| WKNL | |
| City: | New London, Connecticut |
| Country: | US |
| Area: | Southeastern Connecticut |
| Branding: | 100.9 K-Hits |
| Frequency: | 100.9 MHz |
| Format: | Classic hits |
| Erp: | 6,000 watts |
| Haat: | 99m (325feet) |
| Class: | A |
| Facility Id: | 48547 |
| Licensing Authority: | FCC |
| Coordinates: | 41.4409°N -72.1409°W |
| Callsign Meaning: | "Kool New London" |
| Former Callsigns: | WTYD (1970–2000) |
| Owner: | Hall Communications, Inc. |
| Sister Stations: | WCTY, WICH, WILI, WILI-FM, WNLC |
WKNL (100.9 FM, "100.9 K-Hits") is a radio station licensed to serve New London, Connecticut. The station is owned by Hall Communications, Inc., which owns a number of stations in medium-sized markets along the eastern seaboard from Vermont to Florida.[1] It airs a classic hits music format.[2]
WKNL signed on January 1, 1970, as WTYD, a beautiful music station branded as "Tide 101".[3] At the outset, the station was owned by Thames Broadcasting Corporation, which also owned WNLC (1510 AM).[4] Thames Broadcasting sold the stations to Mercury Broadcasting Corporation in 1976;[5] in 1984, Mercury sold them to Drubner Broadcasting,[6] which then sold WTYD and WNLC to Andross Communications in 1989.[7] In 1990, WTYD shifted to an adult contemporary format.[3]
Hall Communications purchased WTYD and WNLC in 1995.[8] On March 10, 2000, Hall changed the station's format to oldies as "Kool 101", in response to WVVE (102.3 FM, now WMOS) dropping the format in December 1999;[3] the WKNL call letters had been assigned on February 25, 2000.[9] The oldies format (which subsequently shifted to classic hits) was dropped at midnight on December 17, 2012, when it changed to hot adult contemporary, branded as "100.9 Roxy FM"; at the time, sister station WNLC (98.7 FM) also programmed a classic hits format.[10] The last song on "Kool 101" was "Last Dance" by Donna Summer with the first song on "100.9 Roxy FM" being "Some Nights" by Fun.[10] On March 1, 2017, at 5:00 pm, WKNL flipped back to classic hits, branded as "100.9 K-Hits". The airstaff from Roxy remained on the station with the change.[10]