 | |
| Broadcast area | Charleston metropolitan area South Carolina Lowcountry |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 99.7MHz (HD Radio) |
| Branding | Star 99.7 |
| Programming | |
| Format | Urban adult contemporary |
| Subchannels | HD2:Mainstream Urban "99.3 The Box" HD3:Urban Gospel (WSPO simulcast) |
| Affiliations | Premiere Networks |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| WAVF,WCKN,WMXZ,WSPO | |
| History | |
First air date | July 15, 1988; 37 years ago (1988-07-15) (as WHTK) |
Former call signs | WJZX (05/16/2001-08/28/2003) WHBZ (06/01/1995-05/16/2001) WNCK (10/14/1994-06/01/1995) WLOW (01/11/1994-10/14/1994) WNCK (03/01/1993-01/11/1994) WHTK (07/15/1988-03/01/1993)[1] |
| Technical information[2] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 3969 |
| Class | C1 |
| ERP | 70,000watts |
| HAAT | 238 meters (781 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 32°49′4.00″N79°50′8.00″W / 32.8177778°N 79.8355556°W /32.8177778; -79.8355556 |
| Translator | HD2: 99.3 W257BQ (Charleston) |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | star997.com |
WXST (99.7FM, "Star 99.7") is acommercialradio stationlicensed toHollywood, South Carolina, and serving theCharleston metropolitan area and theSouth Carolina Lowcountry. It airs anurban adult contemporaryradio format and is owned by Saga Communications as part of its Charleston Radio Group. The studios are on Clements Ferry Road in Charleston.Syndicated programs heard on WXST includeThe Steve Harvey Morning Show andThe Sweat Hotel with Keith Sweat.
WXST is aClass C1 station. It has aneffective radiated power (ERP) of 70,000watts. Thetransmittertower is on Venning Road inMount Pleasant.[3] WXST broadcasts usingHD Radio technology. Its HD2digital subchannel carries anurban contemporary format, which feedsFM translatorW257BQ at 99.3 MHz. The HD3 subchannelsimulcasts theurban gospel format on co-ownedWSPO1390 AM.
The stationsigned on the air on July 15, 1988; 37 years ago (July 15, 1988). The originalcall sign was WHTK. At the time, it was licensed toPort Royal, with studios located near the town ofBluffton. It was owned by Barnicle Broadcasting and featured aTop 40 - CHR format targeting nearbyHilton Head,Beaufort andSavannah, Georgia.
Although ratings were good in its home market of Hilton Head and Beaufort, the station faced stiff competition from competitor 102.1WZAT in the Savannah market as well as a weak signal in that area. WHTK played a major role duringHurricane Hugo in 1989. It was one of the few radio stations that was able to stay on the air for most of the storm and broadcast information to the Lowcountry.
In January 1993, the station dropped its CHR format forCountry under the new call letters of WNCK as "K99.7". This lasted less than a year before the station changed formats again toAdult Standards as WLOW, which stood for "Low" Country. It moved down the dial from106.9 to 99.7 MHz.
WLOW eventually moved to107.9 within a year's time and 99.7 once again became WNCK with aTalk format. It eventually gave way to aContemporary Christian format before goingdark in May, 1995.
By the Summer of 1995, it was sold to Baker Broadcasting, which changed the station to asyndicatedBeach Music format under the WHBZ call letters as "The Breeze." It was paired withWWBZ inMcClellanville, South Carolina and addingWLXC inColumbia, South Carolina in early 1996.
By 2001, Baker Broadcasting sold WHBZ to Apex Broadcasting, which dropped the simulcast with WWBZ and flipped the station to a simulcast with WSIS. Then it briefly had an All-Comedy format, then a brief satellite-fedClassic rock format with local shows on the weekend. The station becameSmooth Jazz under the WJZX call letters.
During this time, the station made a long-planned move into the Charleston radio market by changing its city of license to Hollywood and moving its tower toMount Pleasant, which was completed in 2003.
When the move into the Charleston radio market was completed in 1993, the station changed its format again. This time it was Urban Adult Contemporary, using the call sign WXST. It adopted the moniker "Star 99.7".
On September 6, 2017, the station was sold to Saga Communications.[4] Saga kept the format as Urban AC.
Prior to this, theWXST call letters were first assigned to a station licensed toLoudon, Tennessee, beginning May 24, 1991. It remained until they were dropped on March 16, 1998 forWESK.)[5] Then, WXST was assigned to STAR 107.9 inDelaware, Ohio beginning June 26, 1998. They remained until they were dropped on April 23, 2001 forWJHT, only to be reacquired on May 16, 2001. WXST/Delaware was dropped completely forWODB July 27, 2001 (nowWVMX).[6]
32°49′05″N79°50′06″W / 32.818°N 79.835°W /32.818; -79.835