WKIT
 | |
| |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Bangor, Maine |
| Frequency | 100.3 MHz (HD Radio) |
| Branding | 100.3 WKIT |
| Programming | |
| Format | Mainstream rock |
| Subchannels | |
| Affiliations | |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | The Zone Corporation |
| WZLO, WZON | |
| History | |
First air date | February 14, 1979 |
Former call signs |
|
Former frequencies | 100.9 MHz (1979–1988) |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 25747 |
| Class | B |
| ERP | 16,000 watts |
| HAAT | 269 meters (883 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 44°40′39″N 68°45′15″W / 44.67750°N 68.75417°W |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | www |
WKIT (100.3 FM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Brewer, Maine, serving the Bangor area of Central Maine. It airs a mainstream rock radio format. WKIT's main competitors are WWMJ, a classic rock station in Ellsworth, and WTOS, a mainstream rock station that simulcasts WTOS-FM from Skowhegan.
WKIT is part of the Zone Corporation, a Central Maine broadcasting group owned by authors Tabitha and Stephen King. It has studios and offices on Broadway in Bangor. The transmitter is off Center Drive in Orrington, Maine.[2]
Unlike many U.S. radio stations, WKIT still has a strong presence of live local announcers in the studio. However, on the weekends the station carries some syndicated programming. WKIT also streams its programming on the Internet via the official station website. Notable on air personalities include the Rock and Roll Morning Show hosts Don Cookson and Mark "The Shark" Young, midday host Jason “Rock Dog” Roberts, afternoon host Scotty Moore, and simulcasting Nights With Alice Cooper.
On Stephen King's official website, there is an advertisement for WKIT. In his novel 11/22/63, Jake saves most of the Dunning family, and when he comes back to 2011 he looks up Ellen Dunning (who was 7 in 1958) and calls her, learning she is a "jock for WKIT in Bangor, you know, a disk jockey?".
History
[edit]Following ten years of delays,[3] the station signed on February 14, 1979,[4] as WGUY-FM on 100.9 MHz. It was owned by Stone Communications along with WGUY (1250 AM); the stations simulcast a top 40 format, but WGUY-FM was able to operate 24 hours a day, in contrast to the AM station's daytime-only operation.[3] From the start, plans were in place to eventually separate the WGUY stations' programming;[3] on November 30, 1981, the AM station relaunched as Music of Your Life station WMLI, while WGUY-FM continued the contemporary hit radio programming.[5]
Stone Communications sold WGUY-FM and WGUY (1200 AM) to John Pineau's Sunspot Broadcasting for $1 million in 1987.[6] Pineau changed the call sign to WKIT-FM, relaunched the station with a "hip adult" format, added newscasts from the ABC Direction Network, and announced plans to move to 100.3 MHz with a larger signal.[7] WKIT-FM moved to 100.3 in October 1988.[8]
After filing for chapter 11 bankruptcy,[9] Sunspot Broadcasting sold WKIT-FM and WKIT (AM) to Eric D. Hake and Raymond H. Lynch's H & L Broadcasting for $293,000 in 1991.[10] Author Stephen King, who already owned WZON, bought WKIT-FM and the AM station—by then WNSW—from H & L in 1995; while he planned no changes to WKIT's "Rock 100" programming or WNSW's news/talk format,[11] WNSW would be closed down on October 24, 1995.[12]
On December 2, 2024, King announced that WKIT as well as its sister stations WZLO and WZON would cease broadcasting at the end of the month, citing ongoing financial losses.[13] Subsequently, on December 23, Jeff Solari and Greg Hawes, through Rock Lobster Radio, announced that they would acquire WKIT, and would begin operating the station under a local marketing agreement on January 1, 2025. Solari had previously served as a reporter for WLBZ and a sports talk host for WZON and WEZQ, while Hawes owns restaurants and a marijuana dispensary in the Bangor area.[14]
References
[edit]- ^ "Facility Technical Data for WKIT". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
- ^ "WKIT". Radio-Locator.com.
- ^ a b c Palmer, Chris (February 3–4, 1979). "New WGUY-FM ready to rock". Bangor Daily News. pp. ME 3, 10. Retrieved December 10, 2024.
- ^ Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 2010. 2010. p. D-260.
- ^ Palmer, Chris (November 28–29, 1981). "WMLI is born". Bangor Daily News. p. ME 3. Retrieved December 10, 2024.
- ^ "Changing Hands". Broadcasting. February 16, 1987. p. 71.
- ^ Astbury, Carroll (July 16, 1987). "Brewer radio station to increase signal". Bangor Daily News. p. 21. Retrieved January 11, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "More power approved for Brewer station". Bangor Daily News. October 12, 1988. p. MW27. Retrieved December 10, 2024.
- ^ "Bankruptcy petitions are filed at Bangor court". Bangor Daily News. February 6, 1991. p. 19. Retrieved December 10, 2024.
- ^ "Changing Hands". Broadcasting. April 8, 1991. p. 61.
- ^ "Stephen King buys 2 more radio stations". Bangor Daily News. Associated Press. June 17–18, 1995. p. A5. Retrieved December 10, 2024.
- ^ Kessell, Doug (October 25, 1995). "Bangor AM radio station signs off". Bangor Daily News. p. A5. Retrieved December 10, 2024.
- ^ Stephen King’s Zone Corp radio stations will cease broadcasting this month Bangor Daily News, December 2, 2024
- ^ Venta, Lance (December 23, 2024). "Local Group Formed To Acquire WKIT". RadioInsight. Retrieved December 24, 2024.
External links
[edit]- Official website
- Facility details for Facility ID 25747 (WKIT) in the FCC Licensing and Management System
- WKIT in Nielsen Audio's FM station database
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