 | |
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|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Lake Charles, Louisiana |
| Frequency | 97.9MHz |
| Branding | 97.9 Nash Icon |
| Programming | |
| Format | Classic country[1] |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| KAOK,KBIU,KKGB,KYKZ | |
| History | |
First air date | 1965 (1965) |
Former call signs | KDLA-FM (1965–1975) KEAZ (1975–2000) KAOK-FM (2000–2003) |
Call sign meaning | Q Lake Charles |
| Technical information[2] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 9029 |
| Class | C2 |
| ERP | 50,000watts |
| HAAT | 150 meters (490 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 30°36′57.0″N93°13′31.0″W / 30.615833°N 93.225278°W /30.615833; -93.225278 |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | 979nashicon.com |
KQLK (97.9FM) is aclassic country formattedbroadcastradio station licensed toDeRidder, Louisiana, servingSouthwest Louisiana.[1] KQLK is owned and operated byCumulus Media.[3] Its studios are located on Broad Street in downtown Lake Charles and its transmitter is north ofRagley, Louisiana.
In September 1991, what was originally KQLK 97.9 was located at 101.7 MHz and with the call sign KEAZ. It was an oldies station until flipping to country music in 1994.[4] It served primarily the De Ridder,Fort Polk andLeesville market and was owned by DeRidder FM Broadcasting, Inc. The signal was very fringe and almost inaccessible to the Lake Charles and Southwest Louisiana market. In 2000, Pittman Broadcasting, LLC bought the station and later flipped the station to an FM simulcast ofKAOK-AM, a news and talk station in nearby Lake Charles; this time with a new frequency change from 101.7 to 97.9 and a relocated transmitter fromVernon toBeauregard Parish. In 2003, the station switched back to country music as "Country 98", and switched its call sign to the current KQLK. The result was moderate to below average ratings. In late 2004, the station was bought byCumulus Media and would change to Hot 97–9; featuring aCHR format with a predominantlyhip hop slant. On August 15, 2014, the station switched to country for the third time as one of the first affiliates of Cumulus'Nash Icon network.[5] As of 2017, the station serves the Lake Charles and Southwest Louisiana market but is still licensed to its hometown of De Ridder.