| Broadcast area | Green Bay, Wisconsin |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 95.9MHz |
| Branding | 95.9 Kiss FM |
| Programming | |
| Language | English |
| Format | Contemporary hit radio |
| Affiliations | Premiere Networks |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Woodward Communications, Inc. |
| History | |
First air date | 1984 |
Former call signs | WJLW (1983–1995) |
Call sign meaning | (sounds like "Kiss") |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 1518 |
| Class | C3 |
| ERP | 4,500 watts |
| HAAT | 236 meters (774 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 44°21′32″N87°59′07″W / 44.35889°N 87.98528°W /44.35889; -87.98528 |
| Repeater(s) | 92.9WKZY (Chilton) |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | www |
WKSZ (95.9FM, "Kiss FM") is acontemporary hit radio stationlicensed toDe Pere, Wisconsin, servingGreen Bay andAppleton-Oshkosh and owned by Woodward Communications. WKSZ's studios are located on College Avenue in Appleton, while its transmitter is located nearShirley in theTown of Glenmore.
The history of the 95.9MHz frequency in the Green Bay area dates back to the mid-1980s, with WJLW. Locally owned by Jack LeDuc (from whom the "JL" of the call letters originated), WJLW broadcast acountry music format[1] until October 1995, when LeDuc sold the station to Woodward Communications.[2][3] (LeDuc would resurrect the WJLW call letters, and its country format, one year later at the 106.7 frequency in Green Bay).
The 95.9 frequency went dormant for a month until November 13, 1995, when Woodward launched WKSZ as "95.9 Kiss FM". The station was positioned as acontemporary hit radio, putting it in direct competition with Midwest Communications'heritageTop 40/CHR,WIXX.[4][5]
Kiss FM's ratings managed to hold steady in the middle of theArbitron ratings for the Green Bay market, thanks to the long-time dominance ofWIXX as the premier hit radio station in Northeast Wisconsin. However, a ratings surge by WKSZ in 2001–2002 had the station beating WIXX in several key younger demographics. In response,Midwest Communications changed the format of their low-ratedadult contemporary station, WLTM, to arhythmic contemporary format asWLYD, "Wild 99.7"," and WIXX gravitated to amodern rock-leaning Top 40/CHR format.[6]
On April 18, 2003, after a stellar first book performance by "Wild", Woodward pulled the plug on "95.9 Kiss FM". A local research project commissioned by Woodward indicated a format "hole" forhot adult contemporary, and after a weekend ofstunting with Christmas music, Woodward launched the new format on WKSZ as "Today's Best Variety, Mix 95.9" on April 21. The first (and ultimately, last) song on "Mix" was "Why Georgia" byJohn Mayer.[7][8][9][10] The move to hot AC, however, backfired for Woodward, as WKSZ's listener share sank to at or near the bottom of theArbitron ratings in the Green Bay market.
In February 2006,Midwest Communications dropped WLYD's rhythmic format in favor ofadult hits (asWZBY). One month later, on March 13, at 10 am, Woodward would fill the void "Wild 99.7" left behind, flipping WKSZ from hot AC back to "Kiss FM", mixing Kiss' contemporary hit music with somerhythmic music formerly heard on "Wild". The first song on the revived "Kiss" was "In Da Club" by50 Cent (by coincidence, also the last song on the first incarnation of "Kiss").[11][12] (Reviving the "Kiss FM" moniker was an acknowledgment that listeners still referred to WKSZ by that name, even during its "Mix" days.)[13] A noticeable addition to "Kiss-FM" after its return was the "tagging" of each song (artist and song title) at its conclusion, regardless of whether a DJ will be heard afterwards (this would later be discontinued).
The 2006 return of “Kiss” paid off, for in the firstArbitron ratings book after the flip (spring 2006), WKSZ leaped to a fourth-place ranking (of 21 stations) with an audience share that wasfive times greater than the share "Mix 95.9" pulled in during its waning days. The station finished second place in the fall 2010 Arbitron ratings for the Green Bay market.
On February 15, 2016, WKSZ started simulcasting on sister stationWKZY (92.9 FM), which formerly repeated sister stationWKZG. The move was done to expand WKSZ's reach to the Fox Valley, as well as southern areas of the market. In addition, Doug Erickson and Mary Love, who were WKSZ's morning hosts from November 2004 until December 2012 (when they moved to WKZG upon that station's launch), returned to host mornings on WKSZ.[14][15] They remained until September 2017, when they were let go and replaced with former WIXX personalities Jake Kelly and Tanner Jay, who returned to Green Bay after two years atWKTI-FM inMilwaukee.[16] In November 2023, Jake and Tanner were let go, and were replaced by Otis Day, formerly of WIXX.[17][18] In January 2024, Woodward announced that Katie Schurk and Nick Vitrano, also formerly of WIXX, would join as co-hosts following the expiration of their non-compete clauses in June.[19][20]
On September 3, 2021, WKSZ debuted a new logo.[21]
The WKSZ call letters were first used in thePhiladelphia market at 100.3 FM (nowWRNB) before being relocated to WJLW in 1995.
44°21′32″N87°59′06″W / 44.359°N 87.985°W /44.359; -87.985