WKWS (96.1 FM) is a

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

Charleston, West Virginia Charleston is the capital and List of cities in West Virginia, most populous city of West Virginia. Located at the confluence of the Elk River (West Virginia), Elk and Kanawha River, Kanawha rivers, the city had a population of 48,864 at the 20 ...

, and owned and operated by

WVRC Media WVRC Media is a media corporation comprising radio stations and two radio networks based in the state of West Virginia. The company was known as the West Virginia Radio Corporation prior to a December 2021 rebranding. The company is controlle ...

History

Origination

In 1969, WBES – FM 96.1 was launched by Rollins Telecasting (later acquired by

Heritage Media Heritage Media Corporation (NYSE: HTG) was a media company which owned television and radio stations across the United States, as well as in-store and direct marketing companies. It was based in Dallas, Texas, from 1987 to 1997. History Heritage ...

) as an FM sister station of

WCHS (AM) WCHS (580 kHz) is a news/talk/sports formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Charleston, West Virginia, serving Southern West Virginia and Southwestern West Virginia. WCHS is owned and operated by West Virginia Radio Corporation. WCH ...

and

WCHS-TV WCHS-TV (channel 8) is a television station licensed to Charleston, West Virginia, United States, serving the Charleston– Huntington market as an affiliate of ABC and Fox. It is owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group, which provides certain servi ...

with 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. It would stick with this format for nearly 20 years. In 1988, shortly after the Heritage acquisition, they would change both their format and callsign. They took the letters WVNS, which stood for “West Virginia’s 96“, and originally tagged themselves as “Warm 96“, playing a mix of oldies and light rock and pop. Shortly thereafter, they changed the tag to their eponymous “West Virginia’s 96 FM“, and adjusted the format to encompass a wide variety of oldies from the 50s, 60s, 70s, and some light favorites from the 80s. Lady Virginia West (afternoons) and Garrett Majors (mornings) were the main personalities on air. in 1990, they re-tagged themselves as “Oldies 96“, and scrapped the late 70s and 80s music from their format to be strictly an oldies station. In the fall of that same year, they completely changed their format to soft pop with music furnished from a feed by the Unistar Satellite Network and their tag became "Lite Mix 96". They would have one live section of programming during this time with longtime Charleston radio personality Al Sahley as the morning man.

WKWS and the country era

in mid 1992, following the purchase of the station by

West Virginia Radio Corporation WVRC Media is a media corporation comprising radio stations and two radio networks based in the state of West Virginia. The company was known as the West Virginia Radio Corporation prior to a December 2021 rebranding. The company is controlle ...

, the format was subsequently changed to country music and was originally tagged "Kicks 96". The skew of WKWS was to target younger country music fans, going after a seemingly untapped audience not reached by Charleston country music mainstay,

WQBE-FM WQBE-FM (97.5 MHz) is one of two Charleston, West Virginia Country FM radio stations. WQBE is owned by Bristol Broadcasting Company of Bristol, Virginia, with a "twin" radio station WXBQ-FM in that area. WQBE also has another "twin" station WKY ...

. The WVNS callsign went dormant and was picked up in 2003 by

WVNS-TV WVNS-TV (channel 59) is a television station licensed to Lewisburg, West Virginia, United States, serving the Bluefield– Beckley– Oak Hill market as an affiliate of CBS, Fox, and MyNetworkTV. The station is owned by Nexstar Media Group, ...

in Lewisburg (not owned by Heritage or WVRC).

References

External links

96.1 KWS Online
* KWS KWS HD Radio stations {{WestVirginia-radio-station-stub