By 1977, WCUE-FM - which at that time was broadcasting an album oriented rock format - switched its format to "mellow rock" and callsign to WKDD. John Gorman, then Program Director at Cleveland rock station WMMS, recalls competing with WKDD in the Akron and Canton radio markets in its earlier days: "... the station attempted to create a 'Mellow Rock' mascot... " By the late 1980s, WKDD unseated WMMS as the highest rated station in the Akron market, including both Summit and Portage counties. The two stations continued to struggle for ratings dominance well into the 1990s. Often, one of the two claimed the number one position in the Birch ratings service, while the other won Arbitron's top spot. Danny Wright and Matt Patrick were among the station's personalities. In 1987, WKDD raised Patrick's salary; his was already the highest in the Akron market, nearly five times the average for all other personalities in the market. In 1995, Patrick attempted to leave for Cleveland stationWLTF. This drew a legal fight from WKDD, which claimed Patrick's contract prevented him from leaving for any station within 40 miles of WKDD.
2001 "frequency swap"
On July 3, 2001, WKDD was one of seven Northeast Ohio radio stations involved in a complex exchange between three radio companies. Although generally reported as a "frequency swap", in reality these seven radio stations mostly traded callsigns along with their respective formats and staffs - all to facilitate the transfers of ownership of four of the seven stations. As part of this complex exchange, Clear Channel Communications changed the WKDD format from hot adult contemporary to contemporary hit radio ; rebranded the station using the KISS-FM brand; reassigned on and off-air personnel; and on July 23, 2001, changed the station callsign to WAKS. In effect, this new WAKS licensed to Akron became the successor to the previous WAKS licensed to Lorain.
96.5 KISS-FM
While licensed to Akron, and identified at the top of every hour as "WAKS Akron-Cleveland", the station's studios are located with the rest of iHeartMedia's Cleveland cluster off Rockside Road in the Cleveland suburb of Independence, in addition to the aforementioned transmitter placement in Brecksville on a tower used for other Cleveland radio stations. WAKS promotes itself as, and is generally considered to be, a Cleveland radio station. Since November 2001, WAKS has been an affiliate of the syndicated program American Top 40.
Current programming
Weekday programming includes Elvis Duran and the Morning Show mornings and On Air with Ryan Seacrest middays, both via Premiere Networks. WAKS personality "Java Joel" Murphy is heard afternoons. All other music shifts are either voice-tracked out-of-market specifically for WAKS or programmed via Premium Choice. Weekend programming includes American Top 40.
WAKS-HD2
accounts for all regular programming on the HD2 digital subchannel. Branded "Real 106.1", WAKS-HD2 also simulcasts over Solontranslator W291BV, which itself is owned by Educational Media Foundation but operated by iHeartMedia, Inc. All regular content, including station imaging, voice-over audio, music and on-air talent, either comes from the iHeartMedia mainstream urban national format via the Premium Choice network, or is voice-tracked out-of-market specifically for Real 106.1.
