WTLY (1270 AM) is a radio station in Tallahassee, Florida, licensed to and serving the Tallahassee area. The station is currently owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. Its studios are in the north side of Tallahassee, while the transmitter is located west of downtown.
History The station was first licensed on December 1, 1935, as WTAL. It became WTNT on December 1, 1962, after an exchange with WTNT (1450 AM).
As sports radio station WNLS, for over a decade, the station's cornerstone program was The Jeff Cameron Show. On January 25, 2012, Cameron resigned his post and was later announced to have taken a job at WTSM, a competing sports station in Tallahassee.
On November 26, 2014, WNLS dropped its sports format and began stunting with Christmas music, branded as "Christmas 94.3". At midnight on December 26, WNLS flipped to adult contemporary as "94.3 My FM".WNLS Tallahassee Becomes 94.3 MyFM Radioinsight - December 26, 2014
On September 24, 2015, WNLS rebranded as "94.5 My FM", as FM translator W232BO had moved from 94.3 FM to 94.5 FM.MyFM Tallahassee Moves to 94.5 Radioinsight - September 24, 2015 On September 30, WNLS changed their call letters to WTLY. On November 6, 2015, at 5 p.m., WTLY rebranded as "105.3 My FM", as the translator changed frequency from 94.5 FM to 105.3 FM, and began stunting with Christmas music.MyFM Tallahassee Moves to 105.3 Radioinsight - November 6, 2015
On May 27, 2017, WTLY flipped to urban contemporary as "105.3 The Beat", launching with 5,000 songs commercial free.Beat Drops Into Tallahassee Radioinsight - May 27, 2017
In June 2019, WTLY changed their format from urban contemporary (which moved to WGMY-HD2) to beach music, branded as "Beach 96.5" (simulcast on translator W243EG (96.5 FM)), utilizing iHeartMedia's Real Fun Beach Radio network.Throwback 96.5 Debuts in Tallahassee Radioinsight - July 8, 2019 However, this turned out to be a stunt; on July 8, at 2 p.m., WTLY flipped to classic hip hop, branded as "Throwback 96.5".
On August 12, 2022 at midnight, after playing "Got Your Money" by Ol' Dirty Bastard featuring Kelis and going into a stopset, the station dropped the classic hip hop format and began stunting with Christmas music, teasing a new format to debut on August 15 and emphasizing it would remain the Tallahassee home of Florida State Seminoles athletics.Sports Talk Spears Throwbacks in Tallahassee Radioinsight - August 15, 2022 On August 15, 2022, WTLY returned to sports as "96.5 The Spear".
Translators WTLY programming is also carried on a broadcast translator to improve the coverage area of the main station in northeast portions of Tallahassee.
References
External links 96.5 The Spear website
FCC History Cards for WTLY