WFUN-FM

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WFUN
Image:Foxy955logowfun.PNG
Broadcast area Greater St. Louis
Branding Foxy 95.5
First air date 1987
Frequency 95.5 (MHz) Also Available on HD Radio
Format Urban Adult Contemporary
ERP 24,500 watts
Class C3
Callsign meaning We're having FUN(Station previous format was children's programming)
Owner Radio One
Website Official Website

WFUN-FM, known on-air as "Foxy 95.5" is a radio station with an urban adult contemporary format. The station, located at 95.5 FM, is licensed to Bethalto, Illinois and serves the St. Louis, Missouri area. The station is owned by Radio One.

[edit] History

WFUN, which debuted in 1987 as WXJO, was originally a Adult Standards outlet broadcasting with 6,000 watts. In 1989, Bob Cox negotiated a package to take over operation of the station, changing the format to a childrens station called the Imagination Station - Radio Just for Kids. Inadequate advertisement revenues combined with a pending lawsuit from the original trademark holder of the name The Imagination Station forced Cox into a position where he could not maintain the lease on the transmitter. In the summer of 1991, the station moniker was changed to Kids Radio. Thinking the transmitter could be sold, the lease was terminated in late 1991. The station went dark for a couple of months, during which time the potential sale fell through. The owner, looking for revenues that would allow him to keep the transmitter out of foreclosure, worked with a former employee of the Imagination Station.

In 1992 it was bought back on the air by a non-profit group who would later refund the contributors after a decision was made to make the station a commercial outlet by signing up with Radio Aahs, a children's radio network (and the predecessor to Radio Disney, who would later run Radio Ahhs out of business). After a several year run, the owner (who was mostly joked by many in the St. Louis radio market as being unseen and a mystery) decided to sell the station to Radio One in 1999. The station went dark again for several months.

On June 2, 2000, WFUN completed their upgrade to 24,500 watts and officially flipped to R&B/Hip-Hop as Q95-5, despite the fact they never changed the call letters to match the Q handle. At first Q95-5 was a close competitor, but over time fell further and further behind to KATZ-FM in the ratings. They also had other problems in attracting African-Americans listeners, mostly due to its signal coverage.

On December 13, 2004 Radio One flipped WFUN to its current format. The move was made after Radio One purchased the syndicated rights to the Tom Joyner Morning Show. The format switch was made to match that of stations that air Tom Joyner's show. Tom Joyner previously aired on rival KMJM-FM, whom they now compete with.

On October 1, 2005 Radio One added a sister station in the form of WHHL (Hot 104.1). That station is being programmed as a Rhythmic Top 40 in hopes of being a more successful competitor in the market.

[edit] External link

Radio One

Mainstream Urban Stations: KBFB | KBXX | WCDX | WCKX | WDHT | WENZ | WERQ | WFXA | WGZB | WHHH | WHHL | WHTA | WHTD | WIZF | WKYS | WPHI | WQOK
Urban Adult Contemporary Stations: KMJQ | KRBV | KSOC | WAKB | WAMJ | WDMK | WFUN | WFXC/WFXK | WKJM/WKJS | WMJM | WMMJ | WMOJ | WQNC | WRNB | WROU | WTLC | WWIN | WXMG | WZAK
Urban Gospel Stations: KROI | WCHB | WJMO | WJYD | WPPZ | WPZE | WPZS | WPZZ | WTHB | WTLC | WWIN | WYCB
Smooth Jazz Stations: WJZZ | WYJZ
Urban Talk Stations: WDBZ | WERE | WILD | WING | WNNL | WOL | WOLB | WROU | WTPS
Alternative Rock Stations: WAEG | WLRS/WLRX
Top 40 CHR Stations: WGTZ | WDJX
Rhythmic Top 40 Stations: KTTB
Country Stations: WKSW
Hot AC Stations: WXMA
Other Assets
Television: WDNI-LP | TV One (joint venture with Comcast and DIRECTV)
Satellite Radio: The Power (joint venture with XM Radio)
Websites: www.radio-one.com (corporate website) | Black America Web (through Reach Media)
Radio Shows: The Tom Joyner Morning Show (through Reach Media under contract)
Key People
Cathy Hughes, Chairman and CEO

FM radio stations in the St. Louis market (Arbitron #20)

By frequency: 88.1 | 89.1 | 89.7 | 90.3 | 90.7 | 91.5 | 92.3 | 93.3 | 93.7 | 94.7 | 95.5 | 96.3 | 97.1 | 98.1 | 99.1 | 99.9 | 100.3 | 100.7 | 101.1 | 102.5 | 103.3 | 104.1 | 104.5 | 104.9 | 105.7 | 106.5 | 107.7

By callsign: KATZ | KYMC | KCLC | KDHX | KEZK | KFAV | KFNS | KFTK | KFUO | KIHT | KLOU | KMJM | KNSX | KPNT | KSD | KSHE | KSIV | KSLQ | KSLZ | KWMU | KWUR | KYKY | WARH | WFUN | WHHL | WIL | WMVN

Satellite Radio Local Traffic/Weather: XM Channel 218 | Sirius Channel 151

See also: St. Louis (FM) (AM)