WDKS
Encyclopedia
WDKS is a Class A radio station
at 106.1 FM
licensed to Newburgh, Indiana
and serving Evansville, Indiana
. They are owned by Townsquare Media, which acquired the station from Clear Channel Communications
in 2003.
Under the ownership of then-parent Clear Channel, WDKS switched formats to Top 40 Mainstream and was rebranded as 106.1 Kiss FM, "All of Today's Best Music," in 2001, putting them in direct competition with the more established rival WSTO
. After Clear Channel spun WDKS and its sister stations to Regent Communications (now Townsquare Media) in 2003, Regent retained WDKS's format and the "KISS-FM" trademark.
On February 12, 2007, WDKS' musical direction initially leaned more Rhythmic, but after a month into the new direction the Pop/Rock product once again showed up on the station, only to once again move back toward a Rhythmic direction the following August. The shift to Rhythmic resulted in WDKS filling this format void in Evansville. But by March 2008, WDKS returned to a Top 40/CHR direction. The station added Kidd Kraddick
's morning show in May 2008.
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
at 106.1 FM
FM broadcasting
FM broadcasting is a broadcasting technology pioneered by Edwin Howard Armstrong which uses frequency modulation to provide high-fidelity sound over broadcast radio. The term "FM band" describes the "frequency band in which FM is used for broadcasting"...
licensed to Newburgh, Indiana
Newburgh, Indiana
Newburgh is a town in Ohio Township, Warrick County, Indiana, United States, along the Ohio River. The population was 3,325 at the 2010 census, which also recorded a population of 342,815 for the entire Evansville metropolitan area.-Geography:...
and serving Evansville, Indiana
Evansville, Indiana
Evansville is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Indiana and the largest city in Southern Indiana. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 117,429. It is the county seat of Vanderburgh County and the regional hub for both Southwestern Indiana and the...
. They are owned by Townsquare Media, which acquired the station from 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...
in 2003.
History
WDKS first signed on the air on November 1, 1990 as WEKX and later changed call letters to WSYZ in 1991 and WJPS in 1992. Originally an FM Talk station, they eventually switched to an Adult Top 40 format with the call letters WDKS in 1997.Under the ownership of then-parent Clear Channel, WDKS switched formats to Top 40 Mainstream and was rebranded as 106.1 Kiss FM, "All of Today's Best Music," in 2001, putting them in direct competition with the more established rival WSTO
WSTO (FM)
WSTO is a heritage radio station that serves the Evansville, Indiana, Henderson, Kentucky, and Owensboro, Kentucky markets. It is licensed in Owensboro and broadcasts from a 1000-foot tower strategically located midway between these cities in the Kentucky town of Hebbardsville...
. After Clear Channel spun WDKS and its sister stations to Regent Communications (now Townsquare Media) in 2003, Regent retained WDKS's format and the "KISS-FM" trademark.
On February 12, 2007, WDKS' musical direction initially leaned more Rhythmic, but after a month into the new direction the Pop/Rock product once again showed up on the station, only to once again move back toward a Rhythmic direction the following August. The shift to Rhythmic resulted in WDKS filling this format void in Evansville. But by March 2008, WDKS returned to a Top 40/CHR direction. The station added Kidd Kraddick
Kidd Kraddick
Kidd Kraddick is an American radio host. His nationally-syndicated morning radio show, Kidd Kraddick in the Morning, is based in Las Colinas, Texas, in Irving, a suburb of Dallas, and airs throughout the United States, syndicated by Kraddick's company, Yea Network.-Early life:Kraddick was born on...
's morning show in May 2008.