 | |
| Broadcast area | Charlotte metropolitan area |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 102.9MHz (HD Radio) |
| Branding | 102.9 The Lake |
| Programming | |
| Format | Adult hits |
| Subchannels | HD2:Pride Radio |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| WEND,WHQC,WKKT,WRFX,W254AZ | |
| History | |
First air date | January 20, 1959; 66 years ago (1959-01-20) |
Former call signs |
|
Call sign meaning | Lake 1O2 (The O stands for 0) |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 68211 |
| Class | C1 |
| ERP | 31,000 watts |
| HAAT | 468 meters (1,535 ft) |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen live (viaiHeartRadio) |
| Website | 1029thelake |
WLKO (102.9FM, "The Lake") is acommercial radio stationlicensed toHickory, North Carolina, and serving theCharlotte metropolitan area. It airs anadult hitsradio format that leans towardclassic hits. It also identifies itself as "The Carolina's Home For The Holidays", where they play Christmas music from November to December. It is owned byiHeartMedia, with studios in the South End neighborhood of Charlotte.
WLKO is aClass C1 station, with aneffective radiated power (ERP) of 31,000 watts. Thetransmitter is on Omega Lane, offNorth Carolina Highway 27 inIron Station.[2] WLKO broadcasts in theHD Radio format.[3] On its HD2subchannel, it carriesPride Radio, iHeart'sLGBTQcontemporary anddance music service.
The stationsigned on the air on January 20, 1959; 66 years ago (1959-01-20).[4] Its originalcall sign was WHKY-FM, thesister station toWHKY (1290 AM). The two stations were owned by Catawba Valley Broadcasting and mostlysimulcast their programming, asnetwork affiliates ofABC Radio. WHKY-FM was powered at 14,800 watts, a fraction of its current output. It concentrated on the Hickory area and its signal did not easily reach the larger Charlotteradio market.
WHKY-AM-FM aired mostlyChristian radio programming in their early history. They primarily carriedfundamentalistBaptisthymns andSouthern gospelquartets such asThe Blackwood Brothers and theOak Ridge Quartet. Listeners were mostly over 55.
The FM station broke away on October 16, 1982. It began airing aTop 40 format that leaned towardalbum rock. Many of WKHY-FM's previous listeners protested the change with letters to the local newspaper, and a pile of letters to the station described as one foot high, 95 percent opposed. The Top 40 format targeted the 18 to 30 audience, which attracted many more advertisers.[5]
On September 1, 1987, WKHY-FM got a signal boost and itstower was moved closer to Charlotte. The station could now be a player in the more lucrative Charlotte market. It switched its call sign to WRLX, becoming "Relax 102.9". It aired abeautiful music format.[6] Relax 102.9 played a mix of soft instrumentals with occasional vocals,Broadway andHollywoodshow tunes.
WRLX promoted itself with images of a pair ofretirement-agepunk rockers, intended to humorously illustrate how the competition apparently viewed the station's target audience.[citation needed] In March 1989, the station changed its call sign to WEZC (afterthe 104.7 frequency gave up those letters). The EZ call letters representedeasy listening music.[7] The station began calling itself "EZ 102.9", gradually adding more vocals during the summer to make the transition frombeautiful music toMOR. Some of the announcers include Bob Brandon, Jim Davenport, Catherine Lane, Jon Robinson and Todd Edwards.[citation needed]
In 1993, the moniker changed again to "Lite 102.9" as the station moved away fromBarbra Streisand,Neil Diamond andBarry Manilow tosoft adult contemporary artists such asPhil Collins,Elton John andBilly Joel. Once again, the call letters switched to WLYT in 1995.[8] Over the years, as the definition of soft adult contemporary changed, WLYT evolved. The station played pop and lite rock music from the 1970s to present, with an occasional 1960s song. Thenationally syndicated call-in and request showDelilah After Dark aired in the evenings.
WLYT featured a "70's Flashback Weekend" every weekend since late 2004 through 2005, but discontinued this tradition after the slogan changed from "Continuous Lite Favorites" to "The Best Variety of Yesterday and Today". The station played Christmas music annually, with 'preview weekends' from early November through Thanksgiving, then a 24-hour Christmas format from Thanksgiving through Christmas Day. WLYT's main competitor wasCBS Radio'sWKQC. WLYT had changed its slogan fromThe Best Variety of Yesterday and Today toThe Bright New Sound of Lite 102.9 in 2011.
In late January 2008, WLYT changed its morning show. It wanted to resemble theToday show onNBC, with more talk geared toward women 25 to 54. During the first hour, the talk was morehard news, becoming lighter as the morning show progressed and adding more music during work hours.[9] The program schedule was altered as well. The show was discontinued in early 2010 with morning hosts Jim Shafer (who had moved to the station fromWWMG in 2004) and Jen Byrum (morning host since 1999) being released. On April 13, 2010,Valentine in the Morning, a syndicated show from sister stationKBIG-FM in Los Angeles, made its debut. A local host was planned for local segments of the show.[10]
On July 2, 2012, at midnight, WLYT changed its format toadult hits, branded as "102.9 The Lake".[11] The final song on "Lite" was "Far Away" byNickelback, while the first song on the "Lake" was "Father of Mine" byEverclear.[11][12]
Steve Geofferies, operations manager for the Charlotte cluster of station owner Clear Channel, said, "If it was a hit song, we're going to play it," explaining that the format was based onWARH inSt. Louis, and more "tempo-oriented" than nearbyWSMW. The name "Lake" meant "fun, unique, connecting with friends and families. That's life on the lake," specificallyLake Norman andLake Wylie. Theplaylist was 4,000 songs compared to 400 for a typical station. Also, the station would not have DJs. That meant morning hosts Heather Flynn and Phil Harris were let go.[13] On July 9, 2012, WLYT changed its call letters to WLKO to go with the "Lake" branding.
The format change delivered immediate results. While WLYT ranked 15th with 3 percent share of the total audience in its final ratings report, WLKO was ranked 7th with five percent share in its first one.[14] After two years, WLKO was up 52 percent to 4th place for the most successful format change in the market in 25 years.[15] The playlist primarily features hit music from the 1970s, 80s and 90s with some 2000s music played. With this, the station more closely resembles aclassic hits station than the adult hits format the station started out with, though the "We Play Anything" slogan is still promoted.
On September 16, 2014, WLKO's owners Clear Channel Communications officially changed its name to iHeartMedia, Inc.
35°24′25″N81°07′48″W / 35.407°N 81.130°W /35.407; -81.130