WEPN-FM

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WEPN-FM

New York, New York United States
Broadcast area	New York metropolitan area
Frequency	98.7 MHz (HD Radio)
Branding	TJ 98.7
Programming
Language(s)	English
Format	Hot adult contemporary
Ownership
Owner	Emmis Corporation (Emmis New York Radio License LLC)
Sister stations	WLIB WBLS WQHT
History
First air date	1941 (83 years ago) (1941)
Former call signs	W71NY (1941–1943) WOR-FM (1943) WBAM (1943–1948) WOR-FM (1948–1972) WXLO (1972–1981) WRKS-FM (1981–2012)
Call sign meaning	ESPN Radio (previous format)
Technical information[1]
Licensing authority	FCC
Facility ID	63781
Class	B
ERP	6,000 watts
HAAT	415 meters (1,362 ft)
Transmitter coordinates	40°44′53″N 73°59′10″W / 40.748°N 73.986°W / 40.748; -73.986
Links
Public license information	Public file LMS
Website	lp.gemini13media.com/tj987popup

WEPN-FM (98.7 FM, "TJ 98.7") is a radio station in New York City. Owned by Emmis Communications, it broadcasts a hot adult contemporary format. Its transmitter is located at the Empire State Building.

The station originally began operations as an experimental FM station in 1939, spun off from 710 WOR. It then became one of the first licensed commercial FM stations in 1941. Until 1965, when the FCC prohibited this practice in larger markets, the station served as an FM simulcast of WOR. At that time, the station—by then owned by RKO General—flipped to one of New York's first free-form radio formats, focusing on progressive rock. In 1974, it adopted a top 40 format. Amid declining listenership, the station briefly adopted an adult contemporary format modeled after Chicago sister WFYR in 1980.

Beginning in December 1980, after further declines in ratings under the format, the station began to transition to a format focused primarily on dance music (such as disco) and R&B; the format officially launched in August 1981, with the station becoming WRKS-FM, Kiss FM. The new format was immediately successful; in 1983, the station became the first in New York City to regularly play hip hop, furthering its success. For a time, WRKS-FM was New York's highest-rated radio station, and was a prominent outlet for the golden age of hip hop.

Amid RKO General's exit from the broadcasting industry in the late-1980s, the station was sold to Atlanta-based Summit Communications Group in 1989. WRKS was, in turn, acquired by Emmis Communications in 1994, forming the first duopoly in New York City radio; prioritizing the urban contemporary format of new sister station WQHT, Emmis flipped WRKS to urban adult contemporary while maintaining the Kiss branding, now focused on R&B.

In 2012, the Kiss brand came to an end when Emmis leased the station to The Walt Disney Company under a 12-year local marketing agreement (LMA). The station switched to sports radio as WEPN-FM, the flagship of the ESPN Radio network. In 2021, the LMA was transferred to Good Karma Brands. In August 2024, the LMA with Emmis expired; as a result, WEPN-FM's programming was migrated to the former WCBS under a new LMA with Audacy, while WEPN-FM flipped to an automated hot adult contemporary format in the interim.