WQYK-FM (99.5

MHz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), often described as being equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose formal expression in terms of SI base u ...

, "99.5 QYK") is a commercial

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 ...

radio station in

Tampa, Florida Tampa ( ) is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Tampa's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and t ...

. It is under ownership of

Beasley Broadcast Group Beasley Broadcast Group, Inc., based in Naples, Florida, is an owner/operator of radio stations in the United States. , the company owns 57 stations under the Beasley Media Group name. History The company was founded in 1961 by George G. Bea ...

. Its studios are in

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...

(city of license) while its transmitter is east of Palm River-Clair Mel.

History

WQYK signed on the air in May 1958 as WTCX, a 31,000-watt

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be #Relationship to other music traditions, distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical mu ...

station and the first

Tampa Bay Tampa Bay is a large natural harbor and shallow estuary connected to the Gulf of Mexico on the west-central coast of Florida, comprising Hillsborough Bay, McKay Bay, Old Tampa Bay, Middle Tampa Bay, and Lower Tampa Bay. The largest freshwater i ...

FM to introduce stereo sound. It originally broadcast from a tiny studio at the transmitter site at 5750 North Haines Road in

St. Petersburg, Florida St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 258,308, making it the List of municipalities in Florida, fifth-most populous city in Florida and the most populous city in the sta ...

and was owned by Trans-Chord company. Today, the call sign belongs to a radio station in

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

. The call letters changed to the current WQYK-FM in 1972, and began its long running country format.

Infinity Broadcasting Infinity Broadcasting Corporation was a radio company that existed from 1972 until 2005. It was founded by Michael A. Wiener and Gerald Carrus. It became associated with popular radio personalities like Howard Stern, Opie and Anthony, Don Im ...

would buy the station from Lake Huron Broadcasting in January 1987. Infinity would be renamed CBS Radio in December 2005. On October 2, 2014, CBS Radio announced that it would trade all of their radio stations located in Charlotte and Tampa (including WQYK), as well as WIP in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, to the

in exchange for 5 stations located in

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

and Philadelphia.CBS And Beasley Swap Philadelphia/Miami For Charlotte/Tampa
from Radio Insight (October 2, 2014) The swap was completed on December 1, 2014. Shortly after the swap, the station branding was changed from "99.5 WQYK" to "99.5 QYK".

References

External links

WQYK Website
* QYK-FM Country radio stations in the United States QYK-FM 1958 establishments in Florida Radio stations established in 1958 {{Florida-radio-station-stub