 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "WNNX" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(August 2008) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
 | |
| |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Atlanta metro area |
| Frequency | 100.5MHz (HD Radio) |
| Branding | 99X |
| Programming | |
| Format | Classic alternative |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| History | |
First air date | 1947 (78 years ago) (1947) |
Former call signs | |
Call sign meaning | "Ninety-Nine X" |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 6809 |
| Class | C2 |
| ERP | 13,500 watts |
| HAAT | 298 meters (978 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 33°45′36″N84°23′20″W / 33.760°N 84.389°W /33.760; -84.389 |
| Repeater | 99.7 WWWQ-HD2 (Atlanta) |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen live |
| Website | 99xatl |
WNNX (100.5FM) is a commercialradio station licensed toCollege Park, Georgia, featuring aclassic alternative format as "99X". Owned byCumulus Media, the station serves theAtlanta metropolitan area. WNNX's studios are located inSandy Springs, while the transmitter resides atop theWestin Peachtree Plaza Hotel inDowntown Atlanta. In addition to a standardanalog transmission, WNNX is available online.
The 100.5 frequency has been inmetro Atlanta, licensed toCollege Park, since early 2001. Before then, the station was licensed toAnniston, Alabama, as WHMA-FM.[2] It started out as asimulcast ofWHMA (1400 AM). WHMA-AM-FM werenetwork affiliates ofABC. In the 1970s, WHMA-FM began airing its owncountry music format as "Alabama 100". (After the move, thatcall sign shifted to another existing station in Alabama, becoming 95.3WHMA-FM "The Big 95" inAlexandria.)
Interested in moving the station to the more lucrative Atlantaradio market, owner Robert Gammon proposed that WHMA-FM bere-licensed to Sandy Springs. It would remain at 100,000 wattseffective radiated power (ERP) as aClass C station. An agreement had already been made with the nearestco-channel station,WSSL-FM inupstate South Carolina for it to move its transmitter a bit further from Atlanta. However that station was sold toClear Channel Communications in the interim and the agreement was negated. Additionally, theFederal Communications Commission (FCC) ruled that Sandy Springs was "not a community", citing its unincorporated status and letters of support from local organizations in Sandy Springs that had "Atlanta" as their addresses. At that time, Sandy Springs was part of unincorporatedFulton County, before it became an incorporated city in 2006.
After exhausting his funds in pursuit of thereallocation, Gammon sold WHMA-FM toSusquehanna Radio.[3] In a revised application before the FCC, Susquehanna proposed a different city of license, College Park. The FCC approved the application, mostly because the new application downgraded the class of the station from C (up to 100 kW at 600 meters or 1,968 feet) to C3 (up to 25 kW at 100 meters or 328 feet) to protect the licensedbroadcast range of WSSL-FM. Susquehanna was also forced to slightlynull the station's signal away from the direction of WSSL-FM, to stay in compliance with spacing rules. When it went on the air in Atlanta, the station had an effective radiated power of 3,000 watts, using theTurner Broadcasting tower, which gave it aheight above average terrain (HAAT) of less than 1,000 feet.
The move created spectrum space for two new radio stations in Alabama, but forced two low-power stations off the air:Southern Polytechnic State Universitylow-power stationWGHR andGeorgia Public BroadcastingFM translatorW264AE, both on 100.7 MHz.
The first format for 100.5 FM inAtlanta wasTop 40 station WWWQ ("Q100"), which made its debut on January 23, 2001. It was the first mainstream Top 40 outlet in Atlanta sinceWAPW flipped to alternative asWNNX in October 1992, as well as a brief stint onWBTS when it debuted in 1999.[4][5] Despite its 3,000 watt signal, Q100 often received higherArbitronlistenership ratings than several of its 100,000-watt competitors, including sister station99X.
Susquehanna continued to pursue a larger signal for the station, eventually earning approval from the FCC to go from Class C3 to Class C2. The upgrade occurred on October 24, 2005, at 5:00 PM, when the station moved from the Turner Broadcasting tower to theWestin Peachtree Plaza Hotel. WWWQ was now powered at 12,500 watts, using atower that better covered the Atlanta market.[6] In 2006, Cumulus Media acquired Susquehanna, including both 99X and Q100.
On January 11, 2008, Cumulus announced that Q100 would move to the 100,000-watt signal at 99.7 MHz, replacing "99X", on January 25. The transition began on January 21, when WWWQ's "The Bert Show" was simulcast on both stations. (99X's morning show was cancelled the week before.) 99X signed off on 99.7 FM/HD1 and moved to 99.7-HD2, with Q100 moving to 99.7 FM/HD1, at 5:30 a.m. on January 25.[7][8] On the same day, at 6 a.m., 100.5 beganstunting, first withBeyoncé Knowles singing "To the Left" (from her song "Irreplaceable") and morning show host Bert Weiss redirecting listeners to the new frequency. At 10 a.m., the stunting then switched to a loop where eight different formats were presented, with listeners having the option to call the station and vote on which was their favorite. On January 28, 2008, at 5:45 a.m.,The Regular Guys announced the debut of "Rock 100.5", carrying aradio format similar to their previous stationWKLS (formerly "96 Rock"), which itself changed formats toactive rock as "Project 9-6-1". Rock 100.5's first song was "Baba O' Riley" byThe Who. WWWQ and WNNX swapped call signs the following day.
In 2010, WNNX became the FMflagship radio station of theAtlanta Braves for that season through 2013, along withWCNN, which continues carrying the team's games to this day. The rights were moved to then-sister stationWYAY starting with the 2014 season.[9] After WYAY was sold to theEducational Media Foundation in 2019, WNNX resumed carrying Braves broadcasts.[10] In2022, WNNX once again dropped their Braves affiliation.[11]
Throughout the station's existence, WNNX has shifted among different genres of rock. When "Rock 100.5" first launched, the station aired a predominantlyalbum-oriented rock format. In April 2009, the station began leaning towardsadult album alternative. In 2010, the station shifted back to its broad-based AOR format, which lasted until late 2011, when the station shifted towardsclassic rock. Ratings for the station at that time were shaky, as the station usually pulled between a 1.5 and 2 share.
WNNX returned to amainstream rock direction in2012, following the flips ofWKLS fromactive rock toTop 40/CHR andWZGC fromadult album alternative tosports in the Fall of that year.
On January 28, 2013, WNNX and sister stationW255CJ ("98-9 The Bone") began promoting changes to the two stations on their Facebook and Twitter pages, promoting a "bigger and better change" to come starting February 1. There were rumors that Cumulus' Atlanta management was planning a merger of the two formats on one frequency, presumably on 100.5.
The official change took place on that Friday, February 1, at Midnight, when 98.9 and 100.5 began simulcasting. At 10 AM, the official relaunch took place, as WNNX shifted toactive rock. The first song after the relaunch was "Chalk Outline" byThree Days Grace. The simulcast lasted until February 4 at Noon, when 98.9 flipped to a new format,Christian country, under the name "The Walk".[12][13]
After broadcasting an active rock format for barely a year, the station shifted back to classic rock on January 3, 2014, now competing withCox Media Group'sWSRV. WNNX's playlist was similar to what it was in 2012, prior to its shift to active rock.[14]
The station's next format adjustment began in mid-2016 with a slogan tweak to "Atlanta's Rock Station". No personnel changes were made, and the music was slightly updated to focusing more on chart topping rock hits between the 1980s, 1990s, and recurrent releases, including thegrunge era of rock played more. This format direction helped increase the station's ratings. On August 30, 2019, WNNX shifted back to an active rock lean in their mainstream rock format.[15]
On December 1, 2022, WNNX droppedElliot in the Morning after eight months.[16] The next day, at 5 p.m., after playing "Enter Sandman" byMetallica, WNNX dropped the rock format and began stunting with a loop of "Bitter Sweet Symphony" byThe Verve, with sweepers stating "It's coming,same as it ever was. Monday morning, 6 a.m." The stunt was likely an allusion to the anniversary of a stunt pulled by former 99X DJ Sean Demery in October 1997, when he garnered local attention after playing the song in a similar loop shortly after its release. At the promised time, WNNX flipped toclassic alternative as "99X”, marking the return of the 99X brand to a full powered signal for the first time since 2008. The first song on the revived "99X" was "Video Killed the Radio Star" byThe Buggles, the same song that had launched the original incarnation 30 years prior. A letter on the station's website and Twitter page declared that the station's full-staffed launch had been set for January 3, 2023, effectively making the interim period asoft launch of the format; while there had been no official confirmation from Cumulus or the station at the time of launch, Cumulus hired several original station staffers for the station's new incarnation, includingSteve Barnes,Leslie Fram, Steve Craig, Will Pendarvis, Jill, and Matt ‘Organic’ Jones.[17][18]
