Amid declining listenership, the station briefly adopted an adult contemporary format modeled after Chicago sister WFYR in 1980.

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).

In the late 1930s, WOR (710 AM), then licensed to Newark, New Jersey, and owned by the Bamberger Broadcasting Service, Inc., a division of R.H. Macy and Company, became interested in the newly developed technology of FM radio.

On July 30, 1966, WOR-FM began running a freeform-based progressive rock format for most of its broadcast day, though the station continued to simulcast WOR radio's morning program Rambling with Gambling for a time afterwards.

Some of the notable early personalities included Bill Brown (who was a holdover from the rock format and would leave for then-rock station WCBS-FM in 1969); Joe McCoy (who would later become general manager of WCBS-FM); Johnny Donovan (who would go to WABC in 1972 and remain there until his 2015 retirement); Tommy Edwards (announcer), later the longtime midday personality on Chicago Top 40 giant WLS (AM); and Al Brady (who would program WABC in 1979), among others.

Mayo, shortly before his arrival, suggested a new format for the station to Kelly and then-general manager Lee S. Simonson after he received a surprising lambasting from his idol, WBLS Program Director Frankie Crocker (who would later become his rival).

[7] Early on, WRKS played a great deal of R&B and dance music, and became an almost instant hit with listeners, as its ratings skyrocketed from 22nd place to third.

Notable Kiss FM Mixmasters at the time Shep Pettibone and, later, Tony Humphries, were commissioned to create longer versions of current popular songs.

Longtime urban contemporary leader WBLS was caught off-guard by the sudden rise of the new station, which represented its first direct competition in that format.

Nevertheless, the station had made such strides in its first two-and-a-half years that it resulted in Barry Mayo being promoted as general manager, the first African-American to hold such a position in the RKO radio chain.

WRKS incorporated artists such as Kurtis Blow, Whodini, Run DMC, Fat Boys, LL Cool J, and Public Enemy into the same rotation as such established acts as Ashford & Simpson, Kool and the Gang, and Gladys Knight.

Two years after WOR-TV went to MCA (and renamed WWOR-TV), on June 26, 1989, RKO sold WRKS to the Summit Communications Group of Atlanta.

That same year, WBLS lured on-air personality Mike Love (formerly of the original Kiss Wake-Up Club) to their morning drive show.

WRKS immediately formulated a new morning show featuring Ken "Spider" Webb and Jeff Foxx along with then-unknown Wendy Williams.

The Bomb Squad was the first hip-hop mix show in the country to play the records of The Notorious B.I.G., Wu Tang Clan, and Mobb Deep.

Leaning towards a younger demographic, the station formulated a new morning show featuring Wendy Williams, who was replaced by "The Native One" during her former 6 p.m.-10 p.m. weeknights shift.

[11] In December 1994, WQHT's parent Emmis Communications took advantage of newly relaxed FCC ownership regulations and agreed to purchase WRKS from Summit, forming the market's first FM duopoly.

WRKS subsequently stopped playing hip-hop and flipped to urban adult contemporary format using the slogan "Smooth R&B and Classic Soul".

The new sound on WRKS was introduced by the station during its annual "Twelve Days of Kiss-mas" promotion during the Christmas holiday, and was fully implemented in January 1995.

Soul music legend Barry White became the station's imaging voice and promotional face, and would remain in this role until his death in 2003.

In September 1995, WRKS hired another deep-voiced bass singer, Isaac Hayes, as its new morning show host, and later added Ashford & Simpson to helm its afternoon drive program.

Funk musician Roger Troutman (of the band Zapp) and former disc jockey-turned-motivational speaker Les Brown also hosted programs on WRKS around this time.

In April 2001, WRKS became the New York home for the nationally syndicated Tom Joyner Morning Show, as Isaac Hayes chose not to renew his contract with the station; he remained for a few months to host the local segments within the program (known on the station as The Tom Joyner Morning Show with Isaac Hayes).

Following the death of Whitney Houston—who was born in nearby Newark, New Jersey—on February 11, 2012, WRKS dedicated the subsequent weekend to commemorating her career, including tributes by the station's staff and alumni, and listener phone-ins.

Immediately after, ESPN Radio began broadcasting on 98.7 FM under a local marketing agreement with the Walt Disney Company.

In the same transaction, Good Karma purchased full ownership of WEPN (AM) and ESPN Radio-owned stations in Chicago and Los Angeles from Disney.

[33] On September 19, 2023, GKB owner Craig Karmazin told the New York Post that it would not renew the LMA with Emmis when it expires and would thus relinquish the 98.7 FM frequency on August 31, 2024.

The station's on-air imaging and programming was developed in around a week, which would be automated and voice-tracked using the Radio.Cloud platform to integrate localized content.

[37] At midnight on August 31, 2024, WEPN-FM abruptly ended its ESPN Radio programming (to the point that it joined "Shut Up and Dance" by Walk the Moon already in progress) and flipped to hot adult contemporary as TJ 98.7.

[41] At that time, following a live farewell show hosted by Taormina, both WEPN-FM and sister AM station WLIB relaunched as the Spanish-language La Exitosa.