Original Call Letters: WYSE

Originally Licensed: Sep. 1, 1965

Original City of License: Inverness 

Original Frequency: 1560 

Origin of Call Letters: Location: INVerness

Original Power: 5,000 watts

Original Location: 

Original Format: Country

History Of WINV-AM
Thanks to Marc Tyll for this history of WINV.
WINV-AM 1560 began operations in 1965 as WYSE, operating with 1,000 watts daytime on 1560 kilohertz. Jack and Nellie Fleet, formed Fleet and Fleet Broadcasting with the idea of bringing Citrus County's first and only radio station. It would be four years later before the area would get its second radio station, and first FM station, WTRS-FM 102.3, Dunnellon. The Fleets increased power to 5,000 watts in 1977, enhancing their coverage into West Citrus County, giving better coverage into Crystal River and Homosassa Springs. WYSE programmed a country and western format catering to Inverness and Citrus County with a compliment of news and public affairs interspersed with select talk programming including a "Swap Shop" program heard weekdays at noon where listeners could call in and buy, sell or trade items.
The Fleets sold WYSE in 1978 to OZ Broadcasting, headed by John O'Donnell who changed the format to "Middle of The Road".  WYSE featured an afternoon local organ music program originating "live" from the popular Crystal River Lounge. The program could be heard weekday afternoons from 2pm to 3pm. O'Donnell also wanted to add Paul Harvey and asked ABC Radio to allow WYSE to add the popular news commentator, but ABC declined since WTRS-FM already had the exclusive area rights to carry Paul Harvey News and Comment, The Rest of the Story and ABC/Entertainment radio. WYSE was an ABC/Information affiliate. O'Donnell became angry with ABC and dropped all ABC news programming, replacing it with CBS World News. O'Donnell eliminated most of the talk on WYSE, stating "...listeners want to hear music, not some disc jockey talking over records..."  In a way, O'Donnell originated the concept of "More Music, Less Talk" commonly heard on adult formatted stations today. In 1984 O'Donnell and his partner John Zimmerman sold WYSE to Robert Stoher. Stoher would later own WQBQ-AM 1410, Leesburg, WRGO-FM Cedar Key, WWGO-FM Ocala, WHBO-AM Tampa and other stations around the state. Stoher changed the call letters to WKIQ and reformatted the new WKIQ-AM 1560 as an Adult Contemporary station, dropping CBS World News and once again adding ABC News to AM 1560, this time ABC/Contemporary. Stoher owned WKIQ for about a year calling it "...a real dog in need of much attention..."
Stoher sold WKIQ to Walter E. Windsor of Comco, Inc. in 1985. Windsor had previously served as General Manager and part owner of WFTV channel 9 in Orlando and formed Comco in 1984 after selling his interest in channel 9. Comco later purchased WRYO-FM 98.5 which became WKTK-FM 98.5. Gary Granger was hired as General Manager  of WKIQ, and later became founder and general manager of "Coast- to-Coast 98.5" WKTK-FM. Originally the plan was to re-locate the WRYO studios to Inverness at the WKIQ studio location, creating and AM-FM combo. Comco sold WKIQ to a local group, Webb Broadcasting, in 1987 who switched WKIQ from Adult Contemporary to Country under the call letters WINV for Inverness. In 1993 the station went off the air when Webb Broadcasting decided to sell the station. WINV was sold to Palm Harbor broadcaster, and former Philadelphia disc jockey, Carl Marcocci who owned WGUL-AM and FM, Tampa Bay's "Music of Your Life" station. WINV began simulcasting "The Gull", bringing Al Ham's Music of Your Life to Citrus County, switching to News-Talk, then switching back to "Music of Your Life:"
Marcocci later purchased WAVQ-FM 104.3 Inglis and began simulcasting the "Music of Your Life" on FM 104.3 and WINV, covering all of Citrus County and West Florida as well as North Tampa Bay with programming originating from the studios of WGUL-AM 860 Dunedin (Palm Harbor).
Later, WINV's city of license was changed to Beverly Hills after Beverly Hills only FM station was re-licensed to Spring Hill, and the studios were moved to Palm Harbor. The WINV tower and transmitter site remains at the original location in Inverness, broadcasting with 5,000 watts daytime on 1560 kilohertz playing the "Music of Your Life" throughout Citrus County.

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