WHBT-FM

WHBT-FM
City Moyock, North Carolina
Broadcast area Hampton Roads
Northeastern North Carolina
Branding "92.1 The Beat"
Slogan "Hampton Roads Throwback Hip Hop and R&B"
Frequency 92.1 FM MHz
(also on HD Radio)
First air date October 17, 1974
Format Classic Hip Hop
Power 14,500 Watts
HAAT 131 meters (430 ft)
Class C3
Facility ID 70345
Transmitter coordinates 36°37′38.0″N 76°13′7.0″W / 36.627222°N 76.218611°W / 36.627222; -76.218611
Callsign meaning W Hampton (Roads) BeaT
Former callsigns WJLY
WQZQ (1980-1990)
WOFM (1990)
WTZR (1990-1991)
WMYK (1991-1997)
WSVV (1997-2001)
WBHH (2001-2004)
WCDG (2004-2010)
WKSA (2010-2015)
Owner iHeartMedia
(CC Licenses, LLC)
Sister stations WMOV-FM, WNOH, WOWI
Webcast WHBT-FM Webstream
Website WHBT-FM Online

WHBT-FM is a Classic Hip Hop formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Moyock, North Carolina, serving Hampton Roads and Northeastern North Carolina.[1] WHBT-FM is owned and operated by iHeartMedia.[2]

WHBT-FM broadcasts in the HD Radio (hybrid) format.[3]

History

The station originally signed on October 17, 1974 as WJLY, which played a variety of genres, but signed off in 1978 due to financial issues.[4] It signed back on as Top 40-formatted WQZQ in 1989.[5] It later changed to country, adult contemporary as WOFM and AAA formats. On July 16, 1990, it flipped to the satellite-fed Z-Rock network as WZTR.[6][7]

In June 1991, the station was sold to Willis Broadcasting who changed the calls to WMYK and instituted an Urban AC format as "The New 92.1 Kiss FM".[8] On August 9, 1996, after Clear Channel purchased the station, WMYK flipped to a Crossover format, which failed in the ratings; after this, the format shifted to a harder-edged urban as "The New K92" not to be confused with Roanoke's K92. On July 3, 1997, WMYK flipped to a simulcast of sister station WSVY, which aired a Jammin' Oldies format, and was branded as "Vibe 107.7 and 92.1".[9] The format would later shift back to their Urban AC roots. On February 1, 2001, 92.1 split from the simulcast and returned to urban as WBHH, "92.1 The Beat".[10] On March 1, 2003, the station dropped its hip hop format and started simulcasting an Soft AC format with former smooth jazz sister station WJCD; the two stations together were known as "Lite FM", and WBHH adopted the call letters WCDG on March 9, 2004.[11][12]

On August 12, 2005, to fill the hole left when crosstown oldies WFOG switched to adult contemporary the month prior, WCDG broke away from the simulcast and became Oldies-formatted "Cool 92.1". The first song played was Bill Deal and the Rhondels' "What Kind of Fool (Do You Think I Am)".[13]

On October 11, 2010, WCDG and WJCD became simulcasts again when WKUS moved from 105.3 to 107.7 and the 105.3 frequency became "Magic 105.3" with an AC-themed Classic Hits format. The move meant the end for WCDG's Oldies format and WJCD's smooth jazz format.[14][15] On October 27, 2010, WCDG changed their call letters to WKSA. On March 31, 2011, WKUS broke away from its simulcast of WKSA to become Rhythmic AC WMOV (MOViN' 107.7) after that station received a signal upgrade to cover the area.[16]

On December 26, 2014, at 10 a.m., WKSA began stunting as "Missy FM," featuring music recorded by Portsmouth-born artist Missy Elliott, who also did imaging and voice overs, as well as Timbaland and Aaliyah. On January 5, 2015, at 9 a.m., WKSA flipped to classic hip hop and returned to the "Beat" branding.[17][18][19] On January 22, 2015, WKSA changed their call letters to WHBT-FM to match the "Beat" branding.

References

  1. ↑ "Arbitron Station Information Profiles". Nielsen Audio/Nielsen Holdings. Retrieved January 5, 2015.
  2. ↑ "WHBT Facility Record". Federal Communications Commission, audio division. Retrieved January 5, 2015.
  3. ↑ http://hdradio.com/station_guides/widget.php?id=40 HD Radio Guide for Norfolk, Virginia Beach and Newport News
  4. ↑ http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC-YB/1977/C-2%20Radio%20Broadcasting%20Yearbook%201977.pdf
  5. ↑ http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC-YB/1981/Cb%20Facilities%20of%20Radio%201981%20N-Z.pdf
  6. ↑ http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-RandR/1990s/1990/RR-1990-07-20.pdf
  7. ↑ http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC-YB/1991/B-Radio-NE-MT-1991-B&W.pdf
  8. ↑ http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC-YB/1994/B-Radio-NE-Ter-BC-YB-1994-B&W.pdf
  9. ↑ https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-68489993.html
  10. ↑ http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC-YB/2002-03/A-Radio-NE-TER-BC-YB-2002-3.pdf
  11. ↑ https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-113830352.html
  12. ↑ https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-114146574.html
  13. ↑ https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-135665723.html
  14. ↑ "Smooth jazz format dropped in Clear Channel radio shuffle" from Daily Press October 11, 2010
  15. ↑ https://radioinsight.com/headlines/netgnomes/18265/making-magic-in-virginia-beach/
  16. ↑ https://radioinsight.com/headlines/netgnomes/32647/107-7-wkus-norfolk-movin-towards-a-divorce/
  17. ↑ https://radioinsight.com/headlines/netgnomes/91307/next-up-for-classic-hip-hop-norfolk/
  18. ↑ http://theurbanbuzz.com/?tag=wksa-norfolk-flips-to-92-1-the-beat
  19. ↑ https://formatchange.com/wksa-becomes-classic-hip-hop-the-beat/
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