WDOD-FM

For the defunct AM radio station in Chattanooga, Tennessee, United States, see WDOD (AM).

WDOD-FM

Chattanooga, Tennessee
Broadcast area	Chattanooga, Tennessee
Frequency	96.5 MHz
Branding	Hits 96
Programming
Format	Contemporary Hit Radio
Affiliations	Westwood One
Ownership
Owner	Bahakel Communications (WDOD of Chattanooga, Inc.)
Sister stations	WDEF (AM), WDEF-FM
History
First air date	1960
Call sign meaning	Dynamo of Dixie
Technical information
Facility ID	71351
Class	C0
ERP	100,000 watts horiz 88,000 watts vert
HAAT	336 meters
Transmitter coordinates	35°9′41.00″N 85°19′5.00″W
Links
Webcast	Listen Live
Website	hits96.com

WDOD-FM (96.5 FM) is a radio station broadcasting a Contemporary hit radio format. Licensed to Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA,. The station is currently owned by WDOD of Chattanooga, Inc.

History

Early years

The station signed on in the early 1960s as a simulcast of WDOD AM. Both stations played country music. Past personality's included Gene Micheals, Earl Freudenberg, Tommy Jett, Jerry Pond, and "Big" Bill Love. The station also carried NASCAR races, it was Chattanooga's original country station. In 1997, WDOD-FM switched from country music to Triple-A "The Mountain."

The station was considering a switch to mostly classic rock with some new rock mixed in, though WSKZ was already doing this. Research showed that listeners wanted mostly new rock with some classics. One possible approach to this was modern adult contemporary, but this might have hurt sister station WDEF-FM.

Regardless of the market, Triple-A had the same songs representing about half the playlist, but the rest were different on each station. On The Mountain, artists included Jewel, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and Talking Heads. A sample hour of music included Collective Soul, Third Eye Blind, Chris Isaak, Stone Temple Pilots, EMF, Van Halen, Dave Matthews Band, Joan Osborne, Bruce Springsteen, Vigilantes of Love, Loverboy, No Doubt, Aerosmith, and U2. Many songs were familiar and had been hits (an unusual approach to alternative), but they were not heard in the Chattanooga market.

One characteristic that made The Mountain different was attitude, which other area stations did not have. DJs and liners attacked the competition as well as artists such as Michael Bolton and Barry Manilow. Operations Manager Danny Howard did not want to go overboard, and, having worked in AC, he personally felt uncomfortable with making fun of Bolton. But the approach got people's attention.

96.5 The Mountain

On March 3, 2008, the station changed to the current Contemporary Hit Radio format, though keeping the name "96.5 The Mountain". The final song on the AAA format was In The End by Linkin Park, while the first song on the CHR format was Stronger by Kanye West . Before switching to CHR, the on-air staff began referring to the station as "Super Country 96", possibly as a joke, before unveiling the real new format, following an on-air report of the history of the CHR format in Chattanooga radio. The station advertised themselves as "the first full-power hit music station in Chattanooga", as no previous CHR station in the city broadcast at as much wattage power as WDOD.

Hits 96

On February 3, 2011, at 12 Noon, the station re-branded as Hits 96. The last song as 96.5 The Mountain was Just Dance by Lady Gaga, while the first song as Hits 96 was Higher by Taio Cruz. Howard, at this time the program director, said, "Our new name reflects what we do; play all of today's hit music." General Manager Bernie Barker said, "Hits 96 is not about a lot of change. It’s about a ‘new download’ with some ‘tweaks’. The new logo is more about today." Artists include Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Usher, Rihanna, Maroon 5, Bruno Mars, and Linkin Park.

Previous Logos

External links

• Official website
• Facility details for Facility ID WDOD ({{{2}}}) in the FCC Licensing and Management System
• {{{2}}} in Nielsen Audio's FM station database