WKSL (97.9 FM) is a

commercial radio Commercial broadcasting (also called private broadcasting) is the broadcasting of television programs and radio programming by privately owned corporate media, as opposed to state sponsorship, for example. It was the United States' first model ...

station licensed to Neptune Beach, Florida, and serving the

Jacksonville metropolitan area The Jacksonville Metropolitan Area, also called the First Coast, Metro Jacksonville, or Northeast Florida, is the metropolitan area centered on the principal city of Jacksonville, Florida and including the First Coast of North Florida. As of th ...

. The station is owned and operated by iHeartMedia, Inc. WKSL airs a

contemporary hit radio Contemporary hit radio (CHR, also known as contemporary hits, hit list, current hits, hit music, top 40, or pop radio) is a radio format common in many countries that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by the Top ...

format. WKSL carries two weekday syndicated programs, with ''

Elvis Duran and the Morning Show ''Elvis Duran and the Morning Show'' (formerly known as ''The Z Morning Zoo'') is an American syndicated weekday morning radio program hosted by Elvis Duran. The show originates from the studios of Newark-licensed WHTZ in New York City, a To ...

'' from

WHTZ WHTZ (100.3 FM) is a commercial contemporary hit radio station licensed to Newark, New Jersey, and broadcasting to the New York metropolitan area. It is owned by iHeartMedia. WHTZ is the flagship station for ''Elvis Duran and the Morning Show' ...

New York City, and in middays, WKSL carries ''

On Air with Ryan Seacrest ''On Air with Ryan Seacrest'' is a weekday radio syndication, syndicated radio program hosted by Ryan Seacrest. It was launched in 2004 as a drive time show at the same time on Los Angeles contemporary hit radio, Top 40 station 102.7 KIIS-FM a ...

'' based at

KIIS-FM KIIS-FM (102.7 FM broadcasting, FM, "102.7 KIIS FM") is a commercial radio station licensed to Los Angeles, California, United States, and broadcasts to the Greater Los Angeles area. The station airs a contemporary hit radio format. Owned by i ...

Los Angeles. WKSL's studios and offices are located on Belfort Parkway in Jacksonville's Southside neighborhood. Its

transmitter In electronics and telecommunications, a radio transmitter or just transmitter (often abbreviated as XMTR or TX in technical documents) is an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna (radio), antenna with the purpose of sig ...

is in the Arlington neighborhood, on Hogan Road near Pottsburg Creek. WKSL broadcasts in the

HD Radio HD Radio (HDR) is a trademark for in-band on-channel (IBOC) digital radio broadcast technology. HD radio generally simulcast, simulcasts an existing analog radio station in digital format with less noise and with additional text information. HD R ...

hybrid format. The HD2 subchannel, which is simulcast on sister station WFXJ, carries a

sports talk Sports radio (or sports talk radio) is a radio format devoted entirely to discussion and broadcasting of sport, sporting events. A widespread programming genre that has a narrow audience appeal, sports radio is characterized by an often-low comed ...

format known as "Fox Sports Jacksonville". The HD3 subchannel, which was simulcast on FM translator W300CU (107.9 MHz), formerly carried an

urban gospel Urban/contemporary gospel, also known as urban gospel music, urban gospel pop, or just simply urban gospel, is a modern subgenre of gospel music. Although the style developed gradually, early forms are generally dated to the 1970s, and the genr ...

format known as "Praise 107.9". The HD3 subchannel has since been turned off.

History

Early history

The station was originally licensed to

St. Augustine, Florida St. Augustine ( ; ) is a city in and the county seat of St. Johns County, Florida, United States. Located 40 miles (64 km) south of downtown Jacksonville, the city is on the Atlantic coast of northeastern Florida. Founded in 1565 by Spani ...

as WFOY-FM on 97.7 MHz, simulcasting

WFOY WFOY (1240 AM broadcasting, AM) is a radio station broadcasting a News/talk radio format, format. Licensed to St. Augustine, Florida, United States, the station is currently owned by Local Matters Broadcasting. The station is repeated in St. Aug ...

. 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 In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign (also known as a call name or call letters—and historically as a call signal—or abbreviated as a call) is a unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be formally as ...

what is now WJRR in Orlando) with an

oldies Oldies is a term for musical genres such as pop music, rock and roll, doo-wop, surf music from the second half of the 20th century, specifically from around the mid-1950s to the 1980s, as well as for a radio format playing this music. Since 2 ...

format. On February 2, 1995, it flipped to

smooth jazz Smooth jazz is commercially oriented crossover jazz music. Although often described as a "genre", it is a debatable and highly controversial subject in jazz music circles. As a radio format, however, smooth jazz radio became the successor to e ...

as WFSJ-FM.

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". 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 music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

WGNE-FM WGNE-FM (99.9 Hertz, MHz) is a commercial radio, commercial radio station city of license, licensed to Middleburg, Florida, and serving the Jacksonville metropolitan area. It is owned by Renda Media and airs a country music radio format as "99.9 ...

in 2000, and was moved into the Jacksonville market by Renda Broadcasting in May 2005. It is now "99.9 Gator Country", competing with WKSL's sister station,

WQIK-FM WQIK-FM (99.1 MHz) is a commercial radio station in Jacksonville, Florida. The station is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc., and airs a country radio format. Overnight, WQIK carries the syndicated '' CMA After Midnite Show with Cody Alan'' and the ' ...

Radio Now 97.9

On July 1, 2011, at Noon, after playing " Just Dance" by

Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta (born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known for her image reinventions and versatility across the entertainment industry, she is an influ ...

featuring

Colby O'Donis Colby O'Donis Colón (; born March 14, 1989) is an American singer. He is best known for his guest appearance on Lady Gaga's 2008 single "Just Dance (song), Just Dance", which peaked atop the Billboard Hot 100, ''Billboard'' Hot 100, spent over ...

, 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 NSYNC ( ; also stylized as *NSYNC or N Sync) was an American vocal group and pop boy band formed by Chris Kirkpatrick in Orlando, Florida, in 1995 and launched in Germany by BMG Ariola Munich. The group consists of Kirkpatrick, JC Chasez, ...

, WFKS relaunched as "Radio NOW 97-9", while tweaking its format to a more mainstream CHR. The first song on "Radio NOW" was "

Kryptonite Kryptonite is a fictional material that appears primarily in Superman stories published by DC Comics. In its best-known form, it is a green, crystalline material originating from Superman's home world of Krypton (comics), Krypton that emits a u ...

" by

3 Doors Down 3 Doors Down is an American Rock music, rock band from Escatawpa, Mississippi that formed in 1996. The band's music is described as post-grunge, alternative rock, and hard rock. The band's 2000 debut single "Kryptonite (3 Doors Down song), Kr ...

. On July 14, WFKS changed its call letters to WNWW to go with the "Radio NOW" branding.

Return to "KISS FM"

On November 1, 2013, after playing "

We Are Young "We Are Young" is a song recorded by American pop rock band Fun, featuring American singer Janelle Monáe. It is the third track on the group's second studio album, '' Some Nights'' (2012). The song was released on September 20, 2011, as th ...

" by Fun featuring

Janelle Monáe Janelle Monáe Robinson ( ; born December 1, 1985) is an American singer, songwriter, rapper and actress. She has received ten Grammy Award nominations, and is the recipient of a Screen Actors Guild Award and a Children's and Family Emmy Award. ...

, WNWW returned to the "Kiss" branding as "97-9 KISS FM", relaunching with a similar "Flashback Weekend" to the one that signed off "Kiss" two years prior. For a short time it kept the WNWW call letters. On August 1, 2014, WNWW changed call letters to WKSL which were originally used on sister station WNCB-FM in Raleigh, North Carolina.

References

External links

* * * {{coord, 30.281, N, 81.570, W, type:landmark_region:US_source:FCC, display=title 1965 establishments in Florida Contemporary hit radio stations in the United States IHeartMedia radio stations Radio stations established in 1965 KSL