| Broadcast area | Metro Atlanta |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 101.5MHz (HD Radio) |
| Branding | New Country 101.5 (stylized as 101.Five") |
| Programming | |
| Format | Country music |
| Affiliations | Westwood One |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| History | |
First air date | November 11, 1959; 66 years ago (1959-11-11) |
Former call signs |
|
Call sign meaning | "Kicks" (former branding) |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 73161 |
| Class | C0 |
| ERP | 100,000watts |
| HAAT | 329 meters (1,079 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 33°48′26″N84°20′22″W / 33.80722°N 84.33944°W /33.80722; -84.33944 |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen live Listen live via iHeart |
| Website | www |
WKHX-FM (101.5MHz) is acommercialradio station licensed toMarietta, Georgia, featuring acountry musicformat known as "New Country 101.5". Owned byCumulus Media, the station servesMetro Atlanta. It is theflagship station for thesyndicated wake up showKincaid and Dallas.[2] WKHX-FM's studios are located inSandy Springs[3]
WKHX-FM has aneffective radiated power (ERP) of 100,000watts, the maximum for most FM stations. Thetransmitter is off Briarcliff Road NE (Georgia State Route 42), west ofEmory University, inNorth Druid Hills.[4] WKHX-FM broadcasts usingHD Radio technology.
The stationsigned on the air on November 11, 1959.[5] The originalcall sign was WBIE-FM, thesister station of WBIE 1080 AM (nowWFTC). They were owned by Marietta Broadcasting and mostlysimulcast their programming. In February 1968, WBIE-FM broke away from the simulcast. It began anautomated country music format.[6] The station manager at the time, James M. Wilder, has a technology laboratory building named after him atSouthern Polytechnic State University in Marietta.[citation needed]
Initially, WBIE-FM was powered at 1,350 watts, a fraction of its current output. It was only heard in and around Marietta. In the 1970s, WBIE-FM boosted its power to the legal maximum of 100,000 watts, and became audible in Metro Atlanta.[7] Its AM companion at 1080 switched its format toadult standards and itscall sign to WCOB. The power boost made WBIE-FM a candidate to be bought by a large broadcasting company anxious for a strong FM signal in the growing Atlantaradio market.
"Kicks 101.5" debuted in November 1981 afterCapital Cities Communications purchased WBIE-FM. Capital Cities switched WBIE-FM's call letters to WKHX and made the station a contender in the AtlantaArbitron ratings. In 1987, WKHX programming began to be simulcast on co-ownedAM 590, formerly known as WAGA and WPLO.[8] The AM station became WKHX, while 101.5 added an FM suffix, becoming WKHX-FM. Today, AM 590 isChristian radioWDWD, owned bySalem Media.
Capital Cities took overABC, including its television and radio stations, in 1985. In 1995, ABC bought WKHX-FM's rival country station, 106.7WYAY. Eventually, WYAY switched to anall news radio format, and today isChristian Contemporary-formattedWAKL after being sold to theEducational Media Foundation in 2019. In December 2006, WKHX-FM got a new country music competitor inWUBL, owned byClear Channel Communications (nowiHeartMedia).
WKHX-FM and otherABC Radio stations were acquired byCitadel Broadcasting in 2007, which was absorbed intoCumulus Media in September 2011.[9] In October 2011, WKHX-FM modified itsplaylist from playing only "new country" music to mixing in some older hits from the 1990s to the present.[10]
On November 13, 2019, WKHX began running liners promoting a "big announcement" to come at 3 p.m. the following day. Several liners had a wolf-howling sound effect, a nod to rumors on radio news websites that the station was to rebrand as "The Wolf". At the promised time, the station rebranded, but instead of "The Wolf" it became "New Country 101.Five." The station also introducing a new morning show host, JJ Kincaid, to team with existing co-host Dallas McCade. Their new program is called "Kincaid and Dallas".[11][12] The show has since been syndicated to other country stations, many also owned by Cumulus Media.