WTKS-FM

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WTKS-FM
City of license	Cocoa Beach, Florida
Broadcast area	Orlando, Florida Daytona Beach, Florida Melbourne-Titusville-Cocoa, Florida
Branding	Real Radio 104.1
Frequency	104.1 MHz
Format	Talk HD2: Classic Alternative
ERP	94,000 watts
Class	C
Callsign meaning	W TalKS
Owner	Clear Channel Communications
Website	www.wtks.com

WTKS-FM 104.1 is a FM radio station playing the talk radio format. It is licensed to Cocoa Beach, Florida, but serves mainly the Orlando and Central Florida areas.

Like other talk stations on the FM dial, most of the programs are geared toward young adults, with topics deemed relevant to them. It also suspends talk shows during weekends to play modern rock music, which distinguishes it from, for example, KLSX in Los Angeles, which has abandoned music entirely. Over the past six years, parent Clear Channel has frequently cherry-picked shows from this station to be a part of XM Radio's Extreme XM channel 152.

Contents 1 Current lineup 2 Previous shows 3 History 4 External links

[edit] Current lineup

The Monsters In The Morning (weekday mornings 6am to 11am)
The Shannon Burke Show (weekday middays 11am to 3pm)
The Philips Phile (weekday afternoons 3pm to 7pm)
Lex and Terry (tape delayed from Dallas) (weekday evenings 7pm to 11pm)
SBK Live! (Saturday evening 7pm to 10pm)
The Final Hours (Saturday night 10pm to 12am)
Sunday Night Vinyl (Sunday night 7pm to 10pm)
Real Music Weekends

[edit] Previous shows

The Hideout, replaced The Drew Show and lasted until November of 2006 when due to budget cuts, it got the axe.
The Howard Stern Show, weekdays 6am to 11am(ish). Aired from 1994 to 2004. Syndicated from New York. WTKS was one of several Clear Channel stations that pulled Howard from their stations in 2004.
The Phil Hendrie Show (weekday nights 11pm to 1am) A syndication rebroadcast.
The Bill Cross Show, weekday overnights 1 am to 6 am.
The Ed Tyll Show, weekday middays 11am to 4pm. Broadcast locally.
The Drew Show (formerly called The Drew Garabo Show), weekday evenings 7pm to 11pm. Broadcast locally and on XM Satellite Radio. Started its run weekday overnights 1 am to 6 am.
Real Groove on Fridays after The Drew Show. Local house DJ's would come in and spin several sets.
The News Thang, weekday mornings 4am - 6am. Hosted by Melissa Foxx, helped out by various interns. At 6am she would switch over to act as local producer for Howard Stern. Foxx now works in Clear Channel Orlando's traffic division.
Erik in the Dark, weekday overnights 1am - 4am. Same Erik as host of Sunday Night Vinyl.
LoveLine with Dr. Drew Pinsky and Adam Carolla, weekday evenings 11pm - 1am. Syndicated.
Love Phones with Jager and Dr. Judy, weekday evening 11pm - 1 am. Syndicated.
Passion Phones, weekday evenings 10pm - 12am. Various hosts over time including Wanda Roland, Susie "Cream Cheese" Cerrone (taking a brief break from her job with Metro Traffic) and Erin Sommers (syndicated from Miami)
The Night Club, Friday Nights 11pm - 1am. Aired throughout all of 2003. Hosted by Disco Scottie along with Psycho Spence and Manson (who started out as an intern on The Philips Phile).
G. Gordon Liddy, weekday middays.
Guy Kemp, weekday mornings.

[edit] History

104.1 FM began operations in 1962 as WRKT-FM with an automated Jazz format, the sister station to WRKT-AM 1300 (now WTIR). The station was owned by C. Sweet Smith, who also owned a Ford dealership in Cocoa as well as a bar/lounge. In 1967, the station changed format to Progressive Rock with the new calls WKPE; the station was initially automated but eventually added more live announcers. WKPE reverted to the WRKT calls in 1977 with a Top 40 format as "Rocket 104," shifting its format to Adult Contemporary in 1980.

Guy Gannett purchased WRKT-FM in 1981 with the intent of upgrading the 30,000-watt station to 100,000 watts from a new tower near Bithlo and serve the Orlando market. The calls were changed that year to WSSP. A Beautiful Music format was planned, but WSSP initially adopted a Country format as "Brevard's Stereo Country 104." The country format was a temporary measure until the upgrade of the station's signal could be finalized.

The move to Bithlo was completed in 1985, and WSSP became Beautiful Music "WSSPer [Whisper] 104". For a number of years, "WSSPer" was one of the most popular radio stations in Orlando, often ranking as the #1 station 12+ in the market and posting shares as high as 17% in certain dayparts (see: http://www.cflradio.net/104.1_WSSP_FM.htm). However, by 1992, the station's ratings were down, and WSSP switched to a Hot AC format as WZTU "U104.1" in the hopes of raising ratings and revenue. "U104.1" failed miserably. Later in 1992, Gannett sold his radio stations in Orlando and Miami to concentrate on his television properties. WZTU was acquired by Paxson Communications Corporation, headed by Lowell "Bud" Paxson (who founded the Home Shopping Network and later PAX TV). Paxson switched WZTU to CHR as WHVE "One Hundred Four Point One, The Wave," but despite the programming expertise of Bill Pasha of WAPE in Jacksonville, ratings and revenues did not increase; the station came in a dismal 14th place in its first ratings book. The plug was pulled on "The Wave" in August 1992 after only three months.

WHVE changed its calls to WWNZ-FM, simulcasting much of its programming from WWNZ-AM 740 with a few separate shows. Paxson sold WWNZ-FM to Press Broadcasting in 1993. Press Broadcasting initiated the WTKS calls and the "Real Radio" moniker. The station was sold back to Paxson in 1996 and then came under the Clear Channel umbrella in 1997, where it has remained since.

[edit] External links

• Real Radio 104.1 (WTKS) Official Website
• Unofficial Fan Website