WJKV
| City | Jacksonville, Florida |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Jacksonville metropolitan area |
| Branding | K-LOVE |
| Slogan | Positive & Encouraging |
| Frequency | 90.9 MHz |
| Translator(s) |
W208AV (89.5 MHz, San Jose) W281AM (104.1 MHz, Macclenny) |
| First air date | February 8, 1973 (as 91.1 WFAM) |
| Format | Contemporary Christian |
| Language(s) | English |
| ERP | 41,000 watts |
| HAAT | 166 meters (545 ft) |
| Class | C2 |
| Facility ID | 31936 |
| Transmitter coordinates | 30°16′36″N 81°33′47″W / 30.27667°N 81.56306°W |
| Callsign meaning | W Jacksonville's K-LoVe |
| Former callsigns |
WFAM (1973-1985) WKTZ-FM (1985-2015) |
| Affiliations | K-LOVE |
| Owner | Educational Media Foundation |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | KLove.com |
WJKV (90.9 MHz) is a non-profit FM radio station in Jacksonville, Florida. It is owned by the Educational Media Foundation (EMF) and airs the national "K-Love" Christian contemporary music radio format.
WJKV broadcasts from a tower off Hogan Road in Jacksonville.[1] In addition, programming on the station is also heard on two translator stations: W208AV 89.5 MHz, San Jose (a neighborhood in Jacksonville), and W281AM 104.1 MHz, Macclenny.
History
On February 8, 1973, the station signed on as WFAM, at 91.1 MHz.[2] It was owned by Jones College. WFAM had a different radio format for each part of the day. In the morning it played classical music, afternoons it was Top 40 and in the evening it was Jacksonville's only jazz station. The students staffed the station as part of their classes in broadcasting. In the 1980s, the station moved its frequency to 90.9, and also got a boost in power and coverage area.
In 1986, easy listening station 96.1 WKTZ-FM switched to soft adult contemporary WLSC (now WEJZ). So Jones College decided to acquire the intellectual property of WKTZ-FM and its call sign.[3] The new 90.9 WKTZ-FM would continue playing its soft, instrumental music, but as a non-commercial, listener-supported radio station.
As one of the last remaining beautiful music stations, WKTZ-FM had a loyal and devoted audience, which grew nationally after the advent of streaming via the internet on its website. Its AM counterpart, 1220 WKTZ, was also acquired by Jones College. It carried a syndicated adult standards format.
Facing declining broadcast ratings and the aging of its audience (83 percent of their listeners were over age 55), the stations' licenses were sold to religious broadcaster EMF for $3.375 million. EMF announced plans to re-launch the stations with Christian formats. At 3:30 PM on November 6, 2014, both 90.9 FM and 1220 AM went dark, although the internet streams stayed active. A week later, WKTZ-FM and WKTZ were back on the air carrying Christian contemporary "K-Love." On July 21, 2015, WKTZ-FM changed its call letters to WJKV.
EMF does not usually operate AM stations. So AM 1220 WKTZ was spun off to the American Family Association which airs its national Christian radio format on the station.
External links
- Query the FCC's FM station database for WJKV
- Radio-Locator information on WJKV
- Query Nielsen Audio's FM station database for WJKV