WPTK
| City | Raleigh, North Carolina |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area |
Raleigh/Durham Research Triangle |
| Branding | Just Right Radio |
| Frequency | 850 kHz |
| Translator(s) | 104.7 W284CD (Youngsville) 104.7 W284CP (Raleigh) |
| Repeater(s) | 94.7-2 WQDR-HD2 |
| First air date | 1947 (as WNAO) |
| Format | Oldies |
| Power | 10,000 watts day 5,000 watts night |
| Class | B |
| Facility ID | 888 |
| Transmitter coordinates | 35°48′4.00″N 78°48′51.00″W / 35.8011111°N 78.8141667°W |
| Callsign meaning | WPTF TalK (previous format) |
| Former callsigns | WNAO (1947–1959) WKIX (1959–1994) WYLT (1994–1995) WRBZ (1995–2010) WKIX (2010–2012) |
| Owner |
Curtis Media Group (AM 850, LLC) |
| Sister stations | WKIX-FM, WQDR-FM, WBBB, WWPL, WFNL, WPTF |
| Website | justrightradio |
WPTK (850 AM) is a radio station broadcasting an oldies format. Licensed to Raleigh, North Carolina, USA, the station serves the Research Triangle, North Carolina area. The station is currently owned by Curtis Media Group. Its studios are located in Raleigh, and the transmitter site is in Cary near its border with Morrisville. The station uses "Just Right Radio" to describe itself and uses the slogan "Not too hard, not too soft" to describe its music.
WNAO signed on in 1947, owned by the News and Observer newspaper. As of 1948, WNAO was an ABC radio affiliate. WNAO-FM was added in 1949. Sir Walter Television purchased the stations from the newspaper effective February 13, 1953. The Raleigh-Durham market's first TV station, WNAO-TV, channel 28, signed on in 1953, but went off the air in 1957. The AM (10,000 watts at 850 kHz) and FM (35,000 watts at 96.1 MHz) radio stations were sold to an independent broadcaster, Ted Oberfelter, who changed the call letters to WKIX and WKIX-FM to avoid the association with the newspaper.
In 1958, Hugh Holder, a former CBS announcer, bought the radio stations. Holder changed the format from easy listening to top 40 , serving the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill market. Known as "WKIX, Channel 85", "The Giant of the South", and "The Mighty 850", the station was one of the most successful popular music outlets in the US from the late 1950s through the 1970s. It was home to many well-known personalities in North Carolina radio including Tom Scott, Jack Kane, Rich Reim, Mike Reineri (later at WJJD, Chicago), Bob DeBardelaben (later at WRAL-TV), Al Smith, Tommy Woods, Bob Kelly, Bob Jones, Mark Starr, Steve Roddy, the legendary Jimmy Capps (with his syndicated late-night show, "Our Best to You"); Dale Van Horn, Pat Patterson, Ron McKay, Mike Mitchell, Mark Mitchell, Bob Bolton, James K. Flynn, Russ Spooner, Gary Edens, Tommy Walker, Charlie Brown, Rick Dees, Legendary General Manager, Hal Vester, designed the unique format based on his former experience with Top 40 stations in Asheville, Greensboro, Charlotte, Wilmington, and Washington, DC. Chief Engineer, Larry Gardner (who later became CE of WCKY in Cincinnati) was responsible for many technical innovations that provided the distinctive WKIX sound.
...
Wikipedia