WXKS (AM)
Broadcast area | Greater Boston |
---|---|
Frequency | 1200 kHz |
Branding | Talk 1200 |
Programming | |
Format | Conservative talk radio |
Affiliations | |
Ownership | |
Owner |
|
History | |
First air date | April 21, 1947 |
Former call signs | WKOX (1947–2010) |
Former frequencies | 1190 kHz (1947–1985) |
Call sign meaning | Taken from sister station WXKS-FM; previously used on the former WXKS (1430 AM) in Everett, now WKOX (AM) |
Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
Facility ID | 20441 |
Class | B |
Power | 50,000 watts |
Transmitter coordinates | 42°17′20.35″N 71°11′19.2″W / 42.2889861°N 71.188667°W |
Repeater(s) | 100.7 WZLX-HD3 (Boston) |
Links | |
Public license information | |
Webcast | Listen live (via iHeartRadio) |
Website | talk1200boston |
WXKS (1200
History
WKOX (AM)
On April 21, 1947, the station signed on as WKOX, a
Following stints with satellite-fed oldies and talk radio, WKOX became a partial simulcast of its FM sister station, then known as country-formatted WCLB (105.7 FM), on March 1, 1993. The only deviation from this simulcast was morning drive, which continued to be programmed separately[4] with a local talk show.[5] That August, WKOX switched to ABC Radio/Satellite Music Network's "Real Country" format,[6] featuring classic country to complement the more contemporary country sound on WCLB;[7] the local morning news-talk program was again retained.[8]
Another attempt at talk, including a show hosted by former WEEI (590 AM) and WRKO host Gene Burns, was made on October 2, 1995. By this point, WKOX had begun to orient itself to the Boston market as a whole rather than MetroWest.[3][9] WKOX's talk format was largely replaced with brokered programming in October 1996, mostly consisting of ethnic and foreign language shows;[10] by 1997, WKOX's daytime schedule largely featured programming in creole and Spanish, with some talk programming remaining in other time periods.[11] Notably, contemporary Christian music station WJLT (1060 AM) leased out WKOX's overnight hours to extend its programming schedule, since WJLT was bound at the time to daytime-only operations;[12] by 1999, the bulk of the station's daytime programming was also religious in nature, in Spanish.[13]
As early as 1995, WKOX pursued options to upgrade its power and serve the entire Boston area.[9] The FCC approved plans to have the station change its city of license to Newton and move its transmitter site to a site also utilized by WUNR, where it would operate at 50,000 watts. Community opposition delayed this series of moves for nearly 13 years, and also significantly delayed attempts by Fairbanks Communications to divest WKOX.[14] While Westinghouse Broadcasting[15] and B-Mass Holding Company had expressed interest,[16][17] by 1998, WKOX was the last remaining radio station in the Fairbanks portfolio.[18] After Richard M. Fairbanks died in August 2000,[19] WKOX was finally sold to Clear Channel Communications (now iHeartMedia) in early 2001.[17]
The brokered format, by then primarily consisting of Spanish-language religious programming, was retained until 2004, when the station began simulcasting a
WXKS (2010–present)
Clear Channel announced in January 2010 that WKOX would once again change to a talk format in April;[22] the launch was stepped up to March 8 after WRKO dropped The Rush Limbaugh Show from its line-up.[23] With this format change, WKOX changed call letters to WXKS (AM) on March 1; WXKS (1430 AM) concurrently changed its calls to WKOX. Coast to Coast AM was the first talk program to air on the station, moving from WRKO in February 2010, several weeks before the full format change.[24] "Rumba" programming ceased on March 5, at which time the station began stunting. For the first year of the talk format, WXKS was branded as "Rush Radio 1200", named for Limbaugh; similar branding was utilized at WRNO-FM in New Orleans, WRDU in Raleigh-Durham, and WPTI in Greensboro, North Carolina.[23] Less than a year later, on February 28, 2011, WXKS re-branded itself as "Talk 1200 Boston."[25]
Local hosts Jeff Katz and
On February 27, 2013, Clear Channel announced that WXKS would begin to carry Bloomberg Radio's financial news and information programming as of March 1. The comedy format continued on the second HD Radio subchannel of WXKS-FM until December 2013. The simulcast of 1200 AM, which had previously been on 107.9-HD2, moved to the HD2 subchannel of WJMN, replacing old-school hip hop.[28][29] In September 2013, WXKS began broadcasting Harvard University football, men's hockey, and men's basketball games. The broadcasts were produced by an independent packager who paid for the airtime.
Bloomberg L.P. announced on July 3, 2017, that the following day, Bloomberg Radio would move its programming to WRCA and its FM translator at 106.1 MHz. WXKS continued to simulcast the Bloomberg programming for several months.[30]
After Bloomberg's
The simulcast on WJMN's HD2 channel ended in November 2018, when it was replaced with iHeartMedia's "Breeze"
Initially, during its conservative talk format, WXKS carried some programming from Fox Sports Radio, including its morning show. On November 1, 2021, the station replaced Fox Sports Radio's 2 Pros and A Cup of Joe with a regionally-syndicated program hosted by Jim Polito, produced by Worcester sister station WTAG.[33]
References
- ^ "Facility Technical Data for WXKS". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
- ^ Broadcasting Yearbook 1948 page 144
- ^ a b c "The Boston Radio Dial: WKOX(AM)". The Archives @ BostonRadio.org. August 16, 2009. Retrieved March 4, 2010.
- ^ Fybush, Scott D (March 5, 1993). "WKOX AM Framingham MA to simulcast". rec.radio.broadcasting. Google Groups. Retrieved March 4, 2010.
- ^ "Format Changes" (PDF). The M Street Journal. March 3, 1993. p. 1. Retrieved April 14, 2022.
- ^ Stark, Phyllis; Boehlert, Eric; Borzillo, Carrie (August 14, 1993). "Revenues Post Double-Digit June Jump; Selling In Seattle; NPR Goes European". Billboard. p. 75. Retrieved January 29, 2012.
- ^ "WKOX promises 'Real Country'". The Boston Globe. August 30, 1993. Archived from the original on March 8, 2016. Retrieved January 22, 2012. (subscription content preview)
- ^ "Format Changes" (PDF). The M Street Journal. August 4, 1993. p. 2. Retrieved April 14, 2022.
- ^ a b Bickelhaupt, Susan (September 28, 1995). "WKOX joins talk circuit; lost Elvis song to air". The Boston Globe. Archived from the original on November 5, 2012. Retrieved February 28, 2011. (subscription content preview)
- ^ Fybush, Scott (October 23, 1996). "Flood Effects". New England RadioWatch. Retrieved March 4, 2010.
- ^ "Format Changes & Updates" (PDF). The M Street Journal. January 22, 1997. p. 1. Retrieved April 14, 2022.
- ^ Fybush, Scott (January 22, 1999). "North East RadioWatch". Retrieved January 22, 2012.
- ^ "Format Changes & Updates" (PDF). The M Street Journal. January 27, 1999. p. 2. Retrieved April 14, 2022.
- ^ Wollman, Garrett (May 28, 1996). "New England RadioWatch". Retrieved March 4, 2010.
- ^ Fybush, Scott (March 24, 2000). "WFAU Loses A Tower, WFNX Gains A State, NERW Visits California's Coast". North East RadioWatch. Retrieved March 4, 2010.
Back when Westinghouse thought it was about to buy WKOX, circa 1993-94...
- ^ Fybush, Scott (February 6, 1999). "WKOX, WLLH Sold". North East RadioWatch. Retrieved March 4, 2010.
- ^ a b Fybush, Scott (January 15, 2001). "North East RadioWatch". Retrieved March 5, 2010.
- ^ Fybush, Scott (August 6, 1998). "Tower Falls on WLVI". North East RadioWatch. Retrieved March 5, 2010.
- ^ Fybush, Scott (September 18, 2000). "LPFM - It's Nutmeg and Granite States' Turn". North East RadioWatch. Retrieved March 5, 2010.
- ^ Fybush, Scott (October 4, 2004). "Scott Muni Dies". NorthEast Radio Watch. Retrieved March 5, 2010.
- ^ Fybush, Scott (December 25, 2006). "Cox's Big Westchester (or NYC?) Move". NorthEast Radio Watch. Retrieved March 5, 2010.
- ^ Heslam, Jessica (January 14, 2010). "Lawrence pastor 'proud' of Conan O'Brien". Boston Herald. Retrieved January 14, 2010.
- ^ a b "Rush Radio 1200 Boston Launch Moved To Monday 3/8". RadioInsight. March 1, 2010. Retrieved January 4, 2020.
- ^ Heslam, Jessica (February 11, 2010). "For all you "Coast to Coast" fans…". Boston Herald. Retrieved February 18, 2010.
- ^ "Making Moves: Tuesday, March 1, 2011". Radio-Info.com. March 1, 2011. Archived from the original on March 5, 2011. Retrieved March 2, 2011.
- ^ Heslam, Jessica (August 7, 2012). "WRKO tunes into Rush Limbaugh". Boston Herald. Retrieved August 11, 2012.
- ^ "Talk 1200/Boston Launches 'Gaffe 1200' Stunt". All Access. August 10, 2012. Retrieved August 11, 2012.
- ^ "New format for Clear Channel's WXKS, Hub biz to Bloom 24/7 on AM radio". Boston Herald. February 27, 2013. Retrieved February 27, 2013.
- ^ "Bloomberg Usurps Comedy In Boston". RadioInsight. February 27, 2013. Retrieved January 4, 2020.
- ^ Venta, Lance (July 3, 2017). "Bloomberg Moving To 1330/106.1 In Boston". RadioInsight. Retrieved July 5, 2017.
- ^ iHeartMedia Relaunches Talk 1200 and Rumba 1430 Boston Radioinsight - March 1, 2018
- ^ Fybush, Scott (November 19, 2018). "WRKO Shuffles Hosts". NorthEast Radio Watch. Retrieved May 9, 2022.
- ^ Venta, Lance (October 28, 2021). "Talk 1200 Boston Adds Jim Polito For Mornings". RadioInsight. Retrieved October 28, 2021.
External links
- Official website
- FCC History Cards for WXKS
- WXKS in the FCC AM station database
- WXKS in Nielsen Audio's AM station database