 | |
| Broadcast area | Atlanta metropolitan area |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 106.7MHz (HD Radio) |
| Branding | 106.7 K-Love |
| Programming | |
| Format | Contemporary Christian music |
| Subchannels |
|
| Affiliations | K-Love |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Educational Media Foundation |
| WAIA | |
| History | |
First air date | April 3,1949 (as WDUN-FM) |
Former call signs |
|
Call sign meaning | "Atlanta's K-Love" |
| Technical information | |
| Facility ID | 48727 |
| Class | C |
| ERP | 77,000watts |
| HAAT | 505 meters (1,657 ft) |
| Translators | 92.5 W223BP (Dallas) 92.3 W222AF (Marietta, relays HD2) |
| Links | |
| Webcast | Listen Live Listen Live (HD2) Listen Live (HD3) |
| Website | klove.com |
WAKL (106.7MHz, branded106.7 K-Love) is anon-commercialFMChristian contemporaryradio stationlicensed toGainesville, Georgia. Owned by theEducational Media Foundation, WAKL serves theAtlanta metropolitan area as the localaffiliate for the nationalK-Love network. Besides a standardanalog transmission, WAKL broadcasts in theHD Radio hybrid format.[1]
WAKL is aClass C FM radio station, with aneffective radiated power (ERP) of 77,000watts. In 1985, thetransmitter location was moved from the Gainesville area to a site off Piney Grove Road inLoganville, Georgia, bringing it about 30 miles closer toIntown Atlanta, though Gainesville remains as itscity of license. WAKL programming is heard on anFM translator station, 19–wattW223BP, 92.5 MHz inDallas, Georgia.[2]
On April 3, 1949, this facility firstsigned on as WDUN-FM.[3] It was co-owned withWDUN (1400 AM; now at 550 AM). At first, it was only powered at 300 watts and itsimulcast its AMsister station. In the 1960s, the station moved to 106.7 MHz and power was dramatically increased to 50,000 watts.[4] It switched to anautomatedbeautiful music format.
By late 1976, WDUN-FM was WWID "Wide 107", continuing itseasy listening format. Then it became WWLT "Lite 106" in early 1983, playingsoft adult contemporary music.
WWLT was sold to Katz Broadcasting in 1984.[5] On June 25, 1984, thecall sign changed to WYAY, flipping to acountry music format as "Y106", a moniker it retained until 2000.[6] From 1989 to 1994, Y106 was paired with a station known as "Y104", on the opposite (southwest) side ofmetro Atlanta, broadcasting at 104.1 MHz. Y106 and Y104 simulcast their programming, except foradvertisements. 104.1 FM becameurban adult contemporaryWALR-FM after it was sold toCox Radio in late 1994.
In 1993, WYAY was bought byABC Radio for $19 million.[7] ABC kept the country format in place, with populardisc jockeyRhubarb Jones hosting mornings.
On September 1, 2000, at 3 p.m., the station changed to aclassic country format as "Eagle 106.7". The station still played some current music but mainly focused on the classics. The first song on the new "Eagle" was "T-R-O-U-B-L-E" byMarietta nativeTravis Tritt.
In late 2005, WYAY changed transmitter locations to a new tower in Loganville, that the station shares withSalem-ownedWFSH-FM, which improved south metro coverage for the 106.7 signal. In 2007, ABC, under the ownership ofThe Walt Disney Company, decided to sell all of its radio stations toCitadel Media.
On February 29, 2008, Citadel announced that WYAY would drop its country format foroldies.[8] A majority of the on-air talent was released, includingRhubarb Jones, who had served at the station since 1985. This format change was triggered by Citadel's financial hardships that occurred after the company's purchase of ABC Radio. Jones had been the longest-running morningDJ on Atlanta radio. Dallas McCade and traffic reporter Greg Talmadge were the only on-air survivors of the switch to oldies. They later moved to co-owned country stationWKHX. Jones died in 2017.
On March 9, 2008 at 12:56 p.m., WYAY played its last country song, "Stealing Cinderella" byChuck Wicks. The station then aired a liveNASCAR radio broadcast (theKobalt Tools 500 fromAtlanta Motor Speedway). Then at 7:00 p.m., just after the race had finished, the station switched to an oldies format, rebranding itself as "True Oldies 106.7". The first song played was "Revolution" byThe Beatles. The station featured thesyndicatedImus in the Morning and ABC'sThe True Oldies Channel all day, similar to a format flip that occurred on sister stationWJZW inWashington, D.C., on February 29, 2008.[9] The oldies format had been absent from the metro Atlanta area for several years. WYAY promoted aplaylist of over 5,000 songs, while most oldies stations only play a fraction of that many titles.
On November 7, 2008, WYAY announced that it would not carry NASCAR races in 2009, and would become the new FM home ofGeorgia Tech football and men's basketball.
On April 6, 2009, it was announced that Imus would move from WYAY to talk stationWCFO. The "Spiff & Fred Show", hosted by former Fox 97 personality Spiff Carner with co-host Freddie Brooks, moved from afternoons to mornings to replace Imus.[10]
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On November 22, 2010, the station changed its branding to "106.7 Atlanta's Greatest Hits", dropping The True Oldies Channel network, and shifted to aclassic hits format featuring a mix of hit songs from the 1970s and 1980s, eliminating most songs from the 1960s.
Citadel merged withCumulus Media on September 16, 2011.[11]
On April 6, 2012, Cumulus registered thedomain name AllNews1067.com.[12] On April 27, Cumulus announced the switch to "All News 106.7" would be sometime in May.CNN Radio, based in Atlanta, had discontinued operations several months earlier, with WYAY hiring many former CNN Radio employees to staff the station, including Greg Black, Maria Boynton, Andy Rose, Andy Flick, Michelle Wright and Jackie Howard. The station also hired Marshall Adams, former program director forKDKA inPittsburgh. WYAY also partnered withWAGA-TV for weather and traffic reports, as well asWCNN for sports updates. WYAY also aired hourly headlines fromABC News Radio.
In May 2012, an application was filed with the FCC to change the frequency from 106.7 to 106.5, change the city of license from Gainesville toSandy Springs, and changeclass from C to C1, any of which would require arulemaking proceeding to amend the FCCtable of allotments. In addition, it would affectco-channelWSKZ inChattanooga, also owned by Cumulus. That station would have to reduce itssignal strength toward the south and southeast to preventRF interference between the two. WYAY's application lists theInman Park tower east of downtown Atlanta as the proposed site. This was built forWUPA, although that station has since moved. However, in June 2012, the FCC denied the application.
On May 29, 2012 at 4:50 a.m., WYAY ended its classic hits format by playing "Another One Bites the Dust" byQueen, "Last Dance" byDonna Summer, and "A Day in the Life" bythe Beatles. This would be followed by a 10 minute stunt montage of random song and movie soundclips, with a common theme of them being themed around news. At 5:00 a.m., the station began its all-news format. Ratings during this time were poor.
On October 21, 2013, Cumulus announced the first of two changes to the station's programming, with formerWGST hostKim Peterson, better known as "The Kimmer", hosting a midday talk and interview program for WYAY known as "Newsmakers" beginning the following month. WYAY also became theflagship station for theAtlanta Braves Radio Network effective with the start of the 2014 season.
On May 12, 2014, WYAY relaunched with a news/talk format, branded as "Newsradio 106.7".[13] The station began to focus more on talk shows and slowly phased out its remaining all-news blocks. Over time, the only all-news block was weekday morningdrive time. Shortly after this time, WYAY swapped from ABC News to Cumulus' in-house networkWestwood One News for its hourly headlines. In January 2018, the station relaunched again as "Talk 106.7" with an emphasis on personality-driven programming, and no all-news blocks.[14]
On February 13, 2019, Cumulus Media announced it would sell six stations, including WYAY, to the Educational Media Foundation for $103.5 million.[15] Also included were stations inNew York City,Washington, D.C.,San Jose,Savannah andSyracuse. As a result of the impending format change,Atlanta Braves broadcasts would move back toWNNX andWCNN.[16]
On May 31, 2019, WYAY concluded its talk format. Throughout the day, the hosts allowed listeners to call in and share their thoughts about the end of the station. At 7:00 p.m. that evening, EMF officially took over the station and began airingK-Love programming.[17] Upon taking over the station, EMF changed the station's call letters to WAKL, a call sign previously held onthe K-Love station inFlint, Michigan.[18][19]
The Atlantaradio market is now served by threeContemporary Christian music stations: WAKL, sister stationWAIA, which plays EMF's nationally syndicated "Air1" network, andWVFJ-FM. All three stations are supported by listener contributions.
EMF turned on the HD signal on July 30, 2019, and has its sister networks "Air1" on 106.7-HD2, and Classic contemporary Christian Music "K-Love Classics" on 106.7-HD3.
33°52′01″N83°49′44″W / 33.867°N 83.829°W /33.867; -83.829
