WKYE
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| Broadcast area | Johnstown / Somerset, Pennsylvania |
|---|---|
| Branding | "96 Key" |
| Slogan | "The Best Variety" |
| Frequency | 96.5 MHz |
| First air date | August 1949 (as WJAC-FM) |
| Format | Adult Contemporary |
| ERP | 50,000 watts |
| HAAT | 149 meters |
| Class | B |
| Facility ID | 15328 |
| Callsign meaning | WKYE (all the letters that spell KEY) |
| Owner | Forever Media |
| Website | http://www.foreverjohnstown.com |
WKYE (96.5 FM, "96 Key") is a commercial FM radio station licensed to serve Johnstown, Pennsylvania. The station is owned by Forever Media, through licensee FM Radio Licenses, LLC, and broadcasts an adult contemporary format. Its broadcast tower is located east of Johnstown at (40°19′45.0″N 78°53′53.0″W / 40.329167°N 78.898056°W).
For many years, this station was at 95.5 MHz and known as WJAC-FM, the sister station of WJAC (now WKGE) and WJAC-TV, the local NBC affiliate. The station simulcast WJAC regularly, with occasional breaks for separate programming throughout the day, usually playing easy-listening music. WJAC and WJAC-FM radio studios were co-located with WJAC-TV, on Hickory Lane in Johnstown. Both the AM and FM studios overlooked the television studios from the second floor.
In the fall of 1983, the decision was made to completely separate the two radio stations, assigning WJAC-FM the new call letters WKYE and the moniker "Key 95". Debuting on September 25, 1983, the station programmed a hybrid of both Top 40 and adult contemporary music, quickly making it an office favorite in both Johnstown and Altoona, with its 57,000 watt Class C signal, one of only two in western Pennsylvania (WXDX in Pittsburgh is the other). One thing that remained unchanged was the station's signing off on Sunday nights at midnight for "maintenance".
Sandy D. Neri, long known for programming WCRO in Johnstown, was the first General Manager of "Key-95", having left WCRO the year before after that station came under new ownership. The first airstaff was: Mike Farrow mornings, Jim Burton middays, Jack Michaels afternoons, Doug Wilkin nights and Diane Chase overnights. Farrow and Michaels had worked with GM Sandy Neri at WCRO, and worked together briefly at WJNL and WJNL-FM prior to starting Key-95. Wilkin had worked at WJAC-FM and hosted "Jazz Night Out", a standout jazz-only program in the Johnstown-Altoona market. The station moved to new studios at 109 Plaza Drive in the Westmont section of Johnstown. The very first song played on Key-95 was "Brand New Key" by Melanie. Original jingle packages included Jam Productions "The Best Show in Johnstown".
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