WLTY (96.7FM) is acommercialradio stationlicensed toCayce, South Carolina, and serving theColumbia metropolitan area. It airs anadult hitsradio format, known asSteve FM and is owned byiHeartMedia, Inc. Theradio studios are on Greystone Boulevard in Columbia, nearInterstate 126 andRiverbanks Zoo.

WLTY has aneffective radiated power (ERP) of 9,000watts. By contrast, several Columbia FM stations run 100,000 watts. Thetransmitter is on Short Street in Columbia, near Millwood Avenue (U.S. Route 76).^[2] WLTY broadcasts usingHD Radio technology. Its HD-3digital subchannel carries acontemporary worship music format.

On July 11, 1974, the stationsigned on asWZLD. It featured a gold-basedAdult Contemporary format and became the number one rated station in its firstArbitron ratings book. However, in late 1977, rival AM Top 40WNOK countered the success of WZLD by flipping its sister FM station to Top 40 as "Stereo 105"WNOK-FM.

That move would stunt WZLD's growth in the marketplace and the format was changed toalbum-oriented rock (AOR) as "Z-96" by 1978. The format was run live-assisted using Drake-Chenault's AOR format. In 1980, the station changed back to Top 40 and both Z-96 and WNOK-FM went head to head for the next six years for the Columbia Top 40 radio audience.

In February 1986, Z-96 made a dramatic format change from Top 40 back to its original format,adult contemporary, still using the Z96 moniker. The ratings were not good and by early 1987, the station changed back to Top 40. This time, however, the station found itself competing with not only WNOK, but with upstart WMMC (nowWOMG) as well.

In February 1988, WZLD becameWYYS with the "Yes 97" moniker. The format remained Top 40, this time with a lean towarddance music. The station makeover would eventually pay off as WMMC would become WPRH later in 1988 and would leave the Top 40 format altogether one year later. WNOK, however remained dominate in the Top 40 ratings and despite several attempts, could not be unseated.

In August 1991, after a brief stunt as "Elvis Radio", the format was changed toCountry as "Kicks 96" with the newcall sign ofWHKZ. This time, the station targeted longtime country outlet 97.5WCOS-FM. Although it had some modest success at first, Kicks 96 was never able to beat WCOS-FM in the ratings. WHKZ was sold in 1994 to the owners of WCOS-FM, Benchmark Communications. Benchmark kept the country format on 96.7 as a flanker to protect WCOS-FM, but over time, the station's ratings had started to erode.

By 1998, Benchmark was sold to Capstar Broadcasting. Since there was no need for two country stations under the same ownership as well as declining ratings, the decision was made to change WHKZ to a new format. OverLabor Day Weekend in 1998, WHKZ dropped the country format for brief simulcasts of Capstar sister stations WCOS-FM andWVOC. After the stunting, WHKZ flipped tosoft adult contemporary music with the name "Lite 96.7" and the new call letters ofWLTY.

Despite the changes, Lite 96.7 never really took off in the Columbia market. After seven years of mediocre ratings against the dominant adult contemporary station, 106.7WTCB, WLTY flipped on August 16, 2005 tovariety hits as "Steve FM," rumored to be named forUniversity of South Carolinacollege football coachSteve Spurrier. Spurrier was actually affiliated withWISW. After a year, Steve-FM was able to finish in the Top 5 in theArbitron ratings, something that has not been achieved on the signal in over a decade.

On December 8, 2015, "Steve", as his namesake did weeks earlier, decided to resign from 96.7 after 11 years. Listeners were asked to choose a new name at Steve FM's website, with that name being revealed on December 14 at 8 AM. At that time, "Steve" came back out of retirement after just under a week, claiming he just needed some time off.^[3]

The station is owned byiHeartMedia, which also ownsSports talkWCOS-AM,countryWCOS-FM,CHRWNOK,Urban contemporaryWXBT andNews/TalkWVOC in the Columbia radio market.

In November 2025 it transitioned all its broadcast time to Christmas-themed music.

• Steve FM's website
• Facility details for Facility ID 4667 (WLTY) in theFCC Licensing and Management System
• WLTY inNielsen Audio's FM station database
• WLTY on iHeartRadio

• HD Radio stations
• Radio stations in South Carolina
• Adult hits radio stations in the United States
• Radio stations established in 1974
• IHeartMedia radio stations

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• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
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