WHKF
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| City | Harrisburg, Pennsylvania |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Harrisburg, Pennsylvania |
| Branding | 99.3 Kiss FM |
| Slogan | "Harrisburg's #1 Hit Music Station! |
| Frequency | 99.3 MHz |
| First air date | July 1965 |
| Format | Top 40 |
| ERP | 1,350 watts |
| HAAT | 207 Meters |
| Class | A |
| Facility ID | 23464 |
| Transmitter coordinates | 40°11′30.0″N 76°52′5.0″W / 40.191667°N 76.868056°W (NAD27) |
| Callsign meaning | W Harrisburg Kiss F M |
| Former callsigns |
WSFM WHIT WIMX WWKL-FM |
| Owner |
iHeartMedia, Inc. (Clear Channel Broadcasting Licenses, Inc.) |
| Sister stations | WHP, WKBO, WTKT, WRBT, WRVV |
| Website | 99.3 KISS-FM |
WHKF (99.3 FM, "KISS-FM") is a commercial FM radio station licensed to serve Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The station is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. and broadcasts a Top 40 format. WHKF is one of the many "KISS-FM" branded stations owned by iHeartMedia, Inc.
History
The station first signed on the air in July 1965 by Hudson Broadcasting Corp. as WSFM. The studios and transmitter were co-located with WCMB on Poplar Church Road (40°15′45.10″N 76°54′37.155″W / 40.2625278°N 76.91032083°W) in Wormleysburg, Pennsylvania. Through the 1960s and early 1970s it was MOR like its sister station, but it did not duplicate WCMB. In 1978 it was changed to ROCK 99 CHR (AKA Top 40) and began competing head to head with WKBO AM 1230 and WQXA Q-106 (in York, PA). In 1981, the format changed to Adult Contemporary, and is first called WSFM-99, and then Sunny99-FM. For a short time in the mid-1980s, it was a CHR station known as 99 HIT-FM. Through the early 1990s as WIMX it was known as MIX 99.3 a rhythmic CHR. WIMX became WYMJ but did not change format.
In 1995, then owner, Barnstable Broadcasting, swapped formats with its KOOL 94.9 and its 99.3 signal - moving the popular oldies format to 99.3, KOOL 99.3 WWKL-FM. The 94.9 signal became MAGIC 94.9 WYMJ, AC, a change that lasted exactly one year when it was flipped to Country as BOB 94.9.
Through the 1990s the station changed ownership several times during the radio ownership consolidations, first to Barnstable Broadcasting (in 1988), then to Dame Media in 1997 and finally to Clear Channel Communications in 1999. In 2001, Clear Channel dumped the legendary oldies station (KOOL 99.3) in favor of KISS-FM, a station aimed at teens.
Prior to launching, Clear Channel began stunting by playing a continuous sound effect of a small, noisy crowd. As the station's launch drew closer, the voiceover began announcing "Tomorrow at noon ... the talking stops." This was thought to be a direct shot at popular afternoon drive talk show host Bruce Bond, of Wink-104, who has since left that station.
References
- 1966 Broadcasting year book, pg C-145
External links
- Official website
- Query the FCC's FM station database for WHKF
- Radio-Locator information on WHKF
- Query Nielsen Audio's FM station database for WHKF
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