WWKL

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For other radio stations which have held the call sign WWKL, see WWKL (disambiguation).
WWKL
Broadcast areaSouth Central Pennsylvania - Harrisburg - Lancaster - York
Frequency106.7 MHz (HD Radio)
BrandingHot 106.7
Programming
FormatRhythmic contemporary
Ownership
Owner
WHGB, WNNK-FM, WQXA-FM, WTPA-FM
History
First air date
April 30, 1964; 59 years ago (1964-04-30) (as WMSH-FM)
Former call signs
WMSH-FM (1964-1969)
WEPN-FM (1969-1971)
WPDC-FM (1971–1980)
WRKZ (1980–2002)
WCAT-FM (2002–2004)
WCPP (2004–2005)
WMHX (2005–2012)
WZCY-FM (2012-2018)
Call sign meaning
Sounds like "cool" (former branding)
Technical information
Facility ID64842
ClassB
ERP14,000 watts
HAAT283 meters (928 ft)
Transmitter coordinates
40°10′16.3″N 76°35′48.8″W / 40.171194°N 76.596889°W / 40.171194; -76.596889 (WJBR-FM)
Links
WebcastListen live
Websitewww.hot1067fm.com

WWKL (106.7 FM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Hershey, Pennsylvania, and serving South Central Pennsylvania, including Harrisburg, Lancaster and York. It is owned by Cumulus Media and it broadcasts a rhythmic contemporary format. The studios are on Vartan Way in Harrisburg.

WWKL is a Class B FM station. It has an effective radiated power (ERP) of 14,000 watts. The transmitter tower is on Tower Road in Elizabethtown.[1] It broadcasts using HD Radio technology.

History[edit]

Early years[edit]

The station signed on the air on April 30, 1964; 59 years ago (1964-04-30).[2] Its original call sign was WMSH-FM and it was based in Elizabethtown. WMSH was the sister station to an AM outlet at 1600 kHz.

FM 106.7 became WEPN-FM in 1969 and then WPDC-FM in 1971. In 1980, it switched its call letters to WRKZ and branded as "Z107" with a country music format. The city of license was moved to Hershey and the power was boosted.

Cool Pop[edit]

On February 19, 2004, the station changed its call sign to WCPP and rebranded as Coolpop.[3] This was after over 24 hours of stunting by playing "Pop Goes the Weasel" on a continuous loop. Many rumors circulated, trying to explain the loop. There were even rumors of a staff member taking hostages and locking him/herself in the studio and repeatedly playing the song. This proved false when a Top 40 (CHR) format was launched with "Hey Ya!" by Outkast.

The original air staff of Coolpop included only one live show, "Michelle & Mitchell" in the morning. The midday and afternoon shifts were voicetracked by DJs from Citadel Broadcasting Company sister station WNTQ 93Q in Syracuse, New York. By Spring 2004, a full line up of live local talent was hired. Sarah Vaughn on middays and Justin Louis on afternoons were added, along with the live Michelle & Mitchell morning show.

Coolpop was marketed as "The World's First Coolpop Station", mixing a standard Mainstream CHR format along with some 1970s and 1980s "Cassette Classics" (later renamed "Coolpop Classics").

Coolpop also alternated theme weekends every other weekend. Some theme weekends included "One Hit Wonders", "Diva Doubleplays", "Coolpop Classics", and the popular 1970s-themed "Studio 106.7".

In early fall 2004, Michelle & Mitchell were replaced with Ed Coffey and Amy Warner. They had been hosts of a long running morning show from Harrisburg's WTPA-FM. The pair had been fired from that station earlier in the summer.

Adult Hits and Gen X[edit]

On July 1, 2005, Coolpop was suddenly replaced with an Adult Hits format branded as Mix 106.7.

On April 9, 2010, Mix 106.7 was flipped to Channel 106.7, and was reformatted with a 1980s and 1990s Hits/Gen X format.

Citadel merged with Cumulus Media on September 16, 2011.[4]

Z Country and Nash-FM[edit]

The Gen X format was dropped on January 20, 2012 at 1:06p.m. At that point, the station became WZCY-FM "Z Country 106.7." The last song on Channel 106.7 was Bye Bye Bye by *Nsync, and the first song on Z Country 106.7 was This Is Country Music by Brad Paisley.

On February 3, 2014, at 12 p.m., WZCY-FM, along with nine other Cumulus-owned country music stations, made the switch to "Nash FM" branding as Nash FM 106.7.[5] The final song on Z Country 106.7 was Prayin' for Daylight by Rascal Flatts, while the first song on Nash FM 106.7 was How Country Feels by Randy Houser.

Top 40 and Rhythmic Contemporary[edit]

On March 15, 2018, at 2PM, WZCY-FM flipped to contemporary hit radio as "Hot 106.7". This was part of a format swap with WWKL "Hot 93.5" which concurrently took on the Nash FM branding and a gold-based country format. The last song on "Hot 93.5" was “Young Dumb & Broke” by Khalid, while the first song on "Hot 106.7" was "Finesse" by Bruno Mars and Cardi B.[6]

This move was intended to reduce signal overlap and redundancy with co-owned country station WIOV-FM 105.1 in Ephrata. WIOV-FM serves the Lancaster, York, and Reading metropolitan areas. The stronger signal on 106.7 was thought to be more competitive with iHeartMedia's competing Top 40 outlet WHKF in Harrisburg.[7] iHeartMedia subsequently responded by flipping WHKF to alternative rock and redirecting its listeners to sister station WLAN-FM 96.9 in Lancaster. WLAN-FM similarly pivoted to serving the entire South Central Pennsylvania media market. It took advantage of WWKL's sister station 105.7 WQXA’s decision to shift from Alternative Rock to Mainstream Rock after WTPA-FM was sold to the Educational Media Foundation and flipped to "K-Love," the national Contemporary Christian network, in January 2018.[8]

In April 2024, WWKL shifted its format from Top 40/CHR to rhythmic contemporary.[9] It continues to call itself "Hot 106.7."

Signal note[edit]

WWKL is short-spaced to four other Class B stations: WJFK-FM 106.7 The Fan (licensed to serve Manassas, Virginia), WWMX Mix 106.5 (licensed to serve Baltimore, Maryland), WCFT-FM Bigfoot Country (licensed to serve Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania), and WLTW-FM 106.7 Lite FM (licensed to serve New York City).

WJFK-FM and WLTW-FM both operate on the same channel as WWKL. The distance between WWKL's transmitter and WJFK-FM's transmitter is 96 miles, while the distance between WWKL's transmitter and WLTW-FM's transmitter is 142 miles, as determined by FCC rules.[10] The minimum distance between two Class B stations operating on the same channel according to current FCC rules is 150 miles.[11]

WWMX and WCFT-FM both operate on 106.5 MHz, a first adjacent channel to WWKL. The distance between WWKL's transmitter and WWMX's transmitter is 58 miles, while the distance between WWKL's transmitter and WCFT-FM's transmitter is 61 miles, as determined by FCC rules.[10] The minimum distance between two Class B stations operating on first adjacent channels according to current FCC rules is 105 miles.[11]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Radio-Locator.com/WWKL
  2. ^ Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 1999 (PDF). 1999. p. D-374. Retrieved April 23, 2017.
  3. ^ "Citadel Gives Harrisburg "Cool Pop"". fmqb.com. 2004-02-19. Retrieved 2016-05-12.
  4. ^ "Cumulus now owns Citadel Broadcasting". Atlanta Business Journal. September 16, 2011. Retrieved September 16, 2011.
  5. ^ "Cumulus Adds 11 More Nash-FM's". radioinsight.com. 3 February 2014. Retrieved 2016-05-12.
  6. ^ Hot 93.5 moves to 106.7, YouTube. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0SB4mn756Ew.
  7. ^ "Cumulus Completes Harrisburg Format Swap; Revamps Nash Lineup". RadioInsight. 2018-03-15. Retrieved 2018-03-16.
  8. ^ "WHKF Harrisburg Flips To Alternative". RadioInsight. 2018-04-04. Retrieved 2018-04-04.
  9. ^ Hot 106.7 Harrisburg Goes Rhythmic Radioinsight - April 9, 2024
  10. ^ a b "Reference points and distance computations. 47 CFR § 73.208". fcc.gov. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved 2022-08-31.
  11. ^ a b "Minimum distance separation between stations. 47 CFR § 73.207(b)(1)" (PDF). fcc.gov. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved 2022-08-31.

External links[edit]

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