WYLD-FM
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| City | New Orleans, Louisiana |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | New Orleans metropolitan area |
| Branding |
"98.5 WYLD" (stylized as "Wyld") |
| Slogan | Today's R&B and Back In the Day Jams |
| Frequency | 98.5 MHz (also on HD Radio) |
| First air date | 1960s (former station) February 1975 (WYLD) |
| Format | Urban Adult Contemporary |
| ERP | 97,800 watts |
| HAAT | 300 meters |
| Class | C0 |
| Facility ID | 11972 |
| Callsign meaning | Play on the word WYLD with a "Y" |
| Former callsigns | WWOM-FM (1960s-1972) WIXO (1972-1974) |
| Owner |
iHeartMedia, Inc. (Clear Channel Broadcasting Licenses, Inc.) |
| Sister stations | KVDU, WNOE-FM, WODT, WQUE-FM, WRNO-FM, WYLD |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | wyldfm.com |
WYLD-FM is an Urban Adult Contemporary radio outlet in New Orleans, Louisiana, and one of the highest rated radio stations in the market. The iHeartMedia, Inc. station operates at 98.5 megahertz. Its transmitter is located in New Orleans' Algiers district, and its studios are located downtown.
WYLD-FM, which began its life as WWOM-FM (companion to WWOM-AM), was better known as Top 40 WIXO ("98.5 - a little cooler than normal"), which made its debut in 1972 after it was converted into the format by its new owner, where it enjoyed a brief but successful run.
On September 24, 1974, WIXO signed off for good at 4:00 PM; "Golden Slumbers," "Carry That Weight," and "The End", tracks from The Beatles’ Abbey Road album, were the final tunes to be played on the station. After Program Director and morning jock Michael Greene (formerly of WTIX-AM) read the sign-off announcement, the station called it a day with "Her Majesty," the very last track from Abbey Road.
The WIXO callsign has been used by a few unrelated stations in other states; since the late 1990s, it has been in the Peoria, Illinois market, on a station that is now on 105.7 MHz.
98.5 MHz remained empty on the New Orleans radio dial until the following February, when WYLD signed on and began its successful run as a Contemporary Hit Radio/Urban Contemporary a.k.a. CHUrban outlet after the format was shifted over from WYLD (AM). For years, it was branded as "WYLD FM 98". But by the late 1980s it got into a battle with WQUE-FM, which would last until 1992 when it became Q93's sister station and in the process evolved to its current format as an Urban Adult Contemporary. Until December 2013, it carried the syndicated Tom Joyner Morning Show. Crosstown competitor KMEZ picked up Joyner, and WYLD now airs Steve Harvey in the morning, which formerly aired on WQUE.
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