 | |
| Broadcast area | Nashville metropolitan area |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 103.3MHz |
| Branding | 103-3 Country |
| Programming | |
| Format | Country |
| Affiliations | Compass Media Networks Westwood One |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| WGFX,WQQK,WSM-FM,WWTN | |
| History | |
First air date | April 18, 1962; 63 years ago (April 18, 1962) (as WNFO-FM) January 1,1967 (as WKDA-FM/WKDF) |
Former call signs | WNFO-FM (1962–1965) WNFO (1965–1967) WKDA-FM (1967–1976) |
Call sign meaning | Differentiation from former sister station WKDA[1] |
| Technical information[2] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 16896 |
| Class | C0 |
| ERP | 100,000watts |
| HAAT | 376 meters (1,234 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 36°02′08″N86°50′56″W / 36.035611°N 86.848889°W /36.035611; -86.848889 |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | www.1033country.com |
WKDF (103.3FM, "103.3 Country") is acountry musicradio station inNashville, Tennessee. It is owned byCumulus Media, withstudios in Nashville'sMusic Row district. WKDF is theflagship station for thenationally syndicatedBig D & Bubba Morning Show.
WKDF is aClass C FM station, with aneffective radiated power (ERP) of 100,000watts, the maximum for most FM stations. It formerly broadcast in theHD Radio format, airing asimulcast of the analog (traditional) signal on the HD1digital subchannel.[3] Thetransmittertower is on Johnson Chapel Road West inBrentwood, near theLittle Harpeth River.[4]
The stationsigned on the air on April 18, 1962; 63 years ago (April 18, 1962). Its originalcall sign was WNFO-FM, owned by the Hickory Broadcasting Corporation.[5] It was the second commercial Nashville station to be assigned to 103.3 MHz, preceded by the originalWSM-FM, which occupied this frequency from 1947 until it wentoff the air in 1951.
Despite several FM stations already operating in Nashville at the time, receivers for FM signals were not yet in widespread use. The relatively few listeners were not enough to attract advertisers. WNFO-FM left the air sometime around 1965.
WKDA1240 AM, then one of the twoTop 40-formatted stations in the market, begansimulcasting on 103.3 MHz on January 1, 1967 as WKDA-FM.[6] For the next three years, Nashville listeners could hear their favorite Top 40 hits on AM 1240 and FM 103.3.
In January 1970, WKDA-FM began playingfreeformprogressive rock, aimed especially at Nashville's large college student population. At first, the rock music was heard at night only, with the Top 40 hits from the AM station playing in the daytime. Then, beginning in March, WKDA-FM switched to rock all day. This lasted for about a year and a half.
For most of the late 1970s and early 80s, in the daytime, WKDA-AM-FM employed a mix of more mass-appeal rock and Top 40 music, while switching to harder-edged progressive rock at night. As the FM format grew, it soon became the dominant station of the two. Eventually the AM station changed tocountry music and in 1976 the FM station switched its callsign to WKDF.
The FM station began calling itself "KDF". It became one of the top stations in the Nashville market as determined by the number of listeners reported byArbitron, again thanks to its vast popularity among younger listeners. Although WKDF was challenged by competitor stations in the late 1980s into the mid-1990s, it continued to place first, second, or third with Arbitron during this period.
After a short stint with ahard rock format from 1992 to 1993, WKDF's format shifted to anactive rock format in 1993, thenalternative rock in 1996. In February 1997, the format was changed again toadult album alternative,[7] which led to a precipitous fall in ratings from third in the market to 13th.
By the late 1990s, the different rock formats saw continued ratings losses to competitor FM outlets. After nearly 30 years of programming some form of rock, WKDF reformatted tocountry music on April 1, 1999, a move that shocked many longtime Middle Tennessee listeners.[8] It jumped into a three-way race for Nashville FM country listeners with established stations 95.5WSM-FM and 97.9WSIX-FM.
Originally going by the moniker "Music City 103", WKDF reverted to using its callsign in branding beginning in 2001. At first, theplaylist featured a mixture of contemporary and classic country.[9] But in recent years, it has become more contemporary, in contrast with co-owned WSM-FM, which concentrates on 1990s and 2000s country titles.
In September 2011, WKDF came underCumulus Media ownership, as a result of the Cumulus acquisition of Citadel. That made WKDF asister station to fellow Nashville country outlet WSM-FM.[10][11] On February 3, 2014, WKDF, along with nine other Cumulus-owned country music stations, changed to the "Nash FM" branding that had been employed previously only by New York City outletWNSH.[12]
On May 14, 2020, WKDF rebranded as "103-3 Country".[13] The station also provides network programming forAbsolute Radio Country in theUnited Kingdom.[14]
On Monday, October 18, 2021, WKDF became the new home station for thenationally syndicatedBig D & Bubba Morning Show. It was previously heard in Nashville on rival station 97.9 WSIX-FM from 2003-2011.[15] WSIX-FM now airs another nationally syndicated morning program based in Nashville,The Bobby Bones Show.
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