WKLV-FM

WKLV-FM
Broadcast area
Frequency95.5 MHz
BrandingK-Love
Programming
FormatChristian contemporary
NetworkK-Love
Ownership
OwnerSalem Media Group
OperatorEducational Media Foundation
WHK, WHKW
History
FoundedSeptember 20, 1960 (1960-09-20)
First air date
April 10, 1961 (1961-04-10)
Former call signs
  • WDGO (1961–1962)
  • WCLV (1962–2001)
  • WHK-FM (2001)
  • WFHM-FM (2001–2025)
Call sign meaning
K-Love
Technical information
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID54778
ClassB
ERP31,000 watts
HAAT189 meters (620 ft)
Transmitter coordinates
41°26′32.2″N 81°29′27.4″W / 41.442278°N 81.490944°W / 41.442278; -81.490944
Links
Public license information
WebcastListen live
Websiteklove.com

WKLV-FM (95.5 FM) is a non-commercial radio station licensed to Cleveland, Ohio, United States, airing a Christian contemporary format as the Cleveland affiliate for K-Love. Owned by Salem Media Group and operated by the Educational Media Foundation (EMF), the station serves Greater Cleveland and much of surrounding Northeast Ohio. WKLV-FM's transmitter is located in Warrensville Heights.

This station was built and signed on by Douglas G. Ovaitt Sr. and Jr. as WDGO in 1961. Sold twice in the following year, the second sale was to Cecil "Pat" Patrick and Robert Conrad, who relaunched the station in November 1962 as WCLV. Featuring a fine arts and classical music format, WCLV began originating live broadcasts of the Cleveland Orchestra in 1965, which it and its successor stations have continued in the years since. The station also launched an annual fundraising drive marathon for the Orchestra in 1970, which was soon imitated in other markets. Announcer Martin Perlich became an early champion of progressive rock with the Friday night Perlich Project, the first such program of its kind in Cleveland radio. Soloist A. Grace Lee Mims hosted a long-running weekly series devoted to contributions to the fine arts made by African Americans. WCLV became the home station for Karl Haas' Adventures in Good Music and the City Club of Cleveland's Friday Forum, establishing a radio syndication unit for those and other programs including Weekend Radio, an extension of a Saturday night variety show Conrad hosted.

With studios and transmitter originally in Mayfield Heights, the station upgraded its signal twice, moving facilities to the top of the Terminal Tower in 1968 and again to Warrensville Heights in 1986. Widespread consolidation in the late 1990s resulted in WCLV becoming the only commercial radio station licensed to the city that was still locally-owned. To perpetuate the classical format, Conrad initiated a complex seven-station intellectual property and asset swap in 2001, selling the 95.5 FM signal to Salem Communications in exchange for 1420 AM from Salem and 104.9 FM from Clear Channel. Upon taking over on July 3, 2001, Salem relaunched 95.5 FM as WFHM-FM, with a Christian contemporary format as "The Fish", whose airstaff included several veteran personalities formerly associated with secular radio formats. The station was sold to EMF in January 2025 and consequently switched to carrying K-Love.