WYNK-FM

WYNK-FM (101.5 FM) – branded WYNK Country 101.5 – is a commercial country radio station licensed to serve Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Owned by iHeartMedia, Inc., the station covers the Baton Rouge metropolitan area and is the local affiliate for The Bobby Bones Show. The WYNK studios are located in Baton Rouge, while the station transmitter resides in nearby Plaquemine. Besides a standard analog transmission, WYNK broadcasts over two HD Radio digital subchannels, and is available online via iHeartRadio.

WYNK-FM
CityBaton Rouge, Louisiana
Broadcast areaBaton Rouge metropolitan area
BrandingWYNK Country 101.5
SloganYou're in WYNK Country
Frequency101.5 MHz (HD Radio)
First air dateSeptember 1, 1968 (1968-09-01)
FormatCountry
HD2: Classic Hits
ERP100,000 watts
HAAT457 meters
ClassC
Facility ID47402
Transmitter coordinates30°19′34.00″N 91°16′36.00″W
Call sign meaningPronounced "wink"
AffiliationsPremiere Networks
OwneriHeartMedia, Inc.
(Capstar TX LLC)
Sister stationsKRVE, WFMF, WJBO
WebcastListen Live
Websitewynkcountry.iheart.com

History

The FM adjunct to WYNK (1380 AM), WYNK-FM signed on the air on September 1, 1968, owned by the Miss Lou Broadcasting Corporation.[1] The two stations simulcast country music, WYNK-FM has kept the same call letters and country format ever since.

Originally powered at 33,300 watts, WYNK-FM got a boost to 100,000 watts in the early 1970s,[2] then relocated to a taller tower in the early 1980s, allowing the station to be heard from New Orleans to Lafayette.[3] McGregor sold WYNK and WYNK-FM in the 1980s to Narragansett Broadcasting, a company that would eventually be acquired by Capstar.

In 2000, Capstar merged with San Antonio-based Clear Channel Communications;[4] WYNK was sold to Davidson Media in 2007, switching to a Christian radio format. In 2014, Clear Channel changed its name to iHeartMedia, Inc.

WYNK-FM originally served as the flagship station for nationally syndicated Big D and Bubba from 1999 until 2003, the program currently airs on competing station WTGE.

In the early 2000s, WYNK-FM began broadcasting in the HD Radio digital format. Its HD2 subchannel carried a classic hits sound branded "Downtown Radio 97.7", and was also carried on low-power translator K249DV (97.7 FM). K249DV switched to a simulcast of WJBO on January 2, 2017.[5]

References
  1. Broadcasting Yearbook 1969 page B-73
  2. Broadcasting Yearbook 1974 page B-89
  3. Broadcasting Yearbook 1990 page B-134
  4. Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 2005 page D-237
  5. Walton & Johnson Move In New Orleans Leads To Baton Rouge Format Change Radioinsight - January 2, 2017
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