WJLS-FM

WJLS-FM (99.5 MHz) is a commercial radio station licensed to Beckley, West Virginia, serving Southeastern West Virginia and Southwestern Virginia with a country music format. The station, which utilized the call letters WBKW from 1957 to 1990, was the second FM radio station to go on the air in West Virginia, and is the oldest to still exist. Since February 2013, it and its sister AM station have been owned by WVRC Media, which purchased them from First Media Radio, LLC.

WJLS-FM

Beckley, West Virginia
Broadcast area	Southeastern West Virginia Southwestern Virginia
Frequency	99.5 MHz
Branding	99-5 WJLS: The Big Dawg
Programming
Language	English
Format	Country music
Affiliations	West Virginia MetroNews
Ownership
Owner	WVRC Media (West Virginia Radio Company of Raleigh, LLC)
Sister stations	WJLS
History
First air date	February 1947 (78 years ago) (1947-02)
Call sign meaning	Taken from WJLS (AM)
Technical information[1]
Licensing authority	FCC
Facility ID	52336
Class	B
ERP	34,000 watts
HAAT	320 meters (1,050 ft)
Transmitter coordinates	37°35′23.0″N 81°6′51.0″W
Links
Public license information	Public file LMS
Webcast	Listen Live
Website	wjls.com

History

The AM station was founded in Beckley in 1939 by Joe L. Smith Jr. During World War II it became the smallest CBS affiliate in the country.^[2] The FM station launched as WBKW, a 4:00 pm–midnight music station, in late 1957.^[3] Both were purchased in the mid-2010s by the West Virginia Radio Corporation.^[2] In 2016, WJLS moved from its original building in Beckley to occupy a floor in a building across the street.^[4]