Early years WACO-FM
signed on in June 1960, it was the FM counterpart to
AM 1460 WACO, which had been owned by the Waco Broadcasting Company since its founding in 1922. WACO-AM-FM
simulcast a country music format and were
affiliated with
ABC Radio News. WACO-FM was powered at 3,900 watts, a fraction of its current output. In the late 1960s, WACO-FM switched to an
automated easy listening format while the AM station continued to play country music. In July 1973, the FM station switched call letters to KHOO and adopted a Country format. On September 1, 1979, KHOO switched to Adult Contemporary. In October 1987, the station returned back to its original call letters, WACO-FM, relaunching with a brighter AC format. In February 1989, the station switched its call letters to KTKS, using the same call letters and branding ("Kiss") that had previously been on
KHKS/Dallas.
Switch to country On February 7, 1990, 99.9 flipped back to its original call letters, WACO-FM, dropped its AC format, and switched back to country music, initially simulcasting its AM sister station outside of morning drive. In 1991, the branding was changed from "FM 100" to the current "WACO 100." In 1996, the AM station was sold and switched to
all-sports as KKTK, while the country music continued on WACO-FM. WACO-FM was bought by Capstar Broadcasting, which was later acquired by
Clear Channel Communications, a forerunner of current owner iHeartMedia.
Unusual call letters WACO-FM is one of three stations in the United States where the call letters spell out the name of the
city of license. The other stations are
WARE in
Ware, Massachusetts, and
WISE-FM in
Wise, Virginia, a satellite of
NPR station
WVTF. In addition, WACO-FM is also one of a small number of
call signs whose beginning letter deviates from
FCC standards of W in the East and K in the West. Originally the WACO call letters were on an AM radio station that went on the air in Waco in 1922 as WJAD, but later changed to WACO. In the early days of broadcasting, radio stations in Texas were given call signs beginning with W. The border between Texas and
New Mexico had been part of the dividing line between W and K. By 1923, the border had been moved to the
Mississippi River, putting Texas in K territory. Stations already on the air, such as
WOAI in
San Antonio and
WBAP in
Fort Worth, were allowed to keep their W call signs. In 1960, when WACO added an FM counterpart, that station was able to share its unique call letters, with an -FM
suffix. In 1996, WACO (AM) changed its call letters to KKTK and later moved into the
Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex radio market as
KCLE. WACO-FM was allowed to keep its call sign, which it operates under to this day. ==References==