WJIS 88.1 FM, known on air as The JOY FM, is a

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

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 ...

station serving North, Central and Southwest Florida, including the Sarasota/Bradenton and

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 in ...

areas, and is owned by the

Radio Training Network Radio Training Network, Inc. is an American non-profit broadcasting organization that operates several networks of Christian radio- formatted stations, mostly in the Southeast. The network's footprint includes stations in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, ...

Network

On April 19, 2021, RTN launched The Joy FM on

WNUE-FM WNUE-FM (98.1 MHz, "The JOY FM") is a listener-supported, non-commercial FM radio station broadcasting a Christian AC radio format. Licensed to Deltona, Florida, it serves the Greater Orlando metropolitan area, Daytona Beach and the Space Coas ...

98.1, which the organization concurrently filed to buy from

Entravision Communications Entravision Communications Corporation is an American media company based in Santa Monica, California. Entravision primarily caters to the Spanish-speaking Hispanic community and owns television and radio stations and outdoor media, in several of ...

for $4 million. During most of 2013, WJIS was also simulcasted on 91.7

WFTI-FM WFTI-FM (91.7 FM) was a radio station broadcasting a Christian AC format. Licensed to St. Petersburg, Florida, United States, it served the Tampa Bay area. The station was owned by the Radio Training Network, repeating the signal of Bradenton-b ...

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

; that station would cease operations in fall 2013, to allow for upgrades of adjacent channel WCIE and co-channel WJFH. The Radio Training Network also has ''The JOY FM''-branded stations in

Dothan, Alabama Dothan () is a city in Dale, Henry, and Houston counties and the Houston county seat in the U.S. state of Alabama. It is Alabama's eighth-largest city, with a population of 71,072 at the 2020 census. It is near the state's southeastern corner, ...

(

WIZB WIZB (94.3 FM broadcasting, FM, "The Joy FM 94.3") (formerly branded as "His Radio") is a radio station city of license, licensed to serve Abbeville, Alabama, United States. The station is owned by Radio Training Network, Inc. It broadcasts a Cont ...

);

Montgomery, Alabama Montgomery is the capital city of the U.S. state of Alabama and the county seat of Montgomery County. Named for the Irish soldier Richard Montgomery, it stands beside the Alabama River, on the coastal Plain of the Gulf of Mexico. In the 202 ...

(

WPHH WPHH (93.5 FM) is an American radio station licensed to serve the community of Hope Hull, Alabama, United States. The station broadcasts to the Montgomery area. History The station license and operation was transferred to William C Carn, III ...

);

Athens, Georgia Athens, officially Athens–Clarke County, is a consolidated city-county and college town in the U.S. state of Georgia. Athens lies about northeast of downtown Atlanta, and is a satellite city of the capital. The University of Georgia, the sta ...

(

WMSL WMSL (88.9 FM) is a Christian radio station broadcasting a Contemporary Christian music format. Licensed to Bogart, Georgia, United States, the station serves the Athens / Northeast Georgia area. The station is currently owned by the Radio Train ...

); and

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 ...

/ Macon,

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

(

WVFJ-FM WVFJ-FM (93.3 Hertz, MHz, "The JOY FM") is a Christian radio, Christian radio station that serves western central Georgia, including portions of Metro Atlanta and the Columbus-Auburn-Opelika combined statistical area, Columbus-Auburn-Opelika area ...

and WWWD), though these stations do not repeat WJIS 24/7.

Future stations

In May 2021, RTN reached a deal to purchase stations serving

Tallahassee Tallahassee ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat and only incorporated municipality in Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In 2020, the population ...

(

WTSM WTSM is a radio station on 97.9 FM licensed to Woodville, Florida, United States, serving Tallahassee. It is owned by Radio Training Network, Inc., and broadcasts a Contemporary Christian format branded as "The Joy FM". History WJZT began broadca ...

) and

Port St. Lucie Port St. Lucie is a city in St. Lucie County, Florida, United States. It is the most populous municipality in the county with a population of 204,851 at the 2020 census. It is located southeast of Orlando and north of Miami. The Port St. Lu ...

(

WHLG WHLG (101.3 FM) is a radio station broadcasting a Contemporary Christian format, licensed to Port St. Lucie, Florida. The station serves the Treasure Coast from Vero Beach to North Palm Beach and is Radio Training Network, Inc. Horizon Broadc ...

) from Horizon Broadcasting Company for $1.3 million. The sale was consummated on August 31, 2021.

HD radio

WCIE and WJIS broadcasts in the

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 ...

format. On HD2, the station has The Joy FM Praise, a channel that features exclusively Christian praise songs. On HD3, the station has LF Radio, a progressive youth music channel. Both can be listened to online or via The Joy FM phone app.

Translators

In addition to the full-powered stations, The Joy FM is relayed by additional low-powered

translator Translation is the communication of the Meaning (linguistic), meaning of a #Source and target languages, source-language text by means of an Dynamic and formal equivalence, equivalent #Source and target languages, target-language text. The ...

s: Two of its translators are leased out to 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 ...

) to rebroadcast their stations: * W290BJ 105.9 MHz

West Tampa West Tampa is one of the oldest neighborhoods within the city limits of Tampa, Florida, United States. It was an independently incorporated city from 1895 until 1925, when it was annexed by Tampa. West Tampa is located west of the Hillsborough ...

, rebroadcasting WMTX's HD-2 signal; originally leased out to rebroadcast

WFLA (AM) WFLA (970 AM) is a commercial radio station in Tampa, Florida, and serving the Tampa Bay media market. The station airs a talk radio format and is owned and operated by iHeartMedia, Inc. The station's studios and offices are located on Gandy ...

Tampa Bay Times: "WFLA-AM to begin simulcasting on 105.9 FM, raising competition in Tampa Bay area FM talk", May 31, 2012.
/ref> * W237CW 95.3 MHz

Pinellas Park, Florida Pinellas Park is a city located in central Pinellas County, Florida, United States. The population was 53,093 at the 2020 census. Originally home to northern transplants and vacationers, the hundred year old city has grown into the fourth largest ...

, rebroadcasting

WDAE WDAE (620 AM) is a commercial radio station licensed to St. Petersburg, Florida and serving the Tampa Bay area. It is owned by iHeartMedia and airs a sports radio format. WDAE is one of the oldest radio stations in Florida still broadcasting t ...

References

External links

* JIS Contemporary Christian radio stations in the United States Radio stations established in 1986 1986 establishments in Florida JIS {{Christian-radio-station-stub