WKQL (103.3 FM) is a

classic hits Classic hits is a radio format which generally includes songs from the top 40 music charts from the late 1960s to the early 2000s, with music from the 1980s serving as the core of the format. Music that was popularized by MTV in the early 1980 ...

formatted

radio station Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radi ...

. The station is licensed to

Brookville, Pennsylvania Brookville is a borough in Jefferson County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, northeast of Pittsburgh. As of the 2010 census, the population was 3,933. Founded in 1830, it is the county seat of Jefferson County History The area was initially ...

, where it maintains its transmitter facility, but the station's programming and administration functions originate in Punxsutawney, where it shares studio space with its affiliate stations WPXZ and WECZ. Since signing on the air for the first time in February 2000, this station had used the call letters WYTR, but had always maintained an oldies format, through ABC/SMN's

Classic Hits Classic hits is a radio format which generally includes songs from the top 40 music charts from the late 1960s to the early 2000s, with music from the 1980s serving as the core of the format. Music that was popularized by MTV in the early 1980 ...

(formerly "Oldies Radio") music format. At the time of its initial sign on, the station had very briefly used the call letters WBEU. Another set of call letters, WBKV (for Brookville), were proposed but never used. WKQL "Kool 103.3" serves Clarion, Clearfield, Elk,

Forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

, Jefferson, and

Cambria Cambria is a name for Wales, being the Latinised form of the Welsh name for the country, . The term was not in use during the Roman period (when Wales had not come into existence as a distinct entity). It emerged later, in the medieval period, ...

counties. The station is owned and operated by Renda Radio, Inc. The station added a local website (oldiesradioonline.com is ABC/SMN's site) http://www.kool1033fm.com/ in September 2007.

History

The groundwork for WKQL was laid in the mid 1990s, when Anthony F. Renda, president of Renda Broadcasting Corporation, wanted to put a new radio station on the air that would also, in part, serve his hometown of

Indiana, Pennsylvania Indiana is a borough in and the county seat of Indiana County in the U.S. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The population was 13,564 at the 2020 census, and since 2013 has been part of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. After being a long time par ...

. Through a series of engineering maneuvers, Renda learned that 103.3 could go on the air with a powerful regional signal if some signal shuffling among other FM's in northwest Pennsylvania occurred. This affected stations in his hometown of Indiana, his co-owned property in neighboring Punxsutawney, and competing stations in St. Mary's, Brookville, Barnesboro, Emporium, Reynoldsville and Clearfield. It took some time for the maneuvers to occur, but all of them were complete within four years. A new tower was built on a massive hillside on the outskirts of Brookville. There were many construction delays because of poor access, no electricity was available in the area, and unable to afford the station remaining silent any longer, Kool 103.3 finally went on the air in February 2000, using a gasoline-powered generator to provide electricity to the station's transmitter. The station finally had hard-wired electricity at the transmitter site less than six months later. WKQL, though licensed to Brookville, converted former newsroom studio space for its sister stations in Punxsutawney to that of a permanent live on-air studio.

WKQL today

WKQL continues as KOOL 103.3, playing classic hits, and is also the radio home of Brookville Raiders football and basketball play-by-play broadcasts. WKQL is also an affiliate of the Pittsburgh Penguins hockey network. Weekdays, the station airs newscasts featuring Shelby White.

Programming

Some of Kool 103.3's programming includes: Larry King (no relation to Larry King formerly of CNN), Maria Danza, Dwayne Dancer, Steve Gunn and Smokin' Kevan Browning.

External links

* {{coord, 41.068, N, 79.083, W, type:landmark_region:US_source:FCC, display=title

KQL KQL was a radio station, located in Los Angeles, California, that was licensed to Arno A. Kluge from October 13, 1921 to June 9, 1922. This was the first broadcasting station licensed in the state of California, and one of the first in the United S ...

Classic hits radio stations in the United States Radio stations established in 2000 Renda Broadcasting radio stations