WKXS-FM

WKXS-FM
City Leland, North Carolina
Broadcast area Wilmington, North Carolina
Branding 94.5 The Hawk
Slogan The Port City's Classic Rock
Frequency 94.5 MHz
First air date 1995 (as WAAV-FM)
Format Classic Rock
ERP 3,800 watts
HAAT 126.7 meters
Class A
Facility ID 25998
Transmitter coordinates 34°12′35″N 77°56′53″W / 34.20972°N 77.94806°W / 34.20972; -77.94806
Former callsigns WAAV-FM (4/1/1994-3/8/2000)
WAHG (2/11/1994-4/1/1994)[1]
Owner Cumulus Media
(Cumulus Licensing LLC)
Sister stations WGNI, WMNX, WWQQ-FM
Webcast Listen Live
Listen Live via iHeart
Website 945thehawkradio.com

WKXS-FM is a radio station broadcasting a classic rock format and airing John Boy and Billy in the morning. Licensed to Leland, North Carolina, USA, the station serves the Wilmington area. The station is currently owned by Cumulus Media.[2]

History

Cumulus Broadcasting purchased four Wilmington radio stations in Spring 1997. After a survey, general manager Clay McCauley said, "Basically, we found a hole in the market big enough to drive a Mack truck through." 25 percent of the market's population was African-American, but only one radio station was reaching that audience.

On Friday, October 3, 1997, WAAV-FM began repeatedly playing "Kiss" by Prince. The new Kiss 94.1 was "All Prince, All the Time" until program director Ken Johnson (from WILD in Boston) played "If Only for One Night" by Luther Vandross on Monday, October 6. The new urban adult contemporary format would include Toni Braxton, Whitney Houston, Anita Baker and Michael Jackson. The target audience would be similar to that of 97.3 Coast FM, which had been the area's only urban contemporary station since 1992. However, Kiss would lean more toward older songs, and the station would not play rap. Local DJs and community involvement were a priority, and Tom Joyner did the morning show.[3]

On March 8, 2000, the call letters changed to WKXS-FM.[1]

Kiss received a signal improvement that included a move to 94.5. Still, because of low ratings, the format that included Teddy Pendergrass and Aretha Franklin was changed to classic rock on September 21, 2006. The first song was "Take the Money and Run" by the Steve Miller Band. In December 2006, the station added John Boy and Billy, who had been under contract with WRQR.[4] The station transitioned to full classic rock in 2017.

References

  1. 1 2 "Call Sign History". Retrieved October 18, 2011.
  2. ↑ "WKXS-FM Facility Record". United States Federal Communications Commission, audio division.
  3. ↑ Eric Crawford, "Kiss Went on All Weekend," Star-News, October 7, 1997.
  4. ↑ Angela Mack, "Fans KISS Favorite Radio Station Goodbye," Star-News, October 30, 2006.
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