles.

For the radio station licensed to Cary, North Carolina, see WNCB.
WKSL
CityNeptune Beach, Florida
Broadcast areaJacksonville metropolitan area
Frequency97.9 MHz (HD Radio)
Branding97.9 KISS FM
SloganElvis Duran & All the Hits
Programming
FormatFM/HD1: Top 40 (CHR)
HD2: Regional Mexican "97.3 El Patrón"
HD3: Urban Gospel "Praise 107.9"
Ownership
OwneriHeartMedia
(Clear Channel Broadcasting Licenses, Inc.)
Sister stationsWQIK-FM, W247CF, WFXJ, W295AZ, WJBT, WSOL-FM, WWJK
History
First air dateAugust 1965 (as WFOY-FM at 97.7)
Former call signsWFOY-FM (1965-1984)
WUVU (1984-1992)
WSTF (1992-1995)
WFSJ-FM (1995-2000)
WFKS (2000-2011)
WNWW (2011-2014)
Former frequencies97.7 MHz (1965-1992)
Call sign meaningW KisS JacksonviLle
Technical information
Facility ID67243
ClassC2
ERP12,500 watts
HAAT302 meters (991 ft)
Translator(s)W247CF 97.3 MHz Orange Park, Florida (rebroadcasts HD2 programming)
W300CU 107.9 MHz Jacksonville (rebroadcasts HD3 programming)
Links
WebcastListen Live
WebsiteFM/HD1: 979kissfm.iheart.com
HD2: 973elpatron.iheart.com
HD3: Praise1079.com

WKSL's studios and offices are located on Central Parkway in Jacksonville's Southside neighborhood. The transmitter is in the Arlington neighborhood, on Hogan Road near Pottsburg Creek.[1]

WKSL broadcasts in the HD Radio hybrid format. The HD-2 subchannel carries a Regional Mexican music format known as "El Patrón 97.3." This feeds 250 watt FM translator W247CF at 97.3 MHz, Orange Park, Florida.[2] The HD-3 subchannel carries an urban gospel format known as "Praise 107.9." This feeds 250 watt FM translator W300CU.[3]

History

Early history

The station was originally licensed to St. Augustine, Florida as WFOY-FM on 97.7 MHz simulcasting WFOY. In 1984, Shull Broadcasting bought WFOY-AM-FM and changed the FM to Hot AC WUVU "The View 97.7." In 1992, WUVU moved to 97.9 MHz, upgrading its power to 50,000 watts. It was sold to Paxson Broadcasting, which switched WUVU to WSTF (the former call sign what is now WJRR in Orlando) with an oldies format. On February 2, 1995, it flipped to Smooth Jazz as WFSJ-FM.[4]

WFKS "97.9 KISS FM"

WFSJ switched formats to Rhythmic-leaning CHR at 3 p.m. on March 17, 2000, calling itself "97-9 KISS FM."[5] For a short time it used the call sign WGNE-FM. On July 3, 2000, the call letters changed to WFKS.

From 1994 to 2000, the WFKS call sign was used on 99.9 FM in Palatka, as CHR/Hot AC "99.9 Kiss FM." That station became country WGNE-FM in 2000 and was moved into the Jacksonville market by Renda Broadcasting in May 2005. It is now "99.9 Gator Country," competing with the current WKSL-FM's sister station, WQIK-FM.

Radio Now 97.9
Radio Now logo from 2011–2013

On July 1, 2011, at Noon, after playing "Just Dance" by Lady Gaga featuring Colby O'Donis, WFKS launched into a "Flashback Weekend", playing hits that were popular from the station's 10-year existence, including 1990s songs. The station began promoting "The End of Kiss" at 9 a.m. on the 5th. At that time, after playing "Bye Bye Bye" by *Nsync, WFKS relaunched as "Radio NOW 97-9", while tweaking its format to a more mainstream CHR. The first song on "Radio NOW" was "Kryptonite" by 3 Doors Down.[6][7] On July 14, WFKS changed the call letters to WNWW to go with the "Radio NOW" branding.

Return to "KISS FM"

On November 1, 2013, after playing "We Are Young" by Fun featuring Janelle Monáe, WNWW went back to its previous branding as "97-9 KISS FM", returning with a similar "Flashback Weekend" to the one that signed off Kiss 2 years prior.[8] The station still used the WNWW call sign for nine months. The call sign was changed to WKSL on August 1, 2014, reflecting the Kiss branding.

gollark: What?
gollark: Of Forge.
gollark: <@276054445429751808> There is probably a setting somewhere to allow you to not discard stuff. If that fails, use an older version.
gollark: I am not certain that me and hydronitrogen share a definition of "friendly warning".
gollark: <@509348730156220427> So you censor messages which go against your Grand Webicity Vision?

References
  1. Radio-Locator.com/WKSL-FM
  2. InsideRadio.com "iHeart Jacksonville Launches Regional Mexican on 97.3" May 5, 2020
  3. Radio-Locator.com/W300CU
  4. http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-RandR/1990s/1995/RR-1995-02-11.pdf
  5. http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-RandR/2000s/2000/RR-2000-03-24.pdf
  6. WFKS Flashbacks Before Kissing Goodbye
  7. WFKS Becomes Radio Now
  8. Kiss Returns in Jacksonville

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