WXKS (AM)
Encyclopedia
WKOX is a radio station in the Boston radio market, licensed to Everett, Massachusetts
. The station is owned by Clear Channel Communications
and carries a Spanish Hits format.
. After an attempt to program pop music, the station flipped to country music in the 1960s, and added an FM station (WHIL-FM 107.9), which simulcast the AM during the day and continued with similar programming at night.
In 1972, the FM was changed from WHIL-FM to WWEL-FM, and the format of both was changed to beautiful music
, mostly a simulcast. A couple of years later, WHIL became WWEL, but with no format change.
In early 1979, after the stations were sold, the call letters were changed to WXKS and WXKS-FM
. Both stations launched a disco
format (mostly, but not completely, simulcast), but while the FM ("Kiss 108") soon became one of Boston's most popular radio stations, the AM had very few listeners. The FM side eventually made a very successful transition from disco to "pure" top 40; by that time, however, the AM no longer had the same format as the FM.
From December 1979 until late 2004, WXKS was an adult standards
-format station, which at first carried the Music of Your Life
format, with the music played by local personalities. For a time in the 1980s WXKS became quite successful, especially among older listeners, in spite of its daytime status. Later, WXKS went to 24-hours-a-day operation and broadcast programming from both the Music of Your Life and AM Only/America's Best Music
satellite networks, along with a local morning show during the early 2000s.
In late 2004, WXKS made a format change to liberal talk, for the most part carrying programming from Air America. Since WXKS' nighttime signal is very directional, sister station WKOX in Framingham also broadcast the same programming.
At noon on December 21, 2006, the stations dropped the progressive talk format in favor of a Spanish tropical format called "Rumba."
On September 4, 2009 WXKS split from the simulcast with WKOX and flipped to the current Spanish hits format. The two stations then swapped call letters on March 1, 2010, as part of 1200 AM
's transition to a conservative talk
format.
Everett, Massachusetts
Everett is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, near Boston. The population was 41,667 at the 2010 census.Everett is the last city in the United States with a bicameral legislature, which is composed of a seven-member Board of Aldermen and an 18-member Common Council...
. The station is owned by Clear Channel Communications
Clear Channel Communications
Clear Channel Communications, Inc. is an American media conglomerate company headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It was founded in 1972 by Lowry Mays and Red McCombs, and was taken private by Bain Capital LLC and Thomas H. Lee Partners LP in a leveraged buyout in 2008...
and carries a Spanish Hits format.
History
The station signed on January 20, 1952 as WHIL, a daytime-only station based in Medford, MassachusettsMedford, Massachusetts
Medford is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, in the United States, on the Mystic River, five miles northwest of downtown Boston. In the 2010 U.S. Census, Medford's population was 56,173...
. After an attempt to program pop music, the station flipped to country music in the 1960s, and added an FM station (WHIL-FM 107.9), which simulcast the AM during the day and continued with similar programming at night.
In 1972, the FM was changed from WHIL-FM to WWEL-FM, and the format of both was changed to beautiful music
Beautiful music
Beautiful music is a mostly instrumental music format that was prominent in American radio from the 1960s through the 1980s...
, mostly a simulcast. A couple of years later, WHIL became WWEL, but with no format change.
In early 1979, after the stations were sold, the call letters were changed to WXKS and WXKS-FM
WXKS-FM
WXKS-FM, better known as Kiss 108, is a radio station in Boston, Massachusetts, licensed to nearby Medford broadcasting a Top 40 format...
. Both stations launched a disco
Disco
Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...
format (mostly, but not completely, simulcast), but while the FM ("Kiss 108") soon became one of Boston's most popular radio stations, the AM had very few listeners. The FM side eventually made a very successful transition from disco to "pure" top 40; by that time, however, the AM no longer had the same format as the FM.
From December 1979 until late 2004, WXKS was an adult standards
Adult standards
Adult standards is a North American radio format heard primarily on AM or class A FM stations.Adult standards is aimed at "mature" adults, meaning mainly those persons over 50 years of age, but it is mostly targeted for senior citizens...
-format station, which at first carried the Music of Your Life
Music of Your Life
Music of Your Life is a satellite-delivered radio network featuring the Adult Standards music format. Created by record executive and jingle writer Al Ham, and now under the direction of Marc Angell, Music of Your Life has more than 50 AM, FM and HD-2 radio station affiliates, and has been in...
format, with the music played by local personalities. For a time in the 1980s WXKS became quite successful, especially among older listeners, in spite of its daytime status. Later, WXKS went to 24-hours-a-day operation and broadcast programming from both the Music of Your Life and AM Only/America's Best Music
America's Best Music
America's Best Music is the on-air branding of an adult standards 24-hour radio network, known internally as Adult Standards and formerly known as AM Only, currently owned by Dial Global. It was one of the original Westwood One's Transtar networks...
satellite networks, along with a local morning show during the early 2000s.
In late 2004, WXKS made a format change to liberal talk, for the most part carrying programming from Air America. Since WXKS' nighttime signal is very directional, sister station WKOX in Framingham also broadcast the same programming.
At noon on December 21, 2006, the stations dropped the progressive talk format in favor of a Spanish tropical format called "Rumba."
On September 4, 2009 WXKS split from the simulcast with WKOX and flipped to the current Spanish hits format. The two stations then swapped call letters on March 1, 2010, as part of 1200 AM
WXKS (AM)
WKOX is a radio station in the Boston radio market, licensed to Everett, Massachusetts. The station is owned by Clear Channel Communications and carries a Spanish Hits format.- History :...
's transition to a conservative talk
Conservative talk
Conservative talk radio is a talk radio format in the United States and Canada devoted to expressing conservative viewpoints of issues, as opposed to progressive talk radio...
format.