WIKS (101.9 FM) is 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 ...

-formatted

broadcast Broadcasting is the distribution of audio or video content to a dispersed audience via any electronic mass communications medium, but typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum ( radio waves), in a one-to-many model. Broadcasting began ...

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 to

New Bern, North Carolina New Bern, formerly called Newbern, is a city in Craven County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 29,524, which had risen to an estimated 29,994 as of 2019. It is the county seat of Craven County and t ...

. The station is owned by

Curtis Media Group Curtis Media Group is a broadcast media company based in Raleigh, North Carolina, USA. The company owns and operates several North Carolina radio stations and television networks. Broadcast Stations Curtis Media Group owns and operates the fol ...

. WIKS is an affiliate of the Steve Harvey Morning Show.

History

The 101.9 FM frequency in New Bern signed on with an

Album-oriented Rock Album-oriented rock (AOR, originally called album-oriented radio) is an FM radio format created in the United States in the 1970s that focuses on the full repertoire of rock albums and is currently associated with classic rock. Album-oriente ...

format in August 1977 as WRBK ("K101"). Due to the nature of its frequency at 101.9 and the advent of digital tuners, the slogan was changed to "K102" in the summer of 1978. In August 1979, the station flipped to 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 WAZZ ("Country Ways").Broadcasting Yearbook 1980 By 1986, the station would become "Kiss 102" with the WIKS

call letters 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 ...

and 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. Transmitting power increased to 100,000 watts. Rap and hip-hop music was introduced in the 1990s, as WIKS became a full modern

mainstream urban Mainstream may refer to: Film * ''Mainstream'' (film), a 2020 American film Literature * ''Mainstream'' (fanzine), a science fiction fanzine * Mainstream Publishing, a Scottish publisher * ''Mainstream'', a 1943 book by Hamilton Basso Mu ...

station by 1998. In 1997 WIKS picked up competition from the 92.3 Frequency when

WQSL WQSL (92.3 FM), also known as "The River", is a variety hits radio station licensed to Jacksonville, North Carolina. The station simulcasts on WQZL 101.1 FM Belhaven. History WQSL was "Q92" when it was Top 40 and then it was a Hot AC In the ear ...

adopted a

rhythmic top 40 The Rhythmic chart (also called Rhythmic Airplay, and previously named Rhythmic Songs, Rhythmic Top 40 and CHR/Rhythmic) is an airplay chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. The chart tracks and measures the airplay of songs played on ...

format as "The Beat of Carolina". WIKS responded by tweaking its format to

Urban Adult Contemporary Urban adult contemporary, often abbreviated as urban AC or UAC, (also known as adult R&B,) is the name for a format of radio music, similar to an urban contemporary format. Radio stations using this format usually would not have hip hop music on ...

station in 2003, though they eventually returned to their current format. On February 2, 2017,

Beasley Media Group Beasley Broadcast Group, Inc., based in Naples, Florida, is an owner/operator of radio stations in the United States. , the company owned 63 stations under the Beasley Media Group name. History The company was founded in 1961 by George G. Beasl ...

announced that it would sell its six stations and four translators in the Greenville-New Bern-

Jacksonville Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...

market, including WIKS, to

for $11 million to reduce the company's debt. The sale was completed on May 1, 2017.N

Translators

WIKS feeds low-powered

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 ...

s, by way of their HD2 subchannel. "Beach, Boogie and Blues" features a

beach music Beach music, also known as Carolina beach music, and to a lesser extent, Beach pop, is a regional genre of music in the United States which developed from rock/ R&B and pop music of the 1950s and 1960s. Beach music is most closely associate ...

rhythmic oldies Rhythmic oldies is a radio format that concentrates on the rhythmic, R&B, disco, or dance genres of music. Playlists can span from the 1960s through the 2000s and, depending on market conditions, may be designed for African-American or Hispanic a ...

format, originating from sister stations

WELS-FM WELS-FM (102.9 FM), also known as ''Beach Boogie and Blues 102.9'' is an American radio station licensed to serve the community of Kinston, North Carolina, United States. The station is owned by Curtis Media Group, via licensee Eastern Airwaves, L ...

and WNCT.

References

External links

WIKS WebsiteBeachBoogieandBlues.com
(HD2 programming) * IKS Radio stations established in 1979 Urban contemporary radio stations in the United States New Bern, North Carolina 1979 establishments in North Carolina {{NorthCarolina-radio-station-stub