| Broadcast area | Jacksonville metropolitan area |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 104.5MHz (HD Radio) |
| Branding | 104.5 WOKV |
| Programming | |
| Format | News/Talk |
| Subchannels | HD2:Alternative Rock "X99.5" |
| Network | Fox News Radio |
| Affiliations | |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| History | |
First air date | July 1967; 57 years ago (1967-07) |
Former call signs |
|
Former frequencies | 104.9 MHz (1967–1979) |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 72081 |
| Class | C |
| ERP | 98,800watts |
| HAAT | 309 meters (1,014 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 30°16′35.0″N81°33′51.0″W / 30.276389°N 81.564167°W /30.276389; -81.564167 |
| Translator(s) | HD2: 99.5 W258CN (Jacksonville) |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast |
|
| Website | |
WOKV-FM (104.5MHz) is aradio station inAtlantic Beach, Florida, serving theJacksonville metropolitan area. It airs anews/talkradio format branded as "News 104.5 WOKV". The station is owned byCox Media Group, with studios on Central Parkway in theSouthside district of Jacksonville.
WOKV-FM has approximately aneffective radiated power (ERP) of 100,000watts, the maximum for most FM stations.[2] Thetransmitter is on Hogan Road near Southside Boulevard (Florida State Road 115) in the Southside district. WOKV-FM broadcasts usingHD Radio technology. Its HD2subchannel carries analternative rock format, which feedsFM translator W258CN at 99.5 MHz.
The stationsigned on the air in July 1967; 57 years ago (July 1967). Its originalcall sign was WAQB-FM and it broadcast on 104.9 MHz.[3] It was the FM counterpart ofWKTX (1600 AM). Its effective radiated power was only 3,000 watts, a fraction of its current output, and it simulcast WKTX'smiddle of the road (MOR) music format. Around 1970, it changed its call letters to WJNJ-FM.
In 1979, the station changed its call sign again, this time to WFYV. Its frequency moved down to 104.5 MHz, coupled with a dramatic boost in power. WFYV began running 100,000 watts, allowing it to be heard throughout Jacksonville's expanding suburbs, from SoutheastGeorgia toSt. Augustine andGainesville.
On March 10, 1980, WFYV becameRock 105 with analbum rock format. Over the years, the station gradually shifted towardsclassic rock. In 2010, following a format change at rival rock stationWPLA, WFYV shifted from classic rock to mainstream rock under the nameRock 104.5, Jacksonville's Best Rock. On-air syndicated hosts includedLex and Terry andBubba The Love Sponge.
On September 24, 2008, WFYV-FM host Gregg Stepp announced he would be leaving the station to take a job inBakersfield, California, as a program director. Stepp was then asked by WFYV-FM management to create a bit that would bring some attention to the station before announcing the return of popular morning host Doug "The Greaseman" Tracht. Tracht was slated to begin on the Jacksonville airwaves a couple weeks later. Stepp decided to make everyone think he had quit live on-the-air. He would give listeners the idea that station management was planning on firing him but he was quitting before they had the chance. Stepp concluded his bit by saying:
Now I find out that there's another deal in the works with somebody else and they're only minutes away from handing me my walking papers! Well, here's your 15 second notice: Kiss my ass, Cox Radio Jacksonville, and especially you, Bill Hendrich and David Israel! You two empty suits will be lucky if this is the only time this happens to you, and it's gonna be a bright day in Jacksonville when your desks are emptied and radio is free of you. Now, this shows you how much they're paying attention, by the way, because they should have been in here by now, and if they were really listening to the radio stations they'd knew what was going on. So, thanks for nothing, rot in hell Cox Radio. I am gone!
— Stepp's final words
This was followed by 11 seconds of dead air, then music played. It was not revealed until much later that Stepp's "quitting" WFYV-FM was merely a bit.[4]
On April 10, 2013, Cox Media announced that "Rock 104.5" was going to "retire", effective April 28. On that day, at 10:07 p.m., the stationsigned off with a live version of "Free Bird" byLynyrd Skynyrd, followed by a minute of silence. After that, the station beganstunting with a 5-minute loop of teasers of potential formats:hot talk as "Raw Talk, 104.5 The Bone",soft AC as "Easy 104.5",country music as "104.5 Brad-FM",urban contemporary as "Power 104.5" and Spanishtropical music as "Caliente 104.5". During the stunting, rock listeners were redirected toalternative rocksister stationWXXJ (then at 102.9 FM, now 106.5 FM).
The stunting lasted until midnight on May 1, 2013. At that point, WFYV-FM changed to asimulcast of news/talk-formattedWOKV690 AM, abandoning all music entirely.[5] WOKV had previously been heard at FM on106.5 MHz. On May 16, 2013, WFYV-FM changed itscall sign to WOKV-FM.
The FM and AM frequencies remained a simulcast until January 2, 2019. On that day, WOKV AM flipped tosports as anESPN Sports RadioNetwork affiliate.[6]
Weekdays on WOKV-FM begin withJacksonville's Morning News with Rich Jones. The show features interviews with news, sports, weather and traffic updates. The rest of the weekday schedule isnationally syndicatedconservative talk programs. Hosts includeBrian Kilmeade,Erick Erickson,Sean Hannity,Chad Benson, Jimmy Failla andCoast to Coast AM withGeorge Noory.
Weekends feature programs on money, health, guns, gardening, home repair and the syndicatedSunday Night with Bill Cunningham. Some weekend hours are paidbrokered programming. Nights and weekends, most hours begin with an update fromFox News Radio.
WOKV-FM broadcasts usingHD Radio technology. With radios that are HD equipped, listeners can receive adigital subchannel, branded as "X 99.5." This station carries anAlternative rock format and also broadcasts onFM translator W258CN at 99.5 FM. This format was previously broadcast on 106.5WXXJ as "X 106.5", before swapping frequencies with its sister station "Hot 99.5."
Hot 99.5 previously broadcast on the HD2 subchannel and the 99.5 translator. But on August 31, 2023, the station and "X 106.5" swapped frequencies.[7] Hot 99.5 moved to 106.5, rebranding as "Hot 106.5" and changing the call sign to WHJX.