WRKA
Office in Louisville
Broadcast areaLouisville metropolitan area
Frequency103.9 MHz
Branding103.9 The Groove
Programming
FormatUrban adult contemporary
AffiliationsCompass Media Networks
Ownership
Owner
WQNU, WSFR, WVEZ
History
First air date
November 1974 (1974-11) (as WFIA-FM)
Former call signs
WFIA-FM (1974–79)
WXLN (1979–90)
WZKS (1990–93)
WHKW (1993–94)
WQLL (1994–96)
WSJW (1996–98)
WMHX (1998–2000)
WPTK (2000)
WPTI (2000–08)[1]
Call sign meaning
Previous used on the former WRKA-FM; now WQNU
Technical information
Facility ID48290
ClassA
ERP1,350 watts
HAAT149 meters
Links
WebcastListen Live
Website1039thegroove.com

WRKA (103.9 FM) is a commercial urban adult contemporary radio station licensed to serve Louisville, Kentucky. Owned by SummitMedia,[2] the station covers the Louisville metropolitan area. The WRKA studios are located in Downtown Louisville, while the transmitter site resides atop the National City Tower. Besides a standard analog transmission, WRKA is available online.

History

In November 1974, the station signed on the air as WFIA-FM, an FM adjunct to WFIA and owned by AM 900, Inc.[3] The call sign was later changed to WXLN and played Contemporary Christian music.

The station's first post Christian format was contemporary hit radio as WZKS "Kiss 104". Debuting on July 5, 1990, WZKS intended to challenge WDJX, but after WDJX's owners entered into a local marketing agreement to operate the station on January 27, 1992, WZKS simulcast WDJX for nearly a month and a half.[4] After the simulcast broke that March 19, WZKS began stunting by playing songs recorded by Garth Brooks, then switched to country music on March 23.

During this period, 103.9 became the first FM station in the market intended to challenge longtime country leader WAMZ. Initially, 103.9 was known as "Hot Country 103.9", which, unlike WAMZ, had no local air talent, instead relying on Westwood One's "Hot Country" format. On March 30, 1993, the station was revamped as "103.9 The Hawk", added local programming, and changed its call sign to WHKW.

The format, call letters, and "The Hawk" branding were transferred to WKJK (107.7 FM) on May 24, 1994. After that programming move, WHKW adopted an oldies format branded as "Cool 103.9", with replacement WQLL calls on June 6.[5] The playlist was changed to all 1970's music, but the "Cool" branding was retained.

The station changed its format to Smooth Jazz on June 3, 1996, and changed its call letters to WSJW. On August 7, 1998, the station changed again to adult contemporary as WMHX "Mix 103.9", reviving a format dropped by the former WLRS a year earlier.

After the station was purchased by Cox Radio in 1999, WHMX switched to an all-80s hits format branded as "103.9 The Point" in November 2000. The call letters were switched to WPTK on November 24, then a month later, on December 20, to WPTI.[6] WPTI dropped the 80s hits format for another attempt at country, branded "New Country 103.9", on October 21, 2004.[7] WPTI's call letters were changed to WRKA on July 18, 2008, and the format was changed to Classic Country as "Country Legends 103.9" that July 23. The previous country format was moved to the former WRKA, renamed WQNU.

Cox Radio, Inc. sold WRKA, along with 22 other stations, to Summit Media LLC for $66.25 million on July 20, 2012; the sale was consummated on May 3, 2013.[8][9]

On May 23, 2014, WRKA began stunting by only playing music by Garth Brooks as "103.9 Garth-FM" before announcing the station was not able to use Brooks' name due to what they claimed was "legal issues". It rebranded as "XXXXX-FM" (with the "XXXXX" being pronounced on-air as a long beep) and promising a new format to debut the following Monday, June 2, at 7 am. At that time, WRKA relaunched with a 1990s-heavy country format, once again branded as "103.9 The Hawk".[10] The first song on "The Hawk" was Gone Country by Alan Jackson.[11]

On December 31, 2018, WRKA dropped the classic country format and began stunting as "103.9 The Party" using the slogan, "Where it's New Year's Eve every day."[12] On January 14, 2019, at 9 a.m., WRKA flipped to rhythmic adult contemporary, branded as "103.9 The Groove".[13] In January 2020, WRKA shifted to urban adult contemporary, still under the "Groove" branding.[14]

References

  1. ↑ "Call Sign History". Retrieved November 19, 2015.
  2. ↑ "WRKA Facility Record". United States Federal Communications Commission, audio division.
  3. ↑ Broadcasting Yearbook 1976 page C-80
  4. ↑ "Two Louisville CHRs form LMA" (PDF). p. 20.
  5. ↑ Stark, Phyllis (July 16, 1994). "Vox Jox". Billboard. Vol. 106, no. 29. p. 84.
  6. ↑ "Street Talk" (PDF). p. 30. Retrieved 2023-09-17.
  7. ↑ "WPTI Goes Country; Killion New PD" (PDF). 2004-10-29. p. 12. Retrieved 2023-09-17.
  8. ↑ "Cox Puts Clusters Up For Sale". RadioInsight. 2012-07-20. Retrieved 2020-02-16.
  9. ↑ "Cox Sells Stations In Six Markets To Two Groups". RadioInsight. 2013-05-06. Retrieved 2020-02-16.
  10. ↑ "103.9 The Hawk Debuts In Louisville". RadioInsight. 2014-06-02. Retrieved 2020-02-16.
  11. ↑ "103.9 The Hawk Debuts". Format Change Archive. 2014-06-02. Retrieved 2020-02-16.
  12. ↑ A New Year's Party Starts on 103.9 Louisville Radioinsight - December 31, 2018
  13. ↑ 103.9 The Groove Debuts in Louisville Radioinsight - January 14, 2019
  14. ↑ 103.9 The Groove Evolving to Urban AC; Adds Rickey Smiley Radioinsight - January 3, 2020
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