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WTKS-FM (104.1
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 ...
to
Cocoa Beach, Florida Cocoa Beach is a city in Brevard County, Florida, United States. The population was 11,539 at the 2018 United States Census. It is part of the Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. History The first non-native s ...
, and serving
Central Florida Central Florida is a region of the U.S. state of Florida. Different sources give different definitions for the region, but as its name implies it is usually said to comprise the central part of the state, including the Tampa Bay area and the Gr ...
and
Greater Orlando The Orlando metropolitan area, commonly referred to as Greater Orlando, Metro Orlando, Central Florida as well as for U.S. Census purposes as the Orlando–Kissimmee–Sanford, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area, is a metropolitan area in the ...
. It broadcasts a hybrid
hot talk Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues and consisting entirely or almost entirely of original spoken word content rather than outside music. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often featur ...
and
alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...
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, ...
. The station is owned and operated by
iHeartMedia, Inc. iHeartMedia, Inc., formerly CC Media Holdings, Inc., is an American mass media corporation headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It is the holding company of iHeartCommunications, Inc. (formerly Clear Channel Communications, Inc.), a company fou ...
, with
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 is in
Maitland, Florida Maitland is a suburban city in Orange County, Florida, United States, part of the Greater Orlando area. The population was 19,543 at the 2020 census. The area's history is exhibited at the Maitland Historical Museum; the city also hosts the Mai ...
). WTKS-FM 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 100,000
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 maximum permitted for non-grandfathered FM stations. 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 ...
tower is off Fort Christmas Road in
Bithlo, Florida Bithlo is a census-designated place and an unincorporated community in Orange County, Florida, United States. The population was 8,268 at the 2010 census, up from 4,626 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Orlando–Kissimmee Metropolitan Sta ...
. WTKS-FM broadcasts using
HD Radio HD Radio (HDR) is a trademark for an in-band on-channel (IBOC) digital radio broadcast technology. It generally simulcasts an existing analog radio station in digital format with less noise and with additional text information. HD Radio is used ...
technology. The HD2
digital subchannel In broadcasting, digital subchannels are a method of transmitting more than one independent program stream simultaneously from the same digital radio or television station on the same radio frequency channel. This is done by using data compress ...
carries an
urban contemporary Urban contemporary music, also known as urban music, hip hop, urban pop, or just simply urban, is a music radio format. The term was coined by New York radio DJ Frankie Crocker in the early to mid-1970s as a synonym for Black music. Urban contem ...
format known as "104.5 The Beat," which feeds
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 ...
W283AN at 104.5 MHz.


Programming

On weekdays, WTKS-FM broadcasts
hot talk Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues and consisting entirely or almost entirely of original spoken word content rather than outside music. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often featur ...
shows, aimed at a more youthful audience than would usually listen to conventional
talk radio Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues and consisting entirely or almost entirely of original spoken word content rather than outside music. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often featur ...
shows. Weekdays begin with "Monsters in the Morning," followed by "The News Junkie," "The Jim Colbert Show," "A Corporate Time with Tom & Dan" and "Real Laughs." From 10 p.m. to early morning, WTKS-FM switches to
alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...
. Weekends also feature alt rock, with some specialty shows on Sunday mornings and evenings. Parent company iHeartMedia had picked some shows from WTKS-FM as part of
XM Radio XM Satellite Radio (XM) was one of the three satellite radio (SDARS) and online radio services in the United States and Canada, operated by Sirius XM, Sirius XM Holdings. It provided pay-for-service radio, analogous to subscription cable televisi ...
's
Extreme XM Extreme Talk was a talk radio channel available on iHeartRadio. Owned by iHeartMedia, Inc., Extreme Talk featured terrestrial radio show simulcasts and tape delay broadcasts from across the United States. The station lineup included: syndicated ...
channel 152. That service was discontinued in 2008.


History

The station first
signed on Signing may refer to: * Using sign language * Signature A signature (; from la, signare, "to sign") is a handwritten (and often stylized) depiction of someone's name, nickname, or even a simple "X" or other mark that a person writes on do ...
the air on . WRKT-FM originally had an
automated Automation describes a wide range of technologies that reduce human intervention in processes, namely by predetermining decision criteria, subprocess relationships, and related actions, as well as embodying those predeterminations in machines ...
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, and was the sister station to WRKT
AM 1300 AM or Am may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * A minor, a minor scale in music * ''A.M.'' (Chris Young album) * ''A.M.'' (Wilco album) * ''AM'' (Abraham Mateo album) * ''AM'' (Arctic Monkeys album) * AM (musician), American musicia ...
(now
WKQK WKQK (1300 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station licensed to Cocoa Beach, Florida, and serving the Space Coast section of Florida. The station is owned by Will Standley, through licensee 321 Corporation. WKQK features a full service adult co ...
). The station was owned by C. Sweet Smith. It played quarter hour sweeps of mostly instrumental
cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...
s of popular songs, as well as
Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
and
Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...
show tunes. In 1967, the station changed formats to
progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Init ...
with the new
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 ...
WKPE. The station was initially automated, but eventually added live announcers. WKPE reverted to the WRKT call letters in 1977 with a
Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or " con ...
format as "Rocket 104," then shifting its format to
Adult Contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quie ...
in 1980.
Guy Gannett Guy Gannett Communications was a family-owned business consisting of newspapers in Maine and a handful of television stations in the eastern United States. The company was founded by its namesake, Guy P. Gannett, in 1921, and was managed by a fa ...
purchased WRKT-FM in 1981 with the intent of upgrading the 30,000-watt station to 100,000 watts from a new tower near
Bithlo Bithlo is a census-designated place and an unincorporated community in Orange County, Florida, United States. The population was 8,268 at the 2010 census, up from 4,626 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Orlando– Kissimmee Metropolitan St ...
. The more powerful relocated tower would allow the station to serve the lucrative Orlando
radio market A media market, broadcast market, media region, designated market area (DMA), television market area, or simply market is a region where the population can receive the same (or similar) television station, television and radio broadcasting, ra ...
. The call letters were changed that year to WSSP. A
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 was planned, but WSSP initially adopted a
country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...
format as ''Brevard's Stereo Country 104''. The country format was a temporary measure until the upgrade of the station's signal could be finalized. The move to Bithlo was completed in 1985, and WSSP became
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 ...
''WSSPer 104'' ("whisper"). For a number of years, "WSSPer" was one of the most popular radio stations in Orlando, often ranking as the #1 station in the
Arbitron ratings Nielsen Audio (formerly Arbitron) is a consumer research company in the United States that collects listener data on radio broadcasting audiences. It was founded as the American Research Bureau by Jim Seiler in 1949 and became national by mergin ...
and posting shares as high as 17% in certain dayparts. However, by the early 1990s, the station's ratings were down, and after stunting with a robotic countdown, WSSP switched to a
Hot AC Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quiet s ...
format as WZTU, ''U104.1'', on May 3, 1991, in the hopes of raising ratings and revenue. "U104.1" failed miserably. Later that year, Gannett sold its radio stations in Orlando and Miami to concentrate on its television properties. WZTU was acquired by Paxson Communications Corporation, headed by Lowell "Bud" Paxson (founder of the
Home Shopping Network HSN, an initialism of its former name Home Shopping Network, is an American free-to-air television network owned by the Qurate Retail Group, which also owns catalog company Cornerstone Brands. Based in the Gateway area of St. Petersburg, Flor ...
and later
PAX TV Ion Television is an American broadcast television network owned by the Katz Broadcasting subsidiary of the E. W. Scripps Company. The network first began broadcasting on August 31, 1998, as Pax TV, focusing primarily on family-oriented entert ...
). Paxson switched WZTU to CHR as WHVE "One Hundred-Four One, The Wave", at 7:45 a.m. on May 29, but despite the programming expertise of Bill Pasha of
WAPE-FM WAPE-FM (95.1 MHz "The Big Ape") is a commercial FM radio station in Jacksonville, Florida. It is owned by Cox Radio and airs a Top 40 (CHR) radio format. Its transmitter is located in Downtown Jacksonville, off Gator Bowl Boulevard. The ...
in Jacksonville, ratings and revenues did not increase; the station came in 14th place in its first ratings book. "The Wave" format was dropped on August 17, 1992, after only just three months. WHVE then changed its calls to WWNZ-FM, and began simulcasting WWNZ's talk format, though it would air a few separate shows. Paxson sold WWNZ-FM to Press Broadcasting, which also owned WKCF, in 1993. In May of that year, Press Broadcasting initiated the WTKS calls and the "Real Radio" format, which was talk shows during the week (including
Howard Stern Howard Allan Stern (born January 12, 1954) is an American radio and television personality, comedian, and author. He is best known for his radio show, ''The Howard Stern Show'', which gained popularity when it was nationally syndicated on terre ...
from May 1994 through February 2004) and
alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...
on the weekend. Real Radio was created by Sabo Media CEO Walter Sabo for Press Broadcasting. The station was sold back to Paxson in 1996 and then came under the umbrella of Clear Channel Communications (now
iHeartMedia iHeartMedia, Inc., formerly CC Media Holdings, Inc., is an American mass media corporation headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It is the holding company of iHeartCommunications, Inc. (formerly Clear Channel Communications, Inc.), a company fou ...
) in 1997. On June 21, 2007, Clear Channel announced the request of transfer for their entire Orlando cluster into the
Aloha Station Trust Aloha Station Trust, LLC was a privately owned trust company that owned radio and television stations previously owned by Clear Channel Communications, forerunner of the modern iHeartMedia. After Clear Channel was acquired by private equity inte ...
upon the consummation of the impending company buyout. WTKS held an annual "Kicks for Guns" program in association with the
Orlando Police Department The Orlando Police Department (OPD) is responsible for law enforcement within the city limits of Orlando, Florida. The OPD employs over 800 sworn officers and over 150 civilian employees serving the citizens of Orlando through crime prevention, ...
where citizens could exchange guns, no questions asked, for shoes. The program made international headlines when the 2007 exchange managed to net a surface-to-air
rocket launcher A rocket launcher is a weapon that launches an unguided, rocket-propelled projectile. History The earliest rocket launchers documented in imperial China consisted of arrows modified by the attachment of a rocket motor to the shaft a few in ...
. WTKS-FM HD2 originally aired a simulcast of
talk radio Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues and consisting entirely or almost entirely of original spoken word content rather than outside music. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often featur ...
540 WFLF, and the HD3 subchannel aired a simulcast of
sports radio Sports radio (or sports talk radio) is a radio format devoted entirely to discussion and broadcasting of sporting events. A widespread programming genre that has a narrow audience appeal, sports radio is characterized by an often- boisterous on-ai ...
740 WYGM. WTKS stopped simulcasting WYGM on the HD3 subchannel on May 6, 2012, with the WYGM simulcast moving to
WJRR WJRR (101.1 FM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Cocoa Beach, Florida, serving Greater Orlando. Owned by iHeartMedia, WJRR airs an active rock radio format. It is the Orlando affiliate for the syndicated rock series ''Skratch 'N Sniff ...
-HD2, resulting in the demise of "Channel X". On February 12, 2014, the WFLF simulcast moved from W283AN 104.5 to W273CA 102.5 (displacing
smooth jazz Smooth jazz is a genre of commercially-oriented crossover jazz and easy listening music that became dominant in the mid 1970s to the early 1990s. History Smooth jazz is a commercially oriented, crossover jazz which came to prominence in the 19 ...
), and WTKS-HD2 flipped to its current urban format as "The Beat", filling the void after long-time urban station WJHM flipped to
Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or " con ...
the previous day.


Previous shows

''
SBK Live SBK Live was a talk radio show aired on WTKS-FM Real Radio in Orlando, Florida, United States. The show originally ran on Real Radio 104.1 from 7 to 11 pm ET. The program was a mix of current events and upcoming artists, often engaging the loc ...
'' originally aired from 7:00pm to 11:00pm Monday through Friday. After the show was cancelled Soul Brother Kevin moved back as a member of ''The Monsters in the Morning'' show. ''The Buckethead Show'' with Buckethead (Jason Bailey). It originally aired from 11:00am to 3:00pm Monday through Friday. After the show was cancelled on June 26, 2013, Bailey went to
CBS Radio CBS Radio was a radio broadcasting company and radio network operator owned by CBS Corporation and founded in 1928, with consolidated radio station groups owned by CBS and Westinghouse Broadcasting/Group W since the 1920s, and Infinity Broadc ...
's
WZGC-FM WZGC (92.9 FM broadcasting, FM) – branded 92-9 The Game – is a commercial Sports radio, sports Radio broadcasting, radio station licensed to serve Atlanta, Atlanta, Georgia, covering the Atlanta metropolitan area. Owned by Audacy, Inc., WZGC ...
in
Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
to co-host ''The Morning Grind'' with Randy Cross and Kristen Ledlow.Jason Bailey Joins 92-9 The Game/Atlanta Morning Show
(Retrieved AllAccess.com)


HD2 translator


Footnotes


External links

*
Official HD2 website
* * {{IHeartMedia TKS-FM News and talk radio stations in the United States Radio stations established in 1962 IHeartMedia radio stations 1962 establishments in Florida