WFUN-FM
Broadcast area | Greater St. Louis |
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Frequency | 96.3 MHz (HD Radio) |
Branding | 96.3 The Lou |
Programming | |
Language(s) | English |
Format | Urban adult contemporary |
Subchannels |
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Ownership | |
Owner |
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History | |
First air date | December 11, 1959 |
Former call signs |
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Former frequencies | 96.5 MHz (1959–72) |
Call sign meaning | former call sign of KXBS, which formerly aired a children's radio format as "Fun Radio" |
Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
Facility ID | 27022 |
Class | C1 |
ERP | 92,000 watts |
HAAT | 309 meters (1,014 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 38°34′28″N 90°19′32″W / 38.5744°N 90.3255°W |
Translator(s) | HD2: 107.3 K297BI (St. Louis) |
Links | |
Public license information | |
Webcast | Listen live (via Audacy) |
Website | www |
WFUN-FM (96.3
WFUN-FM has two HD Radio channels:
- 96.3-HD2 airs a classical music format operated by the non-profit Radio Arts Foundation, branded as "Classic 107.3" (relayed on FM translator K297BI 107.3 FM)
- 96.3-HD3 airs a Classic Rockformat as "WAR-FM Weber Automotive Rocks".
History
Early years
The 96.5 frequency originally
1987-1993: Soft Rock
In May 1987, the station's call letters were changed to KRJY, and the station switched to a
1993-2015: Classic Hits
In 1993, the station was sold by R.J. Miller to
In 2014, while keeping a Classic Hits direction, KIHT added more music from the late 1980s to the early 2000s, to compete against adult hits-formatted WARH.
2015-2020: Top 40
On January 30, 2015, at 5 a.m., after playing "
2020-Present: R&B
On November 5, 2020, Urban One agreed to a station swap with Entercom in which they would swap ownership of four stations, including the intellectual property of WFUN-FM (95.5), to Entercom in exchange for WBT/WBT-FM, WFNZ and WLNK in Charlotte, North Carolina. As part of the terms of the deal, Entercom would take over operations via a local marketing agreement on November 23; however, as the station itself will remain with Urban One, it was announced that the Adult R&B format and WFUN-FM's intellectual property would move to KNOU on that date. The change took place at midnight on November 23; subsequently, Gateway Creative Broadcasting announced it would purchase WFUN-FM's former frequency and flip it to Christian Rhythmic CHR under the "Boost Radio" branding in January 2021.[9][10] On November 24, 2020, the WFUN-FM call sign moved to 96.3;[11] 95.5 then became KXBS. (The KNOU call letters were later adopted by Los Angeles sister station KAMP-FM, but was later replaced by the KNX-FM call letters on December 21, 2021, after management rebranded the station into a simulcast of the market's AM radio station bearing the said letters.)
References
- ^ "Facility Technical Data for WFUN-FM". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
- ^ "Radio Station KADY..." St. Louis Post-Dispatch. December 18, 1959. p. 8F. Retrieved November 11, 2019.
- ^ "RR-1987-05-08" (PDF). americanradiohistory.com.
- ^ "Heritage Switches KRJY/St. Louis From '50s-'60s 'Jukebox' To '70s Gold Mine" (PDF). Radio & Records. pp. 10, 23. Retrieved November 12, 2019.
- ^ "KIHT St. Louis Flips To CHR Now". RadioInsight. 2015-01-30. Retrieved 2018-03-02.
- ^ "KIHT (K-Hits) St. Louis format change to "Now" | RadioDiscussions".
- ^ "Now 96.3 St. Louis Moves Back To CHR As Entercom Takes Over". RadioInsight. 2018-03-01. Retrieved 2018-03-02.
- ^ "Sale Prices For Emmis St. Louis Sales To Entercom & Hubbard". RadioInsight. 2018-02-23. Retrieved 2018-03-02.
- ^ "Entercom To Swap Charlotte Stations To Radio One For WPHI, WTEM and St. Louis Duo - RadioInsight". November 5, 2020.
- ^ "The Ending of NOW 96.3, the Beginning of 96.3 the LOU" – via www.youtube.com.
- ^ "Call Sign History (WFUN-FM)". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
External links
- Official website
- WFUN in the FCC FM station database
- WFUN in Nielsen Audio's FM station database
- K297BI in the FCC FM station database
- K297BI at FCCdata.org
- FCC History Cards for WFUN-FM