| Broadcast area | Kansas City metropolitan area COL: Liberty, Missouri |
|---|---|
| Branding | 106.5 The Wolf |
| Slogan | "Kansas City's 10 in a Row Country Station" |
| Frequency | 106.5 MHz |
| Format | Country |
| ERP | 100,000 Watts |
| Class | C 1 |
| Callsign meaning | Why Dial Any Further. Assigned in 1922 to WDAF-AM |
| Owner | Entercom |
WDAF-FM is a country music radio station based in Kansas City, Missouri, branded as "106-5 The Wolf". The station is licensed to Liberty, Missouri and broadcasts at 106.5 mHz with an ERP of 100,000 watts. Its transmitter is located in east Kansas City.
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WDAF was one of the first four radio stations in Kansas City, alongside WOQ, WPE (now sister station KMBZ) and WHB. The Kansas City Star received authorization to broadcast on May 16, 1922, days after WHB. The two shared the 730 kHz frequency until 1928, when they settled at 610 AM. WDAF-AM was in the network of stations that carried the first presidential broadcast address. WDAF came under the ownership of Taft Broadcasting in 1963 with Taft's purchase of Transcontinent Broadcasting.
In 1971, WDAF upgraded their FM station, which had been around for many years (being one of the oldest in the area), to 100,000 watts, putting the antenna atop the television tower, and calling it Super Stereo 102.1 MHz[1], which changed its call letters to KYYS in 1974, while WDAF continued at 610 kHz. The Star gained authorization to begin operating a television station, WDAF-TV (an NBC-turned-Fox affiliate, but was forced to give up all three stations when ordered by the Federal Communications Commission.
WDAF remained a respected country station until 2002, when owner Entercom sought to develop a rival sports station to WHB, who dropped country in 1999. Entercom originally eyed the fledgling "alternative" station at 96.5 (KRBZ), but a "Save the Buzz" campaign waged by fans prompted WDAF to instead move to 106.5, replacing a jazz station. WDAF was simulcast on both AM and FM until 2003, when KCSP debuted on 610.
Strauss-Abernathy Broadcasting, owners of Liberty's AM station KCXL, first broadcast on 106.5 FM in 1978 with a Top-40 station, KFIX. The relative infancy of the high-end frequency, plus the format instability on their AM counterpart, resulted in a new format every 2-3 years, ranging from album rock to soft adult contemporary.
In 1992, rhythmic station X-106 swapped frequencies with a country station broadcasting from Lexington, Missouri at 107.3 FM. Like its predecessors, "Country Junction" only lasted three years before a smooth jazz station, "The City", debuted in 1995. Despite its apparent popularity in the workplace over soft rock stations KUDL, KLTH and KSRC and Kansas City's place in jazz history, the format was yanked in 2003 to make way for WDAF. In 2006, Entercom announced that a smooth jazz format will debut on a high definition subchannel of WDAF. The Smooth Jazz format also aired Sunday mornings on KUDL.
On January 10, 2007, months after moving to its new Mission, Kansas studios, WDAF-FM changed branding to 106.5 The Wolf[2].
The current lineup (as of June 13, 2011) is as follows:
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