Update: Stephen King radio station gets reprieve

They say, "No news is good news," but sometimes good news is good news. In this case, we have a positive update to a previous story in which Stephen King, the renowned Maine author, faced the impending closure of his three Bangor radio stations due to significant financial losses and his advancing age. The author, who turned 77 in September, had announced the stations would cease operations at the end of the year. However, a local businessman has intervened to save at least one of them: WKIT-FM.

King's entry into the radio business began in 1983, at the age of 36, with the acquisition of a station he rebranded WZON, a nod to his novel The Dead Zone. This station experienced various iterations, including a period of closure before King reacquired it in 1990. This marked the beginning of The ZONE Corporation, which currently encompasses three stations.

Among these is WKIT-FM, self-proclaimed "Stephen King’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Radio Station." This station, known for its classic rock format, has been granted a reprieve thanks to the intervention of a Bangor businessman. This news arrived just in time for the holiday season.

Scotty Moore of WKIT expressed the staff's initial acceptance of the closure, stating, Well, we all kind of resolved that it was just gonna end, and I think we all kind of made peace with that." The subsequent news of the station's rescue was met with elation. Moore added, "...we found out, like, it's really gonna continue, it's really gonna happen, and it's totally like a Hallmark movie.”

The future of the Stephen King radio stations

While WKIT has been saved, the fate of King's other two stations remains unchanged. WZON-AM, which features a retro format, and WZLO-FM, an adult alternative station, are still slated to cease broadcasting at the end of the year. WZON (620 AM), originally WABI, signed on the air in 1928, making it one of Bangor’s oldest radio stations.

It was owned for decades by the Rines family, who also owned WABI-TV. King's purchase of the station in 1983 was his first foray into radio ownership. As the station was originally scheduled to close, King stated: "While radio across the country has been overtaken by giant corporate broadcasting groups, I’ve loved being a local, independent owner all these years..."

So now, hopefully, another person gets a chance to love owning the station for years.

The station has gone through several format changes over the years, including Top 40, adult contemporary, and news/talk before settling into its current retro format. WKIT-FM features a classic rock format, playing artists like Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones, and AC/DC. The station has been a popular choice for rock fans in the Bangor area.

It is unclear what the exact terms of the deal with the unnamed businessman are, but it does mean that the station will continue to broadcast into the new year and potentially beyond.