WKSL
WKSL is a commercial radio station licensed to Neptune Beach, Florida, and serving the Jacksonville metropolitan area. The station is owned and operated by iHeartMedia, Inc. WKSL airs a contemporary hit radio format. WKSL carries two weekday syndicated programs, with Elvis Duran and the Morning Show from WHTZ New York City, and in middays, WKSL carries On Air with Ryan Seacrest based at KIIS-FM Los Angeles.
WKSL's studios and offices are located on Belfort Parkway in Jacksonville's Southside neighborhood. Its transmitter is in the Arlington neighborhood, on Hogan Road near Pottsburg Creek.
WKSL broadcasts in the HD Radio hybrid format. The HD2 subchannel, which is simulcast on sister station WFXJ, carries a sports talk format known as "Fox Sports Jacksonville". The HD3 subchannel, which was simulcast on FM translator W300CU, formerly carried an urban gospel format known as "Praise 107.9". The HD3 subchannel has since been turned off.
History
Early history
The station was originally licensed to St. Augustine, Florida as WFOY-FM on 97.7 MHz, simulcasting WFOY. In 1984, Shull Broadcasting bought WFOY-AM-FM and changed the FM to Hot AC WUVU "The View 97.7". In 1992, WUVU moved to 97.9 MHz, upgrading its power to 50,000 watts. It was sold to Paxson Broadcasting, which switched WUVU to WSTF with an oldies format. On February 2, 1995, it flipped to smooth jazz as WFSJ-FM.WFKS "97.9 KISS FM"
WFSJ switched formats to rhythmic-leaning CHR at 3 p.m. on March 17, 2000, calling itself "97-9 KISS FM". For a short time it used the call sign WGNE-FM. On July 3, 2000, the call letters changed to WFKS.From 1994 to 2000, the WFKS call sign was used on 99.9 FM in Palatka, as CHR/Hot AC "99.9 Kiss FM". That station became country music WGNE-FM in 2000, and was moved into the Jacksonville market by Renda Broadcasting in May 2005. It is now "99.9 Gator Country", competing with WKSL's sister station, WQIK-FM.