WGNE-FM
 | |
| City | Middleburg, Florida |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Jacksonville metropolitan area |
| Branding | 99.9 Gator Country |
| Slogan | Jacksonville's Country Music Leader |
| Frequency | 99.9 MHz |
| First air date | July 14, 1972 (as WIYD Palatka) |
| Format | Country music |
| ERP | 48,000 watts |
| HAAT | 300 meters (984 ft) |
| Class | C1 |
| Facility ID | 15897 |
| Transmitter coordinates | 30°19′22″N 81°38′34″W / 30.32278°N 81.64278°W |
| Former callsigns |
WIYD (1972-1982) WNFY (1982-1983) WNFI (1983-1993) WFKS (1993-2000) |
| Owner |
Renda Broadcasting (Renda Broadcasting Corp. of Nevada) |
| Sister stations | WEJZ |
| Website | 999GatorCountry.com |
WGNE-FM (99.9 MHz) is a commercial FM radio station licensed to Middleburg, Florida, and serving the Jacksonville metropolitan area. It is owned by Renda Broadcasting and airs a country music radio format as "99.9 Gator Country." Its main competitor is iHeartMedia-owned 99.1 WQIK.
WGNE's studios and offices are in the Arlington district of Jacksonville. The transmitter is downtown on a tower that also broadcasts Channel 12 WTLV and other Jacksonville TV and FM stations.[1]
History
On July 14, 1972, the station first signed on as WIYD, licensed to Palatka, Florida, a town about 50 miles south of Jacksonville.[2] It aired a beautiful music format as "Wide FM," and was the sister station to AM 1260 WWPF, both stations owned by Hall Communications. Because it broadcast from a tower only 180 feet tall, it was limited to serving the Palatka-St. Augustine area.
In 1978, the AM station switched its call sign to WIYD, while the FM station was sold to the Sis Radio Company and became WIYD-FM. The new owners got a construction permit from the Federal Communications Commission to construct a tower more than 900 feet tall, making 99.9 audible from Jacksonville to Daytona Beach.[3]
In 1981, the station was sold to the Ronnette Communications Corporation, with the studios and offices moving to Ormond Beach. It became Top 40 outlet WNFY.[4] In the Jacksonville radio market, it competed with long time Top 40 AM radio leader WAPE 690 (now WOKV) and FM challenger 102.9 WIVY (now WEZI). In about a year, WAPE left the Top 40 format for Oldies.
In 1983, the station switched its call letters to WNFI, while remaining Top 40. Its tower was now nearly 1,300 feet tall, with a power of 100,000 watts, allowing WNFI to be heard over much of the northern section of Florida's Atlantic coast.[5] In 1993, the station was sold again, this time to the Daytona Beach Broadcasting Corporation. The station remained Top 40 but the call letters were switched to WFKS to fit the new moniker "Florida's Kiss-FM."
In 1996, Renda Broadcasting paid $6.5 million for WNFI and 100.7 WKQL (now WMUV).[6] Renda switched WNFI's format to Country, renaming the station WGNE-FM and using the moniker "99.9 Froggy-FM." In 2005, the station's studios and offices moved to Atlantic Boulevard in Jacksonville.
In the early 2010s, the station's city of license was moved to Middleburg, Florida, an unincorporated community in Clay County, which borders Jacksonville. WGNE switched to a tower on Gator Bowl Boulevard in Jacksonville used by Channel 12 WTLV and other Jacksonville TV and FM stations. While the move improved the station's signal to office towers and apartment buildings in Jacksonville, as well as its northern suburbs, it reduced coverage to the south. The power was cut by more than half and the antenna height was reduced by 300 feet. WGNE switched its moniker to "99.9 Gator Country."