WSTO
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| City | Owensboro, Kentucky |
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| Broadcast area | Evansville / Owensboro / Henderson / IN-KY-IL Tri-State area |
| Branding | Hot 96 |
| Slogan | "Today's Hit Music" |
| Frequency | 96.1 (MHz) |
| First air date | September 1982 |
| Format | Top 40 / CHR |
| ERP | 100,000 watts |
| HAAT | 305 meters |
| Class | C |
| Transmitter coordinates | 37°46′19″N 87°21′29″W / 37.772°N 87.358°W |
| Callsign meaning | WSTO stands for 'W'e're in digital 'STereO'!, as the station was one of the first (perhaps the first) stations in Kentucky to broadcast in stereo |
| Owner | Duey Wright (Midwest Communications, Inc.) |
| Sister stations | WABX, WIKY-FM, WLFW |
| Website | http://www.hot96.com/ |
WSTO (96.1 FM, "Hot 96") is a heritage Top-40 radio station that serves the Evansville, Indiana, Owensboro, Kentucky, and Henderson, Kentucky markets. It is licensed to Owensboro and broadcasts from a 1,000-foot tower strategically located midway between these cities in the Kentucky town of Hebbardsville. WSTO's studio is located inside South Central Communications' headquarters on Mount Auburn Road in Evansville, Indiana, near the studios of WFIE-TV.
Founded by V. J. Steele, the owner of WVJS, WSTO was among the first FM stations in the region to transform from easy listening music to pop music, making the switch in 1982. The station reaches 33 counties in the Illinois-Indiana-Kentucky Tri-State Area. Callers from as far away as St. Louis, Missouri and Louisville, Kentucky were known to call the studio request lines.
By 1987, with Program Director Barry Witherspoon, Music Director/Midday Personality Scott Murray, Morning Personality Brian Jackson, Afternoon Personality Jamie Richards, Evening Personality Charlie Foxx, and Overnight Personality Rusty Sharp, the station had a commanding 31.5 share among persons 12 and older. Even to this day Richards is still the highest rated drive-time personality in the history of the Evansville market. Later, in the 1990s, on-air personalities such as Kevin Osbourne, Ethan Adler, Cindy Mercer, Mark Ross, and Brent Gardner became fan favorites. None are currently on the air in the market and others are just plain impossible to find anywhere.
In 1996, WSTO and its sister AM station were acquired by the former Brill Media Corporation of Evansville, Indiana which also acquired WOMI and WBKR also of Owensboro. After the Brill takeover, the numbers began to decline for a variety of reasons including the firing of 15-year morning man Brian Jackson, growing commercial inventory, alienation of the younger listeners, and overbearing corporate management who believed they were programmers.
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