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| Broadcast area | Mobile -Pensacola -Gulf Coast |
| Frequency | 99.9MHz (HD Radio) |
| Branding | Mix 99.9 |
| Programming | |
| Format | Adult contemporary |
| Subchannels |
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| Affiliations | Premiere Networks |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
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| History | |
First air date | September 16, 1947; 78 years ago (1947-09-16) (as WKRG-FM) |
Former call signs |
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Call sign meaning | "Mix" |
| Technical information[2] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 8696 |
| Class | C |
| ERP |
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| HAAT | 535 meters (1,755 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 30°41′20.7″N87°49′49″W / 30.689083°N 87.83028°W /30.689083; -87.83028 |
| Translator | HD2: 100.3 W262BL (Mobile) |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast |
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| Website | |
WMXC (99.9FM) is acommercial radio stationlicensed toMobile, Alabama, and serving the Mobile andPensacola metropolitan areas.[3] The station broadcasts anadult contemporaryradio format, switching toChristmas music for much of November and December. It is owned byiHeartMedia, with the broadcast license held by iHM Licenses, LLC. The studios are co-located with formersister television stationWKRG-TV on Broadcast Drive in Mobile. WMXC carries severalsyndicated shows from co-ownedPremiere Networks:Murphy, Sam & Jodi in morningdrive time,Delilah in the evening andEllen K on Saturday mornings.
WMXC'stransmitter is on Austin Lane inSpanish Fort, Alabama.[4] It broadcasts usingHD Radio technology. The HD2digital subchannel airs anurban gospel format which feeds 250-wattFM translatorW262BL at 100.3 MHz.[5] The HD3 subchannelsimulcasts thetalk radio format ofWNTM710 AM.
The station traces its history back to October 16, 1947, when itsigned on as WKRG-FM.[6] The originalcall letters represented the initials ofKenneth R. Giddens, a movie theatre owner, broadcast pioneer, and architect. Giddens also owned WKRG 710 AM (nowWNTM). In 1955, he also putWKRG-TV on the air, the latter of which continues to broadcast with the same call letters.[7][8] Giddens would go on to head theVoice of America from 1969 to 1977 and served as acting director ofRadio Marti in 1985.[7] Giddens, a former board member of theNational Association of Broadcasters, died in May 1993.[7]
In its early days, WKRG-FMsimulcast its AM counterpart. But in 1965, it adopted abeautiful music format, featuring quarter-hour sweeps of soft instrumental music with limited talk and commercials. During the 1970s, WKRG-FM became the area's firstTop-40 station on the FM dial and was known as "G-100". WKRG-FM operated as a Top-40/CHR station until 1986 when it flipped toadult contemporary under the name "WKRG 99.9 FM".
For a time in the 1960s, WKRG-TV, Inc., which was the license holder for WKRG, WKRG-FM, and WKRG-TV, was 50%-owned by theMobile Press-Register daily newspaper. In 1966, whenS. I. Newhouse acquired the Mobile newspaper company, he also acquired that 50% broadcasting ownership stake.[9] Newhouse, who also owned radio stations associated with his other two Alabama-based newspapers, later sold all of these stations to focus on the print side of his media empire.
After nearly five decades of operation by the Giddens family, WKRG-TV, Inc., reached an agreement in April 1994 to sell WKRG-FM to Coast Radio, LLC. The deal was approved by the FCC on July 21, 1994.[10]
In September 1994, Coast Radio, LLC, flipped the station to Capitol Broadcasting Company, LLC. The deal was approved by the FCC on December 15, 1994, and the transaction was consummated the same day.[11]
The station was assigned the call letters WKRD by theFederal Communications Commission on September 12,1994.[1] This change would prove short-lived as the station was assigned the current WMXCcall sign on October 3, 1994.[1]
In April 1997, Capitol Broadcasting Company, LLC, made a deal to sell this station toClear Channel Communications through the Clear Channel Radio License, Inc, subsidiary.[12] The deal, part of the $24 million complete acquisition of Capital Broadcasting, was approved by the FCC on November 21, 1997, and the transaction was consummated on December 31, 1997.[13][14]
Hurricane Ivan struck the Gulf Coast in 2004, andHurricane Katrina followed in 2005. On both occasions, the station dropped all regular programming, and along with WKSJ, broadcast local hurricane and recovery information. It was the market's only radio-specific storm coverage. During Katrina, WMXC's continuous local coverage ran for 122 consecutive hours.
In 2006, WMXC began streaming on the Internet but with a different commercial schedule than its over-the-air signal. During 2007, the station started broadcasting inHD. A secondary HD-2 channel is also operating with a full-timeSmooth Jazz format, a complement to the primary station'sSmooth Jazz Sunday Brunch.
When it first began broadcasting using HD Radio technology, WMXC aired anurban contemporary format on its HD2 subchannel. It was branded as "100.3 The Beat" (simulcast on FM translator W262BL 100.3 FM Mobile). On January 29, 2018, W262BL/WMXC-HD2 changed its format tourban gospel, branded as "Hallelujah 100.3".[15]
On its HD3 subchannel, WMXC rebroadcasts thetalk radio programming of co-owned WNTM 710 AM.
| Call sign | Frequency | City of license | FID | ERP (W) | HAAT | Class | Transmitter coordinates | FCC info |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W262BL | 100.3 FM | Mobile, Alabama | 150837 | 250 | 127 m (417 ft) | D | 30°43′34.7″N88°9′6″W / 30.726306°N 88.15167°W /30.726306; -88.15167 (W262BL) | LMS |