K-98.3 radio changes its name back to KJOY

KJOY is coming back.

At 5 p.m. Friday, the Farmingdale-based adult contemporary station WKJY 98.3-FM will once again be known as KJOY, after six years of being known as K-98.3. Program director Jon Daniels says they will kick off the station’s next chapter with Bon Jovi’s “Who Says You Can’t Go Home,” adding, “That seemed fitting.”

The relaunch is part of a broader switch at the station, which will have a playlist stretching from the ‘80s to today that focuses on “comfortable songs with instant familiarity,” according to Daniels. “The John Tesh Radio Show,” a mix of music and information that the Garden City native calls “Intelligence for Your Life,” will be expanded, running from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. on weeknights starting Monday. Connoisseur Media senior vice president/Long Island market manager Jim Condron said that according to the station’s testing, Tesh is the most familiar radio host on Long Island. "I am proud to reintroduce the name to the station, which was known as KJOY when I began working here in 1997,” Condron said.

Also starting Monday, the station—which ranked sixth in the Long Island market ratings in April—will go commercial-free for two hours starting at 9 a.m.

“Listeners want to relax and hear their favorite songs,” Daniels said. “They want to get away from the general stress of living on Long Island.”

To promote the switch, Daniels said this will be “The Summer of KJOY,” with the station setting up at high-profile locations, including the upcoming 2019 Bethpage Air Show at Jones Beach.

"The Long Island media market has gotten more and more contemporary over time, and people have told us they're craving a 'place to relax,'" Connoisseur Media CEO Jeffrey Warshaw said in a statement. "This is the perfect time to welcome KJOY 98.3 back to the Long Island airwaves."