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| Broadcast area | Long Island |
| Frequency | 97.5MHz (HD Radio) |
| Branding | WALK 97.5 |
| Programming | |
| Languages | English |
| Format | Hot adult contemporary |
| Subchannels | HD2:Simulcast ofWWSK (mainstream rock) |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
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| WHLI,WKJY,WWSK,WWWF-FM | |
| History | |
First air date | December 12, 1952; 72 years ago (1952-12-12) |
Former call signs | WFSS (1946–1952; before launch) |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 10137 |
| Class | B |
| ERP | 39,000 watts |
| HAAT | 169 meters (554 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 40°50′41.3″N73°01′59.3″W / 40.844806°N 73.033139°W /40.844806; -73.033139 |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen live |
| Website | www |
WALK-FM (97.5FM) is ahot adult contemporary radio stationlicensed toPatchogue, New York, and servingLong Island. The station is owned byConnoisseur Media, with studios and offices located at Airport Plaza inFarmingdale, New York, and its transmitter located onTelescope Hill inFarmingville, New York. WALK-FM broadcasts in theHD Radio hybrid format with its HD2 channel carrying themainstream rock programming of co-owned 94.3WWSK.
WALK-FM firstsigned on the air on December 12, 1952.[2] It was owned by the Suffolk Broadcasting Corporation, and was the FM counterpart to co-ownedWALK (1370 AM).[3] WALK was adaytimer station, so WALK-FM allowed listeners with FM radios to hear the programming after sunset. In its early years, WALK-AM-FM played classical music,big band,adult standards andjazz. WALK-FM was originally powered at 15,000 watts, only heard in the western part of Suffolk County.
The WALK stations were purchased in 1963 by the Island Broadcasting System along with theirsister station inRiverhead,WRIV. Island Broadcasting was owned in part byNBC News anchormanChet Huntley.[4] In 1997, WALK-AM-FM were acquired by Chancellor Communications.
One of WALK-FM's longest running shows was "Klein 'til 9 and Again 'til 10" hosted by Bob Klein. Klein was the morningdrive time disc jockey from 1966 to 1992. Klein died in 2014 at age 92.[5]
WALK-FM was one of the first stations onLong Island to run allChristmas music during the holiday season, beginning weeks before Christmas. The all-holiday format began in 1995 on AM 1370 WALK. Beginning in 2002, it was run on both WALK AM and FM.[6] It continues to run on WALK-FM annually from a week or two before Thanksgiving through Christmas Day.
In 2000, WALK-AM-FM were acquired byClear Channel Communications.[7] In 2014, Clear Channel switched its name toiHeartMedia, Inc.
The WALK Breakfast Club, the weekday morning show now hosted by Mark Daniels and Cindy, was featured onABC'sGood Morning America in December 2005. A GMA reporter was live on national TV, asking Mark and Cindy about playing all holiday music on radio stations. After the report, Cindy jokingly accused Mark of paying off the photographer since the camera was only focusing on Mark.[8]
Long-time WALK-FM DJ Dave Shnayer, known as "JD Howard" on-air, died on November 17, 2007, after a three-year battle withnon-Hodgkin lymphoma. The death was announced the following afternoon by Holly Levis.[9]
WALK-FM dropped the slogan "Yesterday and Today", switching to "Long Island's Best Variety" in May 2010. Around that time, the station began decreasing the amount of music from the 1970s to one-to-two songs per hour, starting the transition to a hotter AC format. Eventually, music from the 1970s was eliminated, and music from the 1980s has been scaled back.
By July 2012, the station's tempo had increased to where it was no longer playingmainstream adult contemporary but had switched to ahot adult contemporary format asMediabase moved it to the "Hot AC Panel". However, WALK-FM continued on theNielsen BDS AC panel.
On May 15, 2014, Qantum Communications announced that it would acquire WALK-AM-FM from theAloha Station Trust in exchange for transferring its existing 29 stations to Clear Channel. Qantum immediately sold WALK-AM-FM toConnoisseur Media, making them sister stations toNassau County-based AC station 98.3WKJY.[10] The transaction was consummated on September 9, 2014. The WALK stations were split up in late 2019, after Connoisseur donated the AM station to Cantico Nuevo Ministry,[11] which renamed itWLID.
In mid-2006, WALK-FM began broadcasting in theHD Radio hybrid format. Weeks later, WALK-FM began playingcountry music on its HD2 subchannel, which Clear Channel Communications claimed was the first country station on Long Island in years. Programming on WALK-FM-HD2 was discontinued after the sale of the station toConnoisseur Media. WALK-FM-HD2 returned to the air in 2017 with sister stationWWSK 94.3 FM "The Shark" now heard on the HD2 signal.[12] The Shark is amainstream rock station also serving Suffolk County.
In 2007, the station was nominated for theAdult Contemporary Station of the Year Award byRadio & Records magazine for the top 25 U.S.radio markets. Other nominees includedWMJX inBoston,KOST in Los Angeles,WLTW in New York City,WBEB inPhiladelphia andKEZK-FM inSt. Louis.[13]