KWYL (102.9

MHz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose expression in terms of SI base units is s−1, meaning that one he ...

) is a

commercial Commercial may refer to: * a dose of advertising conveyed through media (such as - for example - radio or television) ** Radio advertisement ** Television advertisement * (adjective for:) commerce, a system of voluntary exchange of products and s ...

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 radio ...

licensed A license (or licence) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit). A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another party (licensee) as an element of an agreeme ...

South Lake Tahoe, California South Lake Tahoe is the most populous city in El Dorado County, California, United States, in the Sierra Nevada. The city's population was 21,330 at the 2020 census, down from 21,403 at the 2010 census. The city, along the southern edge of Lake ...

, and serving the Reno metropolitan area. The station broadcasts in full 5.1 digital surround sound and has a Top 40 (CHR)

radio format A radio format or programming format (not to be confused with broadcast programming) describes the overall content broadcast on a radio station. The radio format emerged mainly in the United States in the 1950s, at a time when Radio broadcasting, ...

. It is owned by

Cumulus Media Cumulus Media, Inc. is an American broadcasting company and is the third largest owner and operator of AM and FM radio stations in the United States behind Audacy and iHeartMedia. As of June 2019, Cumulus lists ownership of 428 stations in 87 ...

. The

studio A studio is an artist or worker's workroom. This can be for the purpose of acting, architecture, painting, pottery (ceramics), sculpture, origami, woodworking, scrapbooking, photography, graphic design, filmmaking, animation, industrial design ...

s and offices are located on Plumb Lane in South Reno. KWYL has an

effective radiated power Effective radiated power (ERP), synonymous with equivalent radiated power, is an IEEE standardized definition of directional radio frequency (RF) power, such as that emitted by a radio transmitter. It is the total power in watts that would hav ...

(ERP) of 39,000

watt The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named after James Wa ...

s. The

transmitter In electronics and telecommunications, a radio transmitter or just transmitter is an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna (radio), antenna. The transmitter itself generates a radio frequency alternating current, which i ...

is in

New Washoe City, Nevada New Washoe City is an unincorporated community located in Washoe County, Nevada, United States. It is located in the Washoe Valley in southern Washoe County between Reno and Carson City, on the east side of Washoe Lake. It is part of the Reno&nda ...

, near Slide Mountain, amid the

towers A tower is a tall structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant factor. Towers are distinguished from masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting structures. Towers are specific ...

for other Reno-area FM and TV stations. Programming can also be heard on a 250 watt

FM translator A broadcast relay station, also known as a satellite station, relay transmitter, broadcast translator (U.S.), re-broadcaster (Canada), repeater (two-way radio) or complementary station (Mexico), is a broadcast transmitter which repeats (or tran ...

, 106.1 K291AA in Battle Mountain, Nevada.

History

In April 1966, the station

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the air as KTHO-FM at 103.1 MHz. It was owned by the Emerald Broadcasting Company,

simulcasting Simulcast (a portmanteau of simultaneous broadcast) is the broadcasting of programmes/programs or events across more than one resolution, bitrate or medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at exactly the same time (that is, simultane ...

the programming of its

sister station In broadcasting, sister stations or sister channels are radio or television stations operated by the same company, either by direct ownership or through a management agreement. Radio sister stations will often have different formats, and somet ...

KTHO 590 AM, both licensed then to Tahoe Valley, California. The licensing was changed to South Lake Tahoe when Tahoe Valley became part of the newly incorporated City of South Lake Tahoe. The AM-FM simulcast format featured

middle of the road music Middle of the road (also known by its acronym MOR) is a commercial radio format and popular music genre. Music associated with this term is strongly melodic and uses techniques of vocal harmony and light orchestral arrangements. The format was even ...

per the ''

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'' magazine "Easy Listening" charts. KTHO-AM-FM also used news and information from

ABC News Radio ABC News Radio is the news radio service of ABC Audio, a division of ABC News in the United States. Formerly known as ABC Radio News, ABC News Radio feeds, through Skyview Networks, five minute newscasts on the hour and news briefs at half-pas ...

. In 1973, KTHO-FM started a separately programmed

beautiful music Beautiful music (sometimes abbreviated as BM, B/EZ or BM/EZ for "beautiful music/easy listening") is a mostly instrumental music format that was prominent in North American radio from the late 1950s through the 1980s. Easy listening, elevator musi ...

format that was largely

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. Later, its

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 assigne ...

was changed to KZFR ("K-Zephyr"), then briefly another change, but changed again to KZFF when its sought previous KZFR letters had already been reassigned elsewhere. In the early 1980s, the station slightly shifted its dial position from 103.1 to 102.9 which allowed more coverage from a new transmitter location atop Genoa Peak on the eastern side of Lake Tahoe. A new ownership of the AM-FM combo sold-off the FM station to a Carson City, Nevada, operator who made another change of call-letters but that station was short-lived. Ultimately, and with another change of ownership, the transmitter site was moved again, to Slide Mountain, NV, affording greatly increased power and coverage. With its current call-sign KWYL at 102.9 and broadcasting from Reno, NV, it remains licensed as a South Lake Tahoe, CA station. KWYL began broadcasting in

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...

as "Wild 93.7", but in

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...

switched frequencies to 102.9, giving the station more signal coverage. Prior to this change, it was a rhythmic oldies outlet known as KGVN ("93.7 The Groove") from

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

. The 93.7 signal was later used by two more top 40s stations after KWYL: Rhythmic KYWD ("93.7 The Bomb") from 2003 to

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

, and KWNZ, which later returned to its former home at 97.3 as mainstream urban KSGG, only to later move to an AM signal and a combined FM translator/HD2 channel by 2013; the AM switched formats to Sports in March 2014 but the HD2/FM translator broadcasts continues on as the sub channels of Top 40/CHR rival

KLCA KLCA (96.5 FM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Tahoe City, California, broadcasting to the Reno, Nevada, and Lake Tahoe areas. KLCA airs a Top 40 (CHR) music format branded as "Alice 96-5". The station, part of Tom Quinn'Reno Media Gr ...

. KWYL, which had reported to music trades as a Mainstream Top 40 while still in a rhythmic top 40 direction, was officially moved to

Mediabase Mediabase is a music industry service that monitors radio station airplay in 180 US and Canadian markets. Mediabase publishes music charts and data based on the most played songs on terrestrial and satellite radio, and provides in-depth analytic ...

's Rhythmic panel in April 2014 ( BDS followed suit in June 2016)"Mediabase Announces Panel Changes"
from All Access (April 22, 2014)

References

External links

Official websiteWild 102.9 MySpace site
{{coord, 39.310, N, 119.885, W, type:landmark_region:US_source:FCC, display=title HD Radio stations WYL Contemporary hit radio stations in the United States Cumulus Media radio stations Radio stations established in 1966 1966 establishments in California