WMKS

WMKS
City High Point, North Carolina
Broadcast area Piedmont Triad
Branding 100.3 KISS FM
Slogan The Triad's #1 Hit Music Station
Frequency 100.3 MHz
First air date 1940s (as WGBG-FM)
Format Top 40 (CHR)
ERP 100,000 watts
HAAT 316 meters
Class C
Facility ID 74204
Transmitter coordinates 35°58′9″N 79°49′29″W / 35.96917°N 79.82472°W / 35.96917; -79.82472
Callsign meaning W M KisS
Former callsigns WGBG-FM (1940s-1950s)
WNOS-FM (1950s-1975)
WGLD (1975-1985)
WOJY (1985-1989)
WWWB (4/03/1989-10/24/1994)
WFXF (10/24/1994-11/10/1995)
WHSL-FM (11/10/1995-1/31/2001)
WUBZ (1/31/2001-2/28/2001)
WVBZ (2/28/2001-1/03/2014)[1]
Owner iHeartMedia, Inc.
(Capstar TX LLC)
Sister stations WPTI, WMAG, WVBZ, WTQR
Webcast Listen Live
Website 1003kissfm.com

WMKS (100.3 FM, "100.3 KISS FM"), is a Top 40 (CHR) radio station licensed to High Point, North Carolina, that serves the Piedmont Triad region, including Greensboro and Winston-Salem. The iHeartMedia, Inc. outlet broadcasts at 100.3 MHz with an ERP of 100 kW. It has studio facilities and offices located on Pai Park in Greensboro, and a transmitter site is located south of Greensboro in unincorporated Guilford County.

History

Early years

This station was first WGBG-FM in the late 1940s. In the late 1950s, it was WNOS-FM.[2] In October 1975, Bernie Mann bought WNOS-AM and WNOS-FM. He changed the FM station's letters to WGLD and the format to beautiful music, also increasing the power to 100,000 watts and building a new 400-foot tower.[3]

In 1985, the WGLD letters and format moved to 1320 AM and the station became WOJY "Joy 100", a satellite MOR station. In 1989, WOJY changed to soft adult contemporary with the new name WWWB "B-100".[2] For a year starting in 1994, the station was WFXF "100.3 the Fox", a hit-oriented classic rock station.[4] Then the station became WHSL "Whistle 100", playing country music.[5] In 1999, WHSL became one of the first country music stations to air John Boy and Billy, which had previously been designed for classic rock stations.[6] Around New Year's Day 2001, the station took over the rock format previously heard on WXRA, calling itself WVBZ "100.3 the Buzzard", keeping John Boy and Billy. This arrangement lasted until early 2009, when it changed its moniker to "The Buzz" and shifted its music towards active rock.

100.3 KISS-FM

The Buzz moved to 105.7 FM on January 1, 2014 at 5pm, taking the spot of sister station WMKS. WVBZ adopted the Top 40 format of its predecessor, and later rebranded as "100.3 KISS-FM."[7][8] On January 3, 2014, the call letters switched to WMKS.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 "Call Sign History". Retrieved 2014-01-07.
  2. 1 2 "Raleigh-Durham FM Dial". Archived from the original on 2003-02-01. Retrieved 2010-05-05.
  3. ↑ Sid Bost, "New Radio Voice Coming Into Triad," Twin City Sentinel, Feb. 14, 1976.
  4. ↑ Mark Folk, "WWWB Enters Classic-Rock Market", Greensboro News & Record, September 20, 1994.
  5. ↑ Leigh Pressley, "Four's a Crowd? Station Goes Country", Greensboro News & Record, September 26, 1995.
  6. ↑ Bill Keveney, "'Big Show': Today Country Stations, Tomorrow the Whole Country?", The Charlotte Observer, April 7, 1999.
  7. ↑ "What's Up At Clear Channel/Greensboro?". allaccess.com. 2013-12-20. Retrieved 2014-01-07.
  8. ↑ Venta, Lance (2014-01-01). "Greensboro's Buzz & Now Trade Places And More". radioinsight.com. Retrieved 2014-01-07.
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