WAKY-FM

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WAKY-FM
Simulcast with WAKY (AM) Louisville
Broadcast areaLouisville metropolitan area
Frequency103.5 MHz
Branding103.5 WAKY
Programming
FormatClassic hits
Affiliations
Ownership
OwnerWakyana LLC
WAKY
History
First air date
July 25, 1995 (1995-07-25)
Former call signs
  • WUOX (1991–1992)
  • WLVK (1992–1995)
  • WASE (1995–2007)
  • WAKY (2007–2014)
Call sign meaning
"Wacky"[1]
Technical information[2]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID70495
ClassC3
ERP3,500 watts
HAAT238.9 meters (784 ft)
Transmitter coordinates
37°52′45.2″N 85°43′2.9″W / 37.879222°N 85.717472°W / 37.879222; -85.717472
Links
Public license information
Websitewakyradio.com

WAKY-FM (103.5 MHz) is a commercial radio station licensed to Radcliff, Kentucky, and serving the Louisville metropolitan area. It airs a classic hits format and is owned by Wakyana LLC.[3] It carries University of Kentucky Wildcasts football and basketball. The studios are on Ring Road in Elizabethtown.

WAKY-FM is a Class C3 station. It has an effective radiated power (ERP) of 3,500 watts. The transmitter is off Collings Hill Road in Lebanon Junction. The signal is concentrated on the suburbs south of Louisville. Programming is simulcast on WAKY (620 AM) and on three FM translators at 100.1, 104.5 and 106.3 MHz around the Louisville area.

History

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The station was assigned the call sign WUOX on November 1, 1991. On October 30, 1992, the station changed its call sign to WLVK; on July 17, 1995, it became WASE,[4] and under this identity it signed on July 25[5] as an oldies station,[6] "Kool 103.5". Plans for the oldies format and WASE call sign to move to 103.5 from 105.5 in Fort Knox, and the relaunch of 105.5 as country station WLVK, had been made as early as 1993.[7]

On May 11, 2007, the call sign was changed to WAKY; on December 3, 2014, it was modified to WAKY-FM.[4] In May 2015, it began simulcasting on WAKY (620 AM), after W&B Broadcasting purchased that station from Davidson Media a year earlier.[8] The WAKY call sign and classic hits format are an homage to the original WAKY (790 AM), a Top 40 contemporary music station from the late 1950s to the late 1970s. The original WAKY later became an oldies station from 1982 to 1986 and is now Fox Sports Radio affiliate WKRD.

Since former competitor WRKA (103.1 FM) dropped its classic hits format in favor of country music, WAKY-FM is now the only mainstream classic hits station in the Louisville market playing the pop hits of the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. Currently, the WAKY-AM-FM studios are south of the Fort Knox Army Reservation in Radcliff, Kentucky, about 27 miles (43 km) south of Louisville.

Logo before 104.9 and 106.3 translator sign ons

W&B Broadcasting sold the WAKY stations to Wakyana LLC, a group led by Randy Michaels, for $1.3 million in 2025.[9]

Translators

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WAKY-AM-FM programming is also heard on three FM translators:

References

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  1. ^ "Call Letter Origins". Radio History on the Web.
  2. ^ "Facility Technical Data for WAKY-FM". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  3. ^ "WAKY-FM Facility Record". United States Federal Communications Commission, audio division.
  4. ^ a b "WAKY-FM Call Sign History". United States Federal Communications Commission, audio division.
  5. ^ Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 2010. 2010. p. D-247.
  6. ^ "Format Changes & Updates". The M Street Journal. August 2, 1995. p. 1.
  7. ^ "Format Changes". The M Street Journal. August 18, 1993. p. 19.
  8. ^ Venta, Lance (May 8, 2015). "La Poderosa On The Move In Louisville". RadioInsight. Retrieved November 30, 2025.
  9. ^ Venta, Lance (June 30, 2025). "Randy Michaels Leads Group To Get WAKY In Louisville". RadioInsight. Retrieved November 30, 2025.
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