Jump to content

WKEY-FM

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

WKEY-FM
Broadcast areaKey West and Lower Florida Keys
Frequency93.7 MHz
BrandingKey 93.7
Programming
FormatYacht rock
Ownership
Owner
  • William Ostrander
  • (Radio One Key West, LLC)
History
First air date
November 17, 1985; 38 years ago (1985-11-17)
Former call signs
WKRY (1985–1999)
Former frequencies
93.5 MHz
Call sign meaning
Key West
Technical information[1]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID34354
ClassC3
ERP6,100 watts
HAAT43 meters (141 ft)
Transmitter coordinates
24°34′19″N 81°44′24″W / 24.57194°N 81.74000°W / 24.57194; -81.74000
Links
Public license information
WebcastListen Live
Websitekey937.com

WKEY-FM (93.7 MHz) is a radio station located in Key West, Florida, United States. It is owned by William Ostrander, through licensee Radio One Key West, LLC, and broadcasts a yacht rock format known as "Key 93.7".

History

[edit]

The station went on the air as WKRY on 93.5 MHz on November 17, 1985, with a beautiful music format. By 1989, it was an easy listening station with 20 hours of jazz music and 8 hours of classical music a week.[2] On November 23, 1999, the station changed its call sign to the current WKEY-FM.[3] On June 8, 2011, WKEY-FM changed formats to oldies, branded as "True Oldies". The station was moved to 93.7 MHz in 2013 as a contingency of relocating 104.3 MHz from West Palm Beach south toward the Miami market.[4]

Jonathan Smith's Choice Radio Keys Corporation acquired the station in 2016. By that time, it was operating as part of a regional simulcast with WGMX and WKEZ-FM, known as "The Mix".[5] The station then changed to classic hits as "Mix 93.7" on April 1, 2017. Due to an inability to pay outstanding debts, the company assigned the licenses of those stations and AM outlet WFFG to a trustee on June 4, 2018, to be sold for the benefit of creditors.[6]

Effective November 4, 2020, the trustee sold WKEY-FM to Spottswood Partners II, Ltd., for $15,000 and the cancellation of a lease valued at $85,899.[7] The station had been off the air since March 2020, with the trustee citing needed tower work.[8] On January 8, 2021, WKEY-FM resumed broadcasting, branded as "93.7 NRG", a new non-stop dance and disco music format created by NRG Media of Florida, which leased the station from Spottswood.[9]

WKEY was purchased by Radio One Key West, LLC—headed by Buffalo, New York, broadcaster William Ostrander, who goes by the name "Buddy Shula" and owns WECK serving that city—on October 1, 2022, for $301,000.[10] On October 18, WKEY-FM‘s format changed from smooth jazz to "mellow rock", branded as "Key 93.7".[11]

Former Logo
Previous Logo


References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Facility Technical Data for WKEY-FM". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  2. ^ "WKRY(FM)" (PDF). Broadcasting Yearbook. 1985. p. B-63 – via World Radio History.
  3. ^ "WKEY Call Sign History". United States Federal Communications Commission, audio division.
  4. ^ Venta, Lance (March 28, 2015). "FCC Approves WAXY-FM's Miami Move-In". RadioInsight.
  5. ^ "Kentucky's Choice Radio Acquires Florida Keys Cluster". RadioInsight. March 30, 2016. Retrieved October 19, 2022.
  6. ^ "Station Sales Week Of 5/25". RadioInsight. May 25, 2018. Retrieved October 19, 2022.
  7. ^ "Station Sales Week Of 7/17". RadioInsight. July 17, 2020. Retrieved October 19, 2022.
  8. ^ "Notification of Suspension of Operations / Request for Silent STA BLSTA-20200313AAB". Consolidated Database System. Federal Communications Commission. March 13, 2020. WKEY-FM IS SILENT BECAUSE WORK IS BEING DONE ON THE TOWER IN WHICH THE STATION IS LOCATED.
  9. ^ "93.7 NRG Brings A Second Dance Station To Key West". RadioInsight. April 7, 2021. Retrieved October 19, 2022.
  10. ^ "Station Sales Week Of 8/12". RadioInsight. August 12, 2022. Retrieved October 19, 2022.
  11. ^ Venta, Lance (October 19, 2022). "Mellow Rock Comes to Key West". RadioInsight.
[edit]