WKSI

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

WKSI
Image:Station_wksi.gif
City of license Stephens City, Virginia
Broadcast area Winchester/Martinsburg
Branding "98-3 Kiss FM"
Slogan "Playing Today's Hit Music"
Frequency 98.3 MHz
Format Contemporary Hit Radio
Power 1,750 Watts
Class A
Callsign meaning W KSI -play on the word "Kiss"
Former callsigns WZFM-FM (1966-1982)
WXVA-FM (1982-2003)
Affiliations AT40 w/ Ryan Seacrest
Owner Clear Channel
BT Triple Crown Merger Co., Inc.
Website 983kissfm.com

WKSI is licensed to Stephens City, Virginia, but studios on are the southeast side of Winchester, Virginia next to Winchester Regional Airport. WKSI was originally licensed to Charles Town, West Virginia.

WKSI started as WZFM (while in Charles Town) on August 28, 1966. At first the station simply rebroadcast what was their sister station WXVA-AM 1550. In the 70's, "FM 98" would play country music, but not in stereo. The calls would switch to WXVA on November 11, 1982 and they went the "AM/FM route" as other stations had months earlier. "The Natural Sound" was their slogan to their new "Music of Your Life"-seque format. WXVA would later pick up Westwood One's "Format 41" by in the mid-80s as WXVA became more modern, adding more lite rock and less music by Doris Day and Sammy Davis, Jr. In 1993, WXVA went oldies as "XVA Classic Hits". The station even managed to get popular Martinsbug DJ, Tom Tucker, to do its morning show.

The oldies continued for until 1995 when WXVA went back to its easy listening music. In the Fall of 1996, WXVA switched formats again, this time to country, first as "X-Country" then later as "Xtra Country 98"

Clear Channel would buy WXVA and sister WXVA-AM in 2000 and move their studio out of Jefferson County and move them to the same building as Winchester's WUSQ-FM.

In November 2003, WXVA would switch to All Christmas music as "Christmas 98-3". A month later, the calls switched to WKSI and the format to Contemporary Hit Radio as "98-3 Kiss FM". In the summer of 2004, WKSI completely left Charles Town as WKSI changed their "community of license" from Charles Town to Stephens City. The transmitter for WKSI would remain in Charles Town until 2005, when it was moved to the WUSQ tower on Back Mountain Road in rural western Frederick County. Even with the move, WKSI still advertises in the Panhandle of West Virginia and their signal can be heard their as well.

[edit] External links

Radio stations in the Winchester, Virginia market (Arbitron #225)

(FM) WVEP - 88.9 | WTRM - 91.3 | WINC - 92.5 | WZRV - 95.3 | WLTF - 97.5 | WKSI - 98.3 | WFQX - 99.3 | WUSQ - 102.5 | WWRT - 104.9 | WWRE - 105.5

(AM) WTFX - 610 | WINC - 1400

Virginia Radio Markets

Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford-Pulaski | Norfolk-Newport News-Virginia Beach (FM) (AM) | Richmond (FM) (AM) | Roanoke (FM) (AM) | Fredericksburg | Winchester | Charlottesville | Harrisonburg

See also: List of radio stations in Virginia and List of United States radio markets