KHLR

KHLR (106.7 MHz) is a commercial FM radio station licensed to Benton, Arkansas, and serving the Little Rock radio market. The station airs a country music radio format and calls itself "106.7 The Ride, New Country." KHLR is owned by Signal Media of Arkansas, Inc. The station's studios and offices are located just west of downtown Little Rock, along the south shore of the Arkansas River (David D. Terry Lake). The transmitter is located on Shinall Mountain, along Two Towers Road, near the Chenal Valley neighborhood of Little Rock.

For the military facility near Killeen, Texas, assigned the ICAO code KHLR, see Hood Army Airfield. For the Maumelle, Arkansas, radio station that held the call sign KHLR at 94.9 FM, see KHKN.
KHLR
CityBenton, Arkansas
Broadcast areaCentral Arkansas
Branding106.7 The Ride
SloganHot Country
Frequency106.7 MHz
First air dateJanuary 1, 1979 (as 107.1 KAKI)
FormatCountry
ERP13,000 watts
HAAT292.7 meters (960 ft)
ClassC2
Facility ID6819
Transmitter coordinates34°47′56″N 92°29′53″W
Former call signsKAKI (1979-1992)
KGKO-FM (1992-1993)
KMVK (1993-1997)
KDDK (1997-2002)
KHKN (2002-2009)
OwnerSignal Media
(Signal Media of Arkansas, Inc.)
Sister stationsKABZ, KKPT
WebcastListen Live
Website1067TheRide.com

KHLR is a Class C2 FM station, with an effective radiated power (ERP) of 13,000 watts from a tower 960 feet (292.7 m) in height above average terrain (HAAT).[1]

History

Early Years at 107.1

On January 1, 1979, the station signed on at 107.1 MHz as KAKI.[2] It was owned by Bridges Broadcasting and was the FM counterpart to AM 850 KGKO (now deleted). The station was a Class A, powered at only 2,500 watts, serving Benton and its adjacent towns, not the larger Little Rock market. While KGKO played oldies, KAKI was separately programmed as a country music station. By the late 1980s, KAKI switched to adult contemporary music.

In 1992, the station changed its call sign to match its AM counterpart, becoming KGKO-FM.[3] It also got a construction permit from the Federal Communications Commission to move to 106.7 MHz, coupled with an increase in power and tower height.

Move to 106.7

In 1993, the station was bought by the Southern Skies Corporation for $1.125 million.[4] The new owners finished moving the station to 106.7 on a new tower and relocated the studios and offices to Little Rock. The format returned to country music and the call letters were switched to KMVK which represented "Maverick."

In 1997, the station was acquired by Clear Channel Communications, now known as iHeartMedia.[5] The station switched its call sign to KDDK and began calling itself "The Wolf." In 2002, its call letters changed again, this time to KHKN, representing the word "Kickin'."

On March 31, 2008, "The Wolf" moved to 105.1 FM (currently KMJX) and KHKN was took the new moniker "TOM-FM".[6] According to Phil Hunt, regional programming vice-president of Clear Channel Communications, "We're going to call the station Tom FM after Tom Wood and his famous Brown Bagger show."[6]

Switch to Gospel, Rhythmic Oldies

On August 17, 2009, KHKN swapped formats and call letters with KHLR 94.9 FM. The new 106.7 KHLR flipped to urban contemporary gospel, branded as "Hallelujah FM."

On April 12, 2011, Clear Channel Communications sold the station to Signal Media for two million dollars.[7]

On July 19, 2011, at 6 PM, KHLR changed its format to rhythmic oldies, branded as "Heartbeat 106.7." The first song on "Heartbeat" was "Good Times" by Chic. Although its slogan was billed as "R&B + Old School," its playlist also featured artists from the early days of the Disco/Dance and Rhythmic Pop genres.

Return to Country Music

On August 12, 2015, at 5 PM, after playing "Last Dance" by Donna Summer, KHLR flipped to country, branded as "106.7 The Ride." It launched with a "commercial free 10,000 song free ride," beginning with "Kick the Dust Up" by Luke Bryan. The new country format competes with former owner iHeartMedia’s country combo of 95.7 KSSN and 105.1 KMJX.

References
  1. Radio-Locator.com/KHLR-FM
  2. Broadcasting Yearbook 1981 page C-14
  3. Broadcasting Yearbook 1993 page B-22
  4. Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 1994 page B-22
  5. Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 2005 page D-57
  6. "KHKN (106.1 [sic] The Wolf)/Little Rock Set for Tom FM Flip" Radio Online 22 February 2008, accessed 12 January 2009
  7. "Little Rock's gospel "Hallelujah" sells for $2 million". Radio-Info.com. April 12, 2011. Archived from the original on April 17, 2011.


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