WLYK

WLYK (102.7 FM, ''KiSS 102.7'') is a radio station licensed to Cape Vincent, New York. Owned by Border International Broadcasting and operated by Rogers Radio, a division of Canadian broadcaster Rogers Sports & Media, it primarily targets the larger neighboring Canadian radio market of Kingston, Ontario, where Rogers owns CKXC-FM and CIKR-FM. It is a member of Nielsen BDS' Canadian Border Stations Airplay panel.

WLYK has an effective radiated power (ERP) of 3,000 watts. The transmitter is on Route 6 at Stone Quarry Road in Cape Vincent, near the St. Lawrence River and Lake Ontario.

History

AC and Country

On January 23, 1989, the station signed on as WKGG. It simulcast the adult contemporary format heard on 103.3 WTOJ in Watertown, but with commercials aimed at listeners in Kingston. In late 1993, the station went silent.

In 1997, Garry MC Colman returned the station to the air. Its call sign was WBDR and it aired a contemporary hit radio (CHR) format as ''The Border''. In late 1997, 102.7 started simulcasting on 106.7 to better serve Watertown. After the split of the "Border" simulcast in August 2006, it flipped to country after Kingston station CFMK-FM changed formats to adult hits, with 106.7 continuing the "Border" format. It began calling itself ''KIX-FM'', using the call letters WKXX.

The Lake and Kiss

In December 2007, the station began stunting with all-Christmas music. This lasted until January 2, 2008, when the station switched to adult standards. The "KIX-FM" country format moved to CKXC-FM at the same time.

On February 26, 2008, WBDR changed its call sign to WLYK. In September 2012, WLYK flipped back to adult contemporary, maintaining its prior branding as ''The Lake''.

On September 12, 2013, WLYK flipped back to CHR branded as ''KiSS 102.7'', adopting the "Kiss" branding used by Rogers' CHR outlets.

Ownership and management

Ownership of Border International Broadcasting is currently divided between four shareholders: U.S. citizens John Clancy and David Mance (34% each), Rogers Broadcasting (20%), and Craig Harris (12%). Harris also resides in the U.S. but currently lists his citizenship as Canadian. As an U.S.-licensed station, WLYK operates under the jurisdiction of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and not the CRTC, meaning that it is not officially subject to regulations such as Canadian content rules.

In 2004, 20% of Border International Broadcasting was acquired by a Kingston-based numbered company. The same company also secured a local marketing agreement to operate the station, which led to WLYK sharing operations with Kingston stations CIKR-FM and (later) CKXC-FM. In late November 2008, Rogers Broadcasting announced it would acquire the remainder of K-Rock 105.7 Inc., owners of CIKR and CKXC, of which it already owned 25%, pending CRTC approval; the transaction was completed the following May. Following the transaction, WLYK's website was not updated to follow the standard Rogers radio station template and referred to its operator as simply "The Radio Group"; however it did continue to feature the logos of CIKR and CKXC, and continued to list the same studio address as the Rogers stations.

Rogers ultimately also acquired the Kingston company's interest in the station in February 2011. WLYK's website has since been updated to indicate Rogers's current management of the station. In December 2022, Jon Pole and Andrew Dickson—the co-founders of My Broadcasting Corporation—reached an agreement to acquire Border International Broadcasting for $325,000.

Footnotes

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Wlyk
Lyk
Radio stations in Kingston, Ontario
Contemporary hit radio stations in the United States
Radio stations established in 1989
Rogers Communications radio stations
1989 establishments in Ontario