WKIS
WKIS (99.9 MHz) is a commercial FM radio station licensed to Boca Raton, Florida, and serving South Florida, including the Miami-Fort Lauderdale radio market. It is owned by Entercom and airs a country music radio format. The studios and offices are on NW 2nd Avenue (U.S. Route 441) in Miami.[1] The transmitter tower is off NW 210 Street in Miami Gardens, shared with WTVJ Channel 6.[2]
City | Boca Raton, Florida |
---|---|
Broadcast area | South Florida |
Frequency | 99.9 MHz (HD Radio) |
Branding | Kiss Country 99.9 |
Slogan | South Florida's Original Country |
Programming | |
Format | Country music HD2: Sports radio (WQAM) |
Ownership | |
Owner | Entercom (Entercom License, LLC) |
Sister stations | WAXY, WLYF, WMXJ, WPOW, WQAM, WSFS |
History | |
First air date | September 1, 1965 |
Former call signs | WWOG (1965–1979) WKQS-FM (1979–1986) WKQS (1986–1988) |
Call sign meaning | KISs |
Technical information | |
Facility ID | 64001 |
Class | C0 |
ERP | 98,400 watts |
HAAT | 302.4 meters (992 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 25.993°N 80.174°W |
Links | |
Webcast | Listen live (via Radio.com) |
Website | wkis |
WKIS broadcasts in the HD Radio format.[3] Its HD2 subchannel carries the sports radio programming of co-owned AM 560 WQAM.
History
WWOG
The station first signed on the air on September 1, 1965 as WWOG.[4] It was originally a non-commercial Christian radio station, owned by Homer and Carole Akers. In the 1970s, it was a beautiful music outlet, still owned by the Akers, under the corporate name WWOG, Inc.
Country music
In 1979, WWOG was bought by the Sunshine Wireless Company. The new owner changed its call sign to WKQS-FM, and switched it to country music as "Kiss-FM." The WWOG call letters were later transferred to a new non-commercial religious radio station at 88.1, owned by the Boca Raton Christian School.[5] (That station is now WAYF, owned by the WAY-FM Network.)
In 1985, Sunshine Wireless bought AM 560 WQAM.[6] WQAM had been a long-time Top 40 station but Sunshine switched it to country music. Sunshine now had an AM country station, with personality DJs, NBC News and local information, as well as WKQS, an FM country station, with less chatter and more current country hits.
In 1988, the call sign switched to letters that better spell out "Kiss." WKQS became WKIS. WQAM left the country music format, first playing oldies and then switching to all-sports.[7] That left WKIS as Miami's only country music outlet.
Changes in ownership
The Beasley Broadcast Group bought both WKIS and WQAM in the late 1990s, but continued the country music and sports formats on each station.[8] The studios and offices were moved to Sheridan Street in Hollywood.
On October 2, 2014, Beasley announced that it would trade five radio stations in Philadelphia and Miami, including WKIS, to CBS Radio, in exchange for 14 stations located in Tampa, Charlotte and Philadelphia.[9] The swap was completed on December 1, 2014.[10]
On February 2, 2017, CBS Radio announced it would merge with Entercom.[11] The merger was approved on November 9, 2017, and was consummated on the 17th.[12][13]
References
- WKIS.radio.com/connect/contact-us
- Radio-Locator.com/WKIS
- https://hdradio.com/station_guides/widget.php?latitude=25.7616798&longitude=-80.1917902 HD Radio Guide for Miami-Ft. Lauderdale-Hollywood
- Broadcasting Yearbook 1966 page B-30
- Broadcasting Yearbook 1984 page B-50
- Broadcasting Yearbook 1986 page B-61
- Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 1995 page B-86
- Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 2000 page D-96
- CBS And Beasley Swap Philadelphia/Miami For Charlotte/Tampa from Radio Insight (October 2, 2014)
- Venta, Lance (December 1, 2014). "CBS Beasley Deal Closes". RadioInsight. Retrieved December 1, 2014.
- CBS Radio to Merge with Entercom
- "Entercom Receives FCC Approval for Merger with CBS Radio". Entercom. November 9, 2017. Retrieved November 17, 2017.
- Venta, Lance (November 17, 2017). "Entercom Completes CBS Radio Merger". Radio Insight. Retrieved November 17, 2017.
External links
- KISS 99.9 FM
- WKIS in the FCC's FM station database
- WKIS on Radio-Locator
- WKIS in Nielsen Audio's FM station database