WOKV (AM)
This article needs additional citations for verification. (February 2013) |
Broadcast area | Jacksonville metro area |
---|---|
Frequency | 690 KHz |
Branding | ESPN 690 |
Programming | |
Language(s) | English |
Format | Sports |
Affiliations | ESPN Radio Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp |
Ownership | |
Owner |
|
History | |
First air date | October 23, 1958 |
Former call signs | WAPE (1958–89) WJKF (1989) WPDQ (1989–94) |
Call sign meaning | "OK" |
Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
Facility ID | 53601 |
Class | B |
Power | 50,000 watts day 25,000 watts night |
Transmitter coordinates | 30°07′56.3″N 81°41′58.9″W / 30.132306°N 81.699694°W (day) 30°18′28.5″N 81°56′22.5″W / 30.307917°N 81.939583°W (night) |
Links | |
Public license information | |
Webcast | Listen live Listen live (via Audacy) |
Website | www |
WOKV (690
History
The Big Ape
AM 690 first
For more than two decades, WAPE operated as a popular Top 40 station, known as "The Big Ape". Comic actor Jay Thomas started his professional career as the station's morning man.[4] The Brennan family sold the station in 1970 to Stan and Sis Atlass Kaplan for $1.48 million.[5]
Eastman Radio acquired WAPE in 1980.[6] The next year, despite a rating increase, WAPE flipped to country.[7] Several years later, it converted to a Christian radio format. In 1986, WAPE migrated to 95.1 MHz (which, at the time, aired a rhythmic contemporary as WJAX-FM) and relaunched its Top 40 format as WAPE-FM.
News/talk
In 1989, WAPE was bought by Genesis Communications, which changed the call sign to WJKF, and then to WPDQ, and switched the format to news/talk.[8] The station carried a mix of local hosts and nationally syndicated shows, and was an affiliate of the ABC Information Network.
In 1993, Prism Radio Partners bought WPDQ for $400,000.[9] The following year, Prism bought talk station WOKV (600 AM) and oldies station WKQL (96.9 FM) for $3.75 million.[10] The company moved the talk programming and call letters of WOKV from 600 to 690.
WOKV was the
In 2010, WOKV was added as a Primary Entry Point to the Emergency Alert System as part of a doubling of the number of designated PEP stations.[11]
Flip to sports
On January 2, 2019, WOKV (AM) split from its simulcast with WOKV-FM and changed its format to sports, branded as "ESPN 690" with programming from ESPN Radio.[12]
AM 690 facilities
WOKV has one of the strongest daytime AM signals in the Southeast.
Programming
WOKV AM 690's programming is made up primarily of ESPN Radio shows, with some live play-by-play coverage of sporting events.
References
- ^ "Facility Technical Data for WOKV". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
- ^ Broadcasting Yearbook 1960 page A-131
- ^ "For the Record" (PDF). Broadcasting. June 6, 1960. p. 104. Retrieved June 6, 2020.
- ^ "Jay Thomas Dead At 69". Radio Ink. August 24, 2017. Retrieved June 6, 2020.
- ^ "Are FCC threats spur to sales boom?" (PDF). Broadcasting. December 28, 1970. p. 59. Retrieved June 6, 2020.
- ^ "WAPE Sold To Eastman" (PDF). Radio & Records. August 22, 1980. p. 3. Retrieved June 6, 2020.
- ^ "Street Talk" (PDF). Radio & Records. February 6, 1981. p. 18. Retrieved June 6, 2020.
- ^ Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 1991 page B-68
- ^ Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 1994 page B-76
- ^ Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 1995 page B-83
- ^ Stimson, Leslie (September 22, 2010). "New PEP Station in Florida Dedicated". Radio World. Retrieved June 6, 2020.
- ^ Cox to Launch ESPN 690 Jacksonville Radioinsight - November 6, 2018
- ^ "WOKV-AM NEWS TALK 690 - BUSINESS OFC". cylex-usa.com. Retrieved 29 March 2013.
External links
- Official website
- WOKV in the FCC AM station database
- WOKV in Nielsen Audio's AM station database
- FCC History Cards for WOKV