WOKV-FM
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Radio broadcasting |
| Headquarters | Jacksonville, Florida , United States |
Area served | Jacksonville metropolitan area |
| Products | Radio broadcasting (news/talk format, alternative rock on HD2) |
| Owner | Cox Media Group |
WOKV-FM (104.5 MHz) is a radio station licensed to Atlantic Beach, Florida, delivering a news and talk format under the brand "News 104.5 WOKV" to the Jacksonville metropolitan area. The station is owned by Cox Media Group and operates its studios from Central Parkway in Jacksonville’s Southside neighborhood.
Broadcasting with an effective radiated power near 100,000 watts—the upper limit for most FM stations—WOKV-FM’s transmitter is situated on Hogan Road close to Southside Boulevard (Florida State Road 115). The station transmits in HD Radio and features an alternative rock format on its HD2 channel, which is also rebroadcast on FM translator W258CN at 99.5 MHz.
WAQB, WJNJ and WFYV
The station began operations as WAQB-FM on 104.9 MHz, initially simulcasting middle of the road (MOR) music from its AM sister station WKTX (1600 AM) with a power output of 3,000 watts. Around 1970, the call letters were changed to WJNJ-FM.
In 1979, the station adopted the call sign WFYV and shifted frequency to 104.5 MHz while increasing power substantially to 100,000 watts. This upgrade extended its coverage throughout Jacksonville’s expanding suburbs, reaching audiences from Southeast Georgia down to St. Augustine and Gainesville.
Album rock and classic rock
On March 10, 1980, WFYV embraced an album rock format under the moniker Rock 105, gradually evolving toward a classic rock playlist. Following a format change at competitor station WPLA in 2010, WFYV transitioned into mainstream rock as Rock 104.5, Jacksonville's Best Rock, featuring syndicated personalities such as Lex and Terry and Bubba The Love Sponge.
On September 24, 2008, Gregg Stepp announced his exit to pursue a program director role in Bakersfield, California. Prior to the return of morning host Doug "The Greaseman" Tracht, Stepp orchestrated an on-air stunt suggesting he was resigning due to management disputes, culminating in a pointed farewell directed at Cox Radio Jacksonville. This was later revealed as a promotional act.
Switch to talk radio
On April 10, 2013, Cox Media declared that "Rock 104.5" would retire effective April 28. The station closed with a live rendition of Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Free Bird" before entering a stunt phase featuring loops of teasers hinting at various possible formats including hot talk ("Raw Talk, 104.5 The Bone"), soft adult contemporary ("Easy 104.5"), country ("104.5 Brad-FM"), urban contemporary ("Power 104.5"), and Spanish tropical ("Caliente 104.5"). Rock listeners were encouraged to tune into alternative rock sister station WXXJ.
At midnight on May 1, 2013, WFYV-FM began simulcasting news/talk programming from WOKV 690 AM, ceasing all music broadcasts. Previously, WOKV had been accessible on FM via 106.5 MHz. On May 16, 2013, the call letters were officially changed from WFYV-FM to WOKV-FM.
The simulcast between FM and AM continued until January 2, 2019, when WOKV AM switched formats to sports radio as an affiliate of ESPN Sports Radio.
Programming
Weekday mornings on WOKV-FM feature Jacksonville's Morning News with Rich Jones, offering interviews along with updates covering news, sports, weather, and traffic conditions. The remainder of the weekday schedule includes nationally syndicated conservative talk shows hosted by Brian Kilmeade, Erick Erickson, Sean Hannity, Chad Benson, Jimmy Failla, and Coast to Coast AM with George Noory.
Weekend programming encompasses topics such as finance, health issues, firearms, gardening, home improvement, and the syndicated show Sunday Night with Bill Cunningham. Some weekend time slots are allocated for brokered content. Evenings and weekends generally begin with news briefs from Fox News Radio.
HD Radio
WOKV-FM employs HD Radio technology to provide a digital subchannel known as "X 99.5," which delivers an alternative rock format through FM translator W258CN at 99.5 FM. This alternative rock programming was formerly broadcast as "X 106.5" on the sister station WXXJ prior to a frequency exchange.
On August 31, 2023, the stations Hot 99.5 and "X 106.5" swapped their frequencies; Hot 99.5 transitioned to 106.5 FM, adopting the brand "Hot 106.5" along with the new call letters WHJX.