WINK-FM


WINK-FM is a commercial FM radio station in Fort Myers, Florida. The station airs an adult contemporary radio format. It is owned by the Fort Myers Broadcasting Company, locally controlled by the McBride Family, which also owns CBS Network affiliate WINK-TV. WINK-FM has studios and offices on Palm Beach Boulevard in Fort Myers.
The transmitter is located on Freeland Lane, off Florida State Road 31 in North Fort Myers, Florida. Its effective radiated power is 100,000 watts, sharing a tower with WINK-TV at 457 meters in height above average terrain, taller than the Empire State Building. That allows WINK-FM to be clearly heard as far north as Hardee County, as far south as the Everglades and as far east as Okeechobee County. WINK-FM can also be heard on Channel 11.6, a subchannel of WINK-TV.

History

On October 8, 1964, WINK-FM signed on the air. It was the FM counterpart to AM 1240 WINK and Channel 11 WINK-TV. At first, WINK-FM simulcast the AM station's middle of the road format of adult pop music, news and sports. By the late 1960s, WINK-FM was playing beautiful music, as it ended the simulcast with AM 1240.
Over time, WINK-FM added more vocals until it made the transition to adult contemporary music. By the 1990s, it had stepped up the tempo for a hot adult contemporary sound.
On May 6, 2013, at 10 a.m., after promoting that morning that "WINK-FM will be a thing of the past", the format switched from hot adult contemporary to adult contemporary, branded as "96.9 More FM." The More FM branding had also been found on leading AC station WBEB Philadelphia. The first songs on More-FM were Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'" and Taylor Swift's "I Knew You Were Trouble."
In October 2015, the station went back to the 96.9 WINK FM branding and its format stayed adult contemporary.