WLYT

WLYT is Lite 102.9, an adult contemporary music station serving the Charlotte, North Carolina area. Although licensed to Hickory, NC, the main studios are located at 801 Woodridge Center Drive, just off the Billy Graham Parkway near Charlotte/Douglas International Airport. The station is owned and operated by Clear Channel Communications.

History

The station's history in Charlotte began in 1987 with a signal boost and a move from Hickory, North Carolina (where it was WHKY-FM). Prior to the move, "Y-102.9" had played Top 40 with a heavy emphasis on album-oriented rock, a format that made people notice at a time when rock radio was in decline. Before that, WHKY-FM had aired Christian programming.

WRLX "Relax 102.9", a beautiful music station,^[1] promoted itself with images of a pair of retirement-age punk rockers, intended to humorously illustrate how the competition apparently viewed the station's target audience. In 1989, the station changed its call letters to WEZC and its name to "EZ 102.9", gradually adding more vocals during the summer to make the transition from beautiful music to MOR. Some of the early announcers include Bob Brandon, Jim Davenport, Catherine Lane, Jon Robinson and Todd Edwards. In 1993, the name changed again to Lite 102.9 as the station moved to soft adult contemporary, and the call letters switched to WLYT in 1995. Over the years, as the definition of soft adult contemporary has changed, WLYT has evolved. The station now plays pop and lite rock music from the 1970s to present, with an occasional 1960s song.

Lite 102.9 had featured a "70's Flashback Weekend" every weekend since late 2004 through 2005, but discontinued this tradition after the slogan changed from "Continuous Lite Favorites" to "The Best Variety of Yesterday and Today." The station plays Christmas music annually, with 'preview weekends' from early November through Thanksgiving, then a 24-hour Christmas format from Thanksgiving through Christmas Day. WLYT's main competitor is CBS Radio's WKQC, K104.7.

In late January 2008, WLYT changed its morning show to more closely resemble the "Today" show on NBC, with more talk geared toward women 25 to 54. During the first hour, the talk was more hard news, becoming lighter as the morning show progressed and adding more music during work hours.^[2] The program schedule was altered as well.

The show was discontinued in early 2010 with Morning hosts Jim Shafer (who had moved to the station from WWMG in 2004) and Jen Byrum (morning host since 1999) being released. On April 13, 2010, "Valentine in the Morning", a syndicated show from Clear Channel, made its debut. A local host will be hired for local segments of ths show.^[3]

Program Schedule

Lite 102.9 plays Christmas music each year.

Weekdays:

• 5-10:00AM - Valentine & Heather Flynn
• 10:00AM–3:00PM - Phil Harris
• 3:00PM-7:00PM Nick Allen
• 7:00PM–12:00AM - Delilah After Dark

References

1. ^ Jeff Borden, "Relax: Beautiful Music Is Back," The Charlotte Observer, June 29, 1987.
2. ^ Mark Washburn, "Morning hosts will double up with afternoon gig," The Charlotte Observer, Jan. 26, 2008.
3. ^ Mark Washburn, "Jen Byrum and Jim Shafer ponder life without WLYT-FM," The Charlotte Observer, April 10, 2010.

External links

• Query the FCC's FM station database for WLYT
• Radio-Locator information on WLYT
• Query Arbitron's FM station database for WLYT