WYTS
| City | Columbus, Ohio |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Columbus, Ohio |
| Branding | Kiss 105.3 |
| Slogan | Columbus' R&B And Throwbacks |
| Frequency | 1230 kHz |
| Translator(s) | 105.3 W287CP (Columbus) |
| First air date | September 24, 1922 (as WMAN) |
| Format | Urban AC |
| Power | AM 1230 - 1,000 watts |
| ERP | FM 105.3 - 99 watts @ 509 ft. HAAT |
| Class | C |
| Facility ID | 25038 |
| Callsign meaning | We're Your Total Sports Station (old format) |
| Former callsigns | WTPG (2004-2007) WCOL (2003-2004) WZNW (2001-2003) WFII (1997-2001) WCOL (1934-1997) WSEN (1930-1934) WMAN (1922-1930) |
| Owner |
iHeartMedia, Inc. (Citicasters Licenses, Inc.) |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | Kiss 105.3 |
WYTS (1230 AM) is a radio station in Columbus, Ohio owned by iHeartMedia, Inc.. Its studios are located in West Columbus and the transmitter site is southwest of downtown. On Friday, August 12, 2016, WYTS began broadcasting on FM translator 105.3 (W287CP, 99 watts) broadcasting from the Twin Rivers Drive tower.
WYTS is the sixth-oldest continuously running radio station in the state of Ohio, and is best known for its Top 40 format in the 1960s and 1970s under the heritage WCOL calls. In the time period between 1998 and today, the station has undergone five different format changes with as many different call signs.
WYTS began in 1922 as WMAN, an offshoot of the Broad Street Baptist Church in downtown Columbus. The station's studios and transmitter were located within the church, and broadcast hours were only a few hours each Sunday as audio simulcasts of church services. Church member W. E. Heskett became the license holder of WMAN in conjunction with the church on December 1924 and had purchased the station outright by 1927. Hours of operation expanded gradually beyond Sunday services, and WMAN's studios were relocated to the Seneca Hotel.
Heskett soon leased airtime on WMAN to the Columbus Broadcasting Corporation in late 1929, with a buyout following months later. Intending to shake its previous religiously-rooted image, the stations' callsign was modified to WSEN, a reflection of the Seneca Hotel. By 1932, the station operated on a daily basis from 8:00 a.m. until midnight.
It became WCOL upon its sale to The Columbus Dispatch Publishing Company, headed by Edgar and Robert F. Wolfe, whose family also owned (and still does) WBNS (AM) and WBNS-FM Radio. Naturally, WCOL and WBNS shared studios and offices, with WCOL eventually affiliating with both the NBC Red and Blue networks by 1937 (retaining the Blue affiliation in 1943). The 1941 NARBA agreement moved WCOL over to the 1230 kHz dial position, where it has remained ever since.
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