WKKB (100.3 FM, "Latina 100.3") is a radio station in Middletown, Rhode Island, United States. The station airs a tropical format, which consists of such musical styles as salsa and merengue and some reggaeton. Its transmitter is located in Middletown. Its offices and studios are located in 75 Oxford Street in Providence, while its transmitter is located in Tiverton.? Prior to its switch to tropical, the station was a rock station.

WKKB
Broadcast areaNewport-Providence, Rhode Island and New Bedford-Fall River, Massachusetts
Frequency100.3 MHz
BrandingLatina 100.3
Programming
FormatTropical
Ownership
Owner
  • John Fuller
  • (Red Wolf Broadcasting Corporation)
History
First air date
October 6, 1978 (1978-10-06)
Former call signs
  • WOTB (1972–1978)
  • WOTB-FM (1978–1980)
  • WOTB (1980–1996)
  • WDGF (1996–1997)
  • WHKK (1997–2000)
  • WZRI (2000–2002)
Former frequencies
107.1 MHz (1978–1988)
Technical information[1]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID52318
ClassA
ERP1,550 watts
HAAT200 meters (660 ft)
Transmitter coordinates
41°35′48.4″N 71°11′22.2″W / 41.596778°N 71.189500°W / 41.596778; -71.189500
Links
Public license information
WebcastListen Live
Websitelatina1003fm.com

History

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WKKB started out as WOTB on October 6, 1978,[2] on 107.1 MHz. WOTB was a smooth jazz station with the moniker "Cool FM", co-owned with WKFD in Wickford, and later with WADK in Newport. WOTB switched frequencies to 100.3 MHz and boosted its effective radiated power to 6 kW.

 
Former logo under the "Z100" branding

The smooth jazz format ended on June 14, 1996, when it was sold to Urso Broadcasting. WOTB then changed to WDGF and began simulcasting WDGE for a brief time. In February 1997, WDGF became a 1970s oldies and disco station as "100.3 The Beat".[3] After stunting with a three-day electronic countdown, WDGF then became classic hits as WHKK "100FM The Hawk" on October 10, 1997.[4] During this time, 99.7 entered into simulcasting WHKK. Both stations then became all-1980s hits as "Z100" with the 100.3 frequency adopting the WZRI callsign.

In October 2002, WHKK's studios were moved to Fairhaven, Massachusetts, with Citadel Broadcasting sister stations WBSM and WFHN. On October 31, the calls were changed to the current WKKB, and the station began targeting the South Coast region of Massachusetts by flipping to a rock format as "100.3 KKB"; the first song on KKB was "You Shook Me All Night Long" by AC/DC. During its run as a rock station, WKKB served as the Providence and South Coast affiliate of the Patriots Rock Radio Network.[5]

In January 2005, Citadel sold WKKB and WAKX to Davidson Media Group; WKKB took on its current format on February 1 of that year.[6] WKKB was one of four stations sold to Red Wolf Broadcasting in 2015.[7]

References

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  1. ^ "Facility Technical Data for WKKB". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  2. ^ Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 2010. 2010. p. D-479.
  3. ^ "RR-1997-02-21" (PDF).
  4. ^ "RR-1997-10-17" (PDF).
  5. ^ Lance (October 31, 2002). "Z100 WZRI Becomes Rock WKKB". Format Change Archive. Retrieved January 25, 2024.
  6. ^ Lance (January 30, 2017). "WKKB Becomes Latina 100.3". Format Change Archive. Retrieved January 25, 2024.
  7. ^ Venta, Lance (October 30, 2015). "Red Wolf Acquires 4 In New England". Radio Insight. Retrieved December 4, 2016.
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