WNRW (98.9 FM) - branded as 98.9 Kiss FM - is a Top 40 (CHR)

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 ...

located in

Prospect, Kentucky Prospect is a home rule-class city in Jefferson and Oldham counties in the U.S. state of Kentucky. The Jefferson County portion is a part of the Louisville Metro government. The population was 4,698 at the time 2010 census. It is one of the we ...

, serving the

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

area. The station is licensed by the

Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdiction ...

(FCC) to broadcast on 98.9 FM with an ERP of 43,000

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 station's studios are located in the Louisville enclave of Watterson Park and the transmitter site is in east Louisville southwest of the

I-64 Interstate 64 (I-64) is an east–west Interstate Highway in the Eastern United States. Its western terminus is at I-70, U.S. Route 40 (US 40), and US 61 in Wentzville, Missouri. Its eastern terminus is at an interchang ...

I-265 Interstate 265 (I-265) is a Interstate Highway partially encircling the Louisville metropolitan area. Starting from I-65 in the southern part of Louisville, it runs through Jefferson County, Kentucky, crosses the Ohio River on the Lewis ...

interchange. The station is owned 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 ...

Station history

WNRW signed on from

Salem, Indiana Salem is a city in and the county seat of Washington Township, Washington County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 6,319 at the 2010 census. History Salem was laid out and platted in 1814. It was named for Salem, North Carolin ...

as WSLM-FM in 1967. It was the second attempt by WSLM to launch an FM station, the first having been deleted in 1964.

98.9 Kiss FM, first incarnation

Prior to its flip to its current format in 2000 as "98.9 Kiss FM", the station's previous formats included

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 ...

Modern 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 ...

, and

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 ...

. They are also a major competitor for longtime rival

WDJX WDJX (99.7 MHz) is a Top 40/CHR-formatted radio station located in Louisville, Kentucky. The station has an effective radiated power (ERP) of 24 kW. The station's studios are located in downtown Louisville and the transmitter site is in N ...

, but counters their broad-based direction with a Rhythmic-leaning playlist.

98.9 Radio Now, second incarnation of Kiss

WZKF moved its city of license from Salem, IN to Prospect, KY on April 26, 2010, and on July 12, 2010, WZKF rebranded from "98.9 Kiss FM" to "98.9 Radio Now". According to PD Mike Klein, "The name change and new look comes along with a signal upgrade and updated Top 40/Mainstream music mix with a rhythmic lean" and added that "The station is being re-branded with the 'NOW' moniker to give a fresh new approach delivering hit music to the people who need it 'NOW'.". July 19, 2010 WZKF changed their call letters to WNRW. On January 14, 2020, WNRW reverted to the Kiss FM branding, with no other major format changes.

WNRW-HD2

In 2008, WNRW's HD2 subcarrier began carrying the Dance Top 40

Club Phusion Club Phusion was a radio station on Clear Channel HD2's across the country that plays commercial free Dance music 24/7 from 2006 to 2013. History Club Phusion was launched on March 31, 2006, over the subcarrier channel of Top 40 Mainstream KZCH/Wi ...

format. HD Radio Guide for Louisville, Kentucky They have replaced it with

Evolution Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes, which are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Variation ...

in late 2012. The HD2 subchannel has since been turned off.

References

External links

WNRW official website
* * {{IHeartMedia NRW Contemporary hit radio stations in the United States Radio stations established in 1967 IHeartMedia radio stations