WKSI-FM is a

Contemporary Hit Radio Contemporary hit radio (also known as CHR, contemporary hits, hit list, current hits, hit music, top 40, or pop radio) is a radio format that is common in many countries that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by ...

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

Stephens City, Virginia Stephens City ( ) is an incorporated town in the southern part of Frederick County, Virginia, United States, with a population of 1,829 at the time of the 2010 census. and an estimated population in 2018 of 2,041. Founded by Peter Stephens ...

, serving the Northern

Shenandoah Valley The Shenandoah Valley () is a geographic valley and cultural region of western Virginia and the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia. The valley is bounded to the east by the Blue Ridge Mountains, to the west by the eastern front of the Ridge- ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

and the

Eastern Panhandle The Eastern Panhandle is the eastern of the two panhandles in the U.S. state of West Virginia; the other is the Northern Panhandle. It is a small stretch of territory in the northeast of the state, bordering Maryland and Virginia. Some sources a ...

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...

. WKSI-FM 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 ...

History

98.3 FM signed on August 28, 1967 as WZFM, a local station serving

Charles Town, West Virginia Charles Town is a city in Jefferson County, West Virginia, United States, and is also the county seat. The population was 5,259 at the 2010 census. It is named for its founder Charles Washington, youngest brother of President George Washington. ...

. The station was co-owned with

WXVA WXVA (610 AM) – branded as ''102.9 Valley FM'' – is a classic hits formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Winchester, Virginia, serving the Northern Shenandoah Valley. WXVA is owned and operated by Winchester Radio Broadcasters, LLC. ...

(1550 AM) by Arthur W. Arundel, who at the time owned WAVA Arlington and the Leesburg-based ''Loudoun Times-Mirror'' newspaper. WZFM simulcast WXVA's broadcasting day, which was

Full Service Full service or Full Service may refer to: * Full-service radio, a wide range of programming * Full Service Network, a communications company Entertainment * "Full Service", a song by the New Kids on the Block from their album ''The Block'' * F ...

with blocks of

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, ...

. The two stations were sold in 1970 to electrical engineer John P. Luce. The simulcast split around this time as the AM side was switched 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 ...

and the FM station went to full-time country. Luce sold to Heritage Broadcasting Corporation in September 1982. Heritage changed the callsign to WXVA-FM after taking control. After an initial return to simulcasting 1550 AM (which had flipped to middle-of-the-road) immediately after the change, the station settled on light

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 ...

around 1986. In 1993, another format change took place, this time to

oldies Oldies is a term for musical genres such as pop music, rock and roll, doo-wop, surf music (broadly characterized as classic rock and pop rock) from the second half of the 20th century, specifically from around the mid-1950s to the 1980s, as we ...

. Unusually for an FM station, ''Broadcasting Yearbook'' reported that it operated 19 hours a day – signing off between midnight and 5 a.m. A flip back to country as "Xtra Country 98" took place in late 1995. The station remained in Charles Town, but was a

rimshot A rimshot is a percussion technique used to produce an accented snare drum backbeat. The sound is produced by simultaneously hitting the rim and head of a drum with a drum stick. The sound and various techniques The sound of rimshots can be ...

to Winchester, regularly showing up in the ratings there despite competition from local country stalwart

WUSQ-FM WUSQ-FM is a country formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Winchester, Virginia, serving the Northern Shenandoah Valley and the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia The Eastern Panhandle is the eastern of the two panhandles in the U.S ...

. Clear Channel (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 ...

) bought WXVA-FM from Heritage in 2000. As it already owned WUSQ-FM, it sought to tap the larger Winchester market with a different format instead of competing with itself. On December 10, 2003, Clear Channel applied to move the transmitter to WUSQ-FM's site near

Round Hill, Frederick County, Virginia Round Hill is an unincorporated community in Frederick County, Virginia, United States. Round Hill is located west of Winchester on the Northwestern Turnpike (U.S. Route 50). It is often referred to as Round Hill after Round Hill (1381 ft) bu ...

, changing the city of license from Charles Town to Stephens City. The station immediately began stunting as "Christmas 98.3" with

Christmas music Christmas music comprises a variety of genres of music regularly performed or heard around the Christmas season. Music associated with Christmas may be purely instrumental, or, in the case of carols or songs, may employ lyrics whose subject ma ...

and spots advising listeners to tune to WUSQ-FM for country. The flip to CHR as "Kiss 98.3" WKSI-FM came on December 26, although the physical move was not completed until late 2004.

HD2 subchannel

On August 22, 2013, WKSI began simulcasting its HD2 signal on newly acquired translator

W239BV W239BV is a Classic Country formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Winchester, Virginia and serves Frederick County, Virginia. W239BV simulcasts sister station WKSI-FM's HD2 feed. W239BV is owned and operated by iHeartMedia. Programming ...

, broadcasting on 95.7, from WKSI's tower west of Winchester. The HD2 signal aired the "Today's Mix" format, one of

Premium Choice The majority of programming syndicated by iHeartMedia is distributed through its subsidiary, Premiere Networks, owned by the company since 1999 and purchased by antecedent Jacor in 1997. However, several music and talk shows originated on iHeartM ...

formats. On November 1, 2013 W239BV switched its format from

Hot 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, quiet ...

to a seasonal All-Christmas music format, with the "Mix 95-7" branding remaining. Until December 26, 2020, at 12 Midnight, when W239BV took over the

Classic Country Classic country is a music radio format that specializes in playing mainstream country and western music hits from past decades. Repertoire The radio format specializes in hits from the 1950s through the early 1980s, and focus primarily on innov ...

format, which had been abandoned by crosstown competitor WXBN ahead of sister-station WINC-FM's sale and format change, as "Classic Country 95-7".

References

External links

Kiss 98-3 Online
* * * {{IHeartMedia 1966 establishments in Virginia Contemporary hit radio stations in the United States Radio stations established in 1966 KSI-FM IHeartMedia radio stations