| City of license | Raleigh, North Carolina |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Raleigh/Durham Research Triangle |
| Branding | KIX 102.9 |
| Slogan | "Carolina's Greatest Hits" |
| Frequency | 102.9 (MHz) |
| First air date | July 1, 1998 |
| Format | Oldies |
| ERP | 1,700 watts |
| HAAT | 189 meters |
| Class | A |
| Facility ID | 4841 |
| Former callsigns | WWMY (2001-2010) WWND (1998-2001)[1] |
| Owner | Curtis Media Group |
| Sister stations | WKIX, WQDR, WQDR-FM, WBBB, WYMY, WPTF, WWPL |
| Website | kix1029.com |
WKIX-FM (102.9 FM) is an oldies music formatted radio station located in Raleigh, North Carolina, that plays hit music from the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s as "KIX 102.9, Carolina's Greatest Hits."
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The station began operating in 1998 under the call letters WWND-FM, and carried a smooth jazz format as "102.9 the Wind". This setup was very similar in nature to one carried out by another station, WNND-FM 103.9 (now WNNL) from 1990 to 1996. When that didn't work, the station switched gears to an all-80s format in 2001 as "102.9, StarFM". The call letters were then changed to WWMY as well. Shortly thereafter, Goldsboro country station WKIX 96.9 became WYMY, simulcasting WWMY with 100,000 watts to points east of Raleigh as "Star 96-9 and 102-9".
Over the next two years, Star attempted to tweak its format by becoming a Hot AC hybrid".[2] for a brief time before switching to a classic hits format. It was during this time that the station carried the syndicated Bob and Sheri morning show, which did not go over well because it often got confused with the Bill & Sheri show on competitor WRAL-FM.
The Star-FM simulcast broke off in 2003 when WYMY became a Spanish-speaking station known as "La Ley." WWMY continued on with the classic hits format as "Star-FM - SuperStars of the 70s and 80s" until 2005, when it made another format tweak by picking up the Oldies mantle from what used to be WTRG and changed their handle to Y102.9, which billed itself as "The Home of Motown, Soul, and Rock 'N Roll." The musical focus then shifted on hits from the 1960s and 1970s.
On February 1, 2007, WWMY began a simulcast with WWNF, which shifted its country music format over to WKIX-FM 97.7 in Kinston. WWNF and WKIX had swapped call letters a month prior to the move.[3][4][5]
WWNF became WKIX once again late in 2008.[4]
WKIX and WWMY swapped letters early in 2010.[4][6] As a result, the station dropped its Y102.9 moniker and referred to itself by just the dial position before changing it once again to the current KIX 102.9. In the process, the 80s tunes that had been on Star-FM previously were added back to the playlist, along with the occasional "lost oldie" from the pre-1964 era.
WKIX-FM also broadcasts football and basketball games for the Duke Blue Devils,[7] which it picked up from the former WRBZ (now WKIX AM), after that station dropped sports programming altogether.
WWMY ended its simulcast with WKIX-FM on October 23 and began stunting with future simulcast partner WKXU, as part of a change in city of license from Goldsboro to Smithfield.
The WKIX letters were used for many years by, and have returned to, the Raleigh station called WRBZ from 1995 to 2010,[8] followed by the Raleigh station now called WBBB,[9] then the station now called WYMY[10] and, after its first stint on the station now called WWPL, on the station now called WEQR in Kinston, North Carolina.[3] The first station to be called WKIX was WISW in Columbia, South Carolina.
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