WEPN-FM (98.7 FM, "") is a radio station in New York City, owned by Emmis Corporation. The station carries a Spanish-language format with a gold-based mix of Latin pop and English-language adult contemporary music. The station's transmitter is located at the Empire State Building.
WEPN-FM originally began operations as an experimental FM station in 1939, spun off from 710 WOR. It then became one of the first licensed commercial FM stations in 1941. Until 1965, when the FCC prohibited this practice in larger markets, the station served as an FM simulcast of WOR. At that time, the station—by then owned by RKO General—flipped to one of New York's first free-form radio formats, focusing on progressive rock. In 1974, it adopted a top 40 format. Amid declining listenership, the station briefly adopted an adult contemporary format modeled after Chicago sister WFYR in 1980.
Beginning in December 1980, after further declines in ratings under the AC format, the station began to transition to a format focusing primarily on dance music (such as disco) and R&B; the format officially launched in August 1981, with the station becoming WRKS-FM, and adopting the branding Kiss FM. The new rhythmic contemporary format was immediately successful. In 1983, WRKS became the first station in New York City to regularly play hip hop, furthering its success. Amid the golden age of hip hop, WRKS-FM was New York's highest-rated radio station for a period.
After RKO General's exit from the broadcasting industry in the late 1980s, the station was sold to Atlanta-based Summit Communications Group in 1989. WRKS was, in turn, acquired by Emmis Communications—the owner of its rival WQHT—in 1994, forming the first duopoly in New York City radio. In defense of the urban contemporary format of WQHT, Emmis flipped WRKS to an urban adult contemporary format focusing primarily on R&B, while maintaining the Kiss branding.
In 2012, the Kiss brand came to an end when Emmis leased the station to The Walt Disney Company under a 12-year local marketing agreement (LMA). The station flipped to sports radio as WEPN-FM, the flagship of the ESPN Radio network. The LMA was transferred to Good Karma Brands (GKB) in 2021, which continued the ESPN Radio format. In August 2024, the LMA with GKB expired; as a result, WEPN-FM's programming was migrated to the former WCBS under a new LMA between GKB and Audacy, while WEPN-FM flipped to an interim hot adult contemporary format. On January 10, 2025, WEPN flipped to a Spanish-language format with a focus on Latin and English pop hits.
History Experimental operations (1939–1941) In the late 1930s, WOR (710 AM), then licensed to Newark, New Jersey, and owned by the Bamberger Broadcasting Service, Inc., a division of R.H. Macy and Company, became interested in the newly developed technology of FM radio. In the summer of 1939, WOR engineers, working with Bell Telephone engineers, set up an experimental 1,000-watt transmitter in Carteret, New Jersey, with the call sign W2XWI. In June 1940 experimental operations were moved to 444 Madison Avenue in New York City, now operating under the call sign W2XOR."W71NY New York, N. Y.", Pick-ups, pages 18, 92 (durenberger.com)
As W71NY (1941–1943) The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) began permitting commercial operations by FM stations in 1941, and Bamberger's New York station was included among the first authorizations made for the original FM band at 42 to 50 MHz."New FM Grants Bring Total to 29", Broadcasting, January 20, 1941, page 55. The station was given the call sign W71NY, which reflected its operation at 47.1 MHz.
As WBAM (1943–1948) Effective November 1, 1943, the FCC updated its call letter policy to allow FM stations to have call signs similar to those used on the AM band. The station initially chose WOR-FM, but six weeks later changed it on December 14 to WBAM."Decisions of the Federal Communications Commission", Broadcasting, December 20, 1943, page 68. In 1945 the FM band was moved to higher frequencies, and WBAM was initially reassigned to 96.5 MHz, before moving to 98.7 MHz in October 1947."Station Information for WEPN-FM" (nyradioguide.com)
As WOR-FM (1948–1972)
WBAM changed its call sign to WOR-FM on June 13, 1948. Like most early FM stations, the station initially simulcast AM sister station WOR. Macy's/Bamberger sold the WOR stations (which launched a television station in October 1949) to the General Tire and Rubber Company in 1952. General Tire reorganized its broadcasting division into RKO General in 1957. WOR-FM simulcast its AM sister station's full service Talk/MOR format.
In 1965, the Federal Communications Commission ordered AM stations in large markets to end continuous simulcasting on co-owned FM frequencies, a move made to spark development of FM stations as individual entities. On July 30, 1966, WOR-FM began running a freeform-based progressive rock format for most of its broadcast day, though the station continued to simulcast WOR radio's morning program Rambling with Gambling for a time afterwards. Under the leadership of legendary disc jockey Murray "the K" Kaufman, and featuring other notable disc jockeys such as Scott Muni and Rosko, the freeform format was the first of its kind in New York City radio. Later, Muni and Rosko departed for WNEW-FM, where the same progressive format would become a huge success.
Initially, the Drake-Chenault-consulted, Top 40-formatted WOR-FM played new songs but in less of a rotation than WABC, which was then New York's big Top 40 station. Some of the notable early personalities included Bill Brown (who was a holdover from the rock format and would leave for then-rock station WCBS-FM in 1969); Joe McCoy (who would later become general manager of WCBS-FM); Johnny Donovan (who would go to WABC in 1972 and remain there until his 2015 retirement); Tommy Edwards, later the longtime midday personality on Chicago Top 40 giant WLS (AM); and Al Brady (who would program WABC in 1979), among others.
As WXLO (1972–1981)
On October 23, 1972, RKO General changed the station's call sign to WXLO, and starting in April 1974, it became known as 99X, a reference to the WXLO frequency's close proximity on the FM dial to 99 MHz. This was a version of what was known as the "Q" format, so named because it was modeled after station KCBQ in San Diego. The format featured about 15-20 currents, with a heavy emphasis on constant contests and promotions.
In 1976, WXLO held a contest in which listeners had to guess the identity of six Beatles songs blended together in a sound montage. The Beatles montage was about three seconds in duration and contained one or two notes of each of the songs. They were "Hey Jude", "Got to Get You into My Life", "Day Tripper", "Come Together", "Do You Want to Know a Secret", and "Ticket to Ride". The station announced that the contest winner was from Tappan, New York. The prize was a Rock-Ola jukebox stocked with Beatles 45s. The station also once held an all-Elton John weekend. Listeners had to count how many Elton songs were played and win his Greatest Hits Vol. 1 album. Another weekend they held a "No Bee Gees" weekend, where they asked their listeners to request Bee Gee songs that they didn't want played. "I'll be sure to not get that on the air for you" a DJ said on that weekend.
WXLO evolved to a younger skewing Top 40 format and the "99X" moniker remained until late 1979, when it became "FM 99 WXLO". This iteration had decent ratings for a while, but by the spring of 1980, the ratings fell dramatically. RKO General phased out the Top 40 format, and brought in new program director Don Kelly from successful sister soft adult contemporary WFYR in Chicago in an attempt to duplicate that format's success on WXLO. The station at first attempted a call letter change back to WOR-FM, but an FCC challenge from competing crosstown WRFM (now WWPR-FM) prevented the call letter change from happening. Still, Kelly attempted to make the station the same adult contemporary format he had in Chicago. These changes did not gain any new listeners for WXLO, and ratings sank even lower. Later, Kelly adjusted the music and very slowly and gradually began mixing more disco and soul into the format. In the fall of 1980, Kelly, in consultation with RKO General, decided to go after WBLS-FM's urban audience and WKTU's Rhythmic audience by bringing in new music director Barry Mayo. Mayo, shortly before his arrival, suggested a new format for the station to Kelly and then-general manager Lee S. Simonson after he received a surprising lambasting from his idol, WBLS Program Director Frankie Crocker (who would later become his rival). Mayo would later become WXLO's program director when Kelly left to start his own consultancy.
By December 1980, the station was leaning towards Disco and R&B. The station dropped American Top 40 in January 1981. The evolution was gradual, and by May 1981, WXLO was nearly all rhythmic, playing almost all disco, soul, and rhythmic-friendly pop. Almost all the rock and AC crossovers were gone. By today's standards, this station would be called "Rhythmic CHR", but that term did not exist back in 1981. Therefore, the station was classified as "Urban Contemporary" (which today would be considered as a strictly R&B-type format whether Rap or Soul).
As WRKS-FM (1981–2012) Enter "Kiss FM" (1981–1994)
In June 1981, the station was known on-air as "FM 99 WXLO making its move to 98.7". By the middle of July, the station had changed its call sign to WRKS-FM (the meaning of which originally referred to its being an RKO Station) and adopted the on-air brand 98.7 Kiss FM, as the station's transition to this new urban contemporary format was completed by that August. The first song on "Kiss FM" was Make That Move by Shalamar. Early on, WRKS played a great deal of R&B and dance music, and became an almost instant hit with listeners, as its ratings skyrocketed from 22nd place to third. Notable Kiss FM Mixmasters at the time Shep Pettibone and, later, Tony Humphries, were commissioned to create longer versions of current popular songs. Longtime urban contemporary leader WBLS was caught off-guard by the sudden rise of the new station, which represented its first direct competition in that format.
Around mid-1983, the station approached Afrika Bambaataa about an underground hip hop music show. He liked the idea and appointed DJ Jazzy Jay, a fellow member of Zulu Nation. He then passed the gig on to his cousin, DJ Red Alert. In Fall 1983, WRKS became the first station in the United States to play rap music in regular rotation. Also that year, non-R&B dance music and disco were phased out, as the station played strictly music catering mainly to an African-American audience. WBLS responded by hiring Mr. Magic to conduct a weekend rap show, which helped WBLS reach number-three in the ratings that year, beating out WRKS. Nevertheless, the station had made such strides in its first two-and-a-half years that it resulted in Barry Mayo being promoted as general manager, the first African-American to hold such a position in the RKO radio chain.
WRKS incorporated artists such as Kurtis Blow, Whodini, Run DMC, Fat Boys, LL Cool J, and Public Enemy into the same rotation as such established acts as Ashford & Simpson, Kool and the Gang, and Gladys Knight. In 1986, Indianapolis-based Emmis Communications launched WQHT (then at 103.5 FM), which had an early emphasis on dance music, forcing WRKS and WBLS to add more dance music to their playlists again. In 1988, Mayo left to organize a new broadcasting company with Lee S. Simonson and Bill Pearson, and RKO appointed Charles Warfield (former general manager of WBLS) as the new general manager of WRKS. With Vinny Brown as the station's program director, WRKS became the No. 1 radio station in the largest media market in the world for six years right through the mid 1990s.