WIMX

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WIMX
City of license	Gibsonburg, Ohio
Broadcast area	Toledo, Ohio
Branding	Mix 95.7
Slogan	The Best Variety of Hits and Oldies
First air date	November 15, 1988 (as WRED)
Frequency	95.7 (MHz)
Format	Urban adult contemporary
ERP	3,500 watts
Class	A
Callsign meaning	Mix
Owner	Urban Radio Broadcasting
Website	Urban Radio

95.7 WIMX is an American urban adult contemporary radio station known as "The Mix". The station operates at 95.7 mHz at a federally-assigned power of 3500 watts. WIMX is licensed to Gibsonburg, Ohio, located 15 miles southeast of Toledo.

[edit] History

The station began on the frequency on November 15, 1988 as "Red 95.7 W-R-E-D" with an Adult Contemporary format and special Mexican and Jazz programming. WRED was founded by longtime Toledo radio personality Buddy Carr and his wife Carolyn. Among the many formats for 95.7, was a simulcast of Toledo classic country music station WTOD 1560AM. On August 30, 1993, the station switched to a country music format and was known as "Young Country Y-95.7" WYHK.

In its beginnings, WRED maintained its studio, office and transmitter facility along Fremont Pike (Ohio Route 20) in Woodville, Ohio; about 12 miles due west of Gibsonburg, its city of license.

In 1993, Booth American, licensee of contemporary country-formatted WKKO K-100 in Toledo, assumed control of WRED in a local marketing agreement (LMA), which became allowed under newly-relaxed FCC duopoly ownership limits that permitted companies to control two FM stations in a single market. The deal was made in response to a nationwide spike in country music listenership at the beginning of the 1990's. WRED's operations, now under Booth American's control, moved to the same facility as WTOD and WKKO on Arlington Avenue in downtown Toledo, but the antenna and transmitter facility (and a now-vacant studio building) remained in Woodville.

WRED became WYHK, targeting an audience of 18-49 with the new hit country format. With WKKO and AM sister station WTOD, which programmed classic country music targeted to an older audience, Booth American was able to reach virtually every desired target audience in the market. The LMA deal ended in 1995 when Booth purchased the station outright from the Carrs.

The hit country format continued for approximately three years, but later switched to a smooth jazz format in response to the subsequent decline in the country music boom in the mid-90's.

The station became what it is today on March 20, 1996.