WIVK-FM
| File:WIVK.jpg | |
| Broadcast area | East Tennessee |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 107.7 (MHz) |
| Branding | 107.7 WIVK The Frog Station |
| Programming | |
| Format | Country Full-service |
| Affiliations | University of Tennessee |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Citadel Broadcasting Company |
| WIVK, WNML/WNRX, WNOX, WOKI | |
| History | |
Call sign meaning | former sister station of WIVK-AM 850 (We're the Independent Voice of Knoxville) |
| Technical information | |
| Class | C |
| ERP | 91,000 watts |
| HAAT | 626 meters |
| Links | |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | www.wivk.com |
WIVK-FM is an FM radio station broadcasting at 107.7 MHz near Knoxville, Tennessee, USA. The station is owned by Citadel Broadcasting.
WIVK is an Federal Communications Commission-Licensed Class C FM radio station serving the valleys and mountains of East Tennessee. WIVK provides Country music, award winning news, and University of Tennessee sports from its Sequoyah Hills studios in west Knoxville, TN.
WIVK operates a 91,000 watt transmitter located at Greentop Knob on Chilhowee Mountain near Pigeon Forge, TN. The signal can be received in East Tennessee and parts of southwestern Virginia, western North Carolina, southeastern Kentucky, northern Georgia, and northwest South Carolina.
Near Bristol, Virginia, WIVK receives a great deal of interference from WHQX from Gary, West Virginia, also broadcasting on 107.7 FM.
WIVK is deeply rooted in regional heritage and continues set the precedent for "full-service" radio, earning a reputation for being a leading source of information in times of emergency. Commonly known as "WIVK {weh-vik} The Frog Station," WIVK has received numerous Country Music Association, Academy of Country Music, Associated Press, NAB Marconi and RTNDA Edward R. Murrow Awards and is the #1 rated station by Arbitron in the Knoxville Media Market. WIVK consistently secures over a 20 share in its 12+ books [1].
History
WIVK-FM signed on the air on December 16, 1965 as a simulcast of WIVK-AM 850's country music format. The station, for several years, aired a morning show hosted by Claude "The Cat" Tomlinson.
Also, WIVK aired the afternoon show hosted by Ed Brantley, which was consistently the highest rated afternoon show in the USA. Ed Brantley continues as the General Manager of WIVK, now owned by Citadel Broadcasting. Brantley oversees three other stations in the Knoxville cluster, including WNOX-FM (News/Talk), WNML-AM/FM/WNRX (Sports), and WOKI-FM (Oldies). Ed Brantley replaced industry legend Bobby Denton. Another nationally rated number one radio host, was Bob Thomas, who worked at WIVK from 1976-1996.
WIVK-FM lost the simulcast when the AM switched to an AC format and became WHIG-AM. Many of the people were not happy, so the AC format on WHIG-AM 850 was short-lived. The WIVK-AM simulcast on 107.7 returned.
On September 1, 1988, WIVK-AM 850's signal was sold to the University of Tennessee and became a news/talk station as WUTK-AM 850. WIVK-AM moved to 990 on the same day and the simulcast continued.
The AM 990/FM 107.7 simulcast lasted almost 9 years when AM 990 went to a news/talk format as "NewsTalk 990 WNOX" and later "NewsTalk 99". WIVK-FM 107.7 continues the country music format since they signed on back in 1965.
WIVK has been the number one station in Arbitron's radio ratings for the Knoxville market in every single survey since the market was first surveyed in 1970, with the exception of the April/May 1971 survey period, in which WNOX 990, a Top 40 station, was number one. No other radio station in America has been number one as long as WIVK has.[citation needed]
References
External links
- WIVK Website
- Facility details for Facility ID WIVK ({{{2}}}) in the FCC Licensing and Management System
- {{{2}}} in Nielsen Audio's FM station database