KOLI

{{Infobox radio station

| name = KOLI

| above = Currently silent

| logo = File:KOLI 94.9OUTLAW logo.png

| city = Electra, Texas

| country = US

| area = Wichita Falls metropolitan area

| branding = 94.9 The Outlaw

| frequency = 94.9 MHz

| airdate = {{start date|1998|1|30}}

| format = Modern country

| erp = 50,000 watts

| haat = {{convert|150|meters}}

| class = C2

| facility_id = 78344

| licensing_authority = FCC

| coordinates = {{coord|34.084|N|98.992|W|type:landmark_region:US-TX_source:FCC|display=inline,title}}

| callsign_meaning =

| former_callsigns =

| affiliations =

| owner = Cumulus Media

| licensee = Cumulus Licensing LLC

| sister_stations = {{hlist|KLUR|KQXC-FM|KYYI}}

| webcast =

| website =

}}

KOLI is a radio station in Electra, Texas, serving Wichita Falls and vicinity. Until going silent in March 2025, it programmed a country music format, based in Texas country to distinguish it from sister KLUR which plays mainstream country. It operates on FM frequency 94.9 MHz and is under ownership of Cumulus Media. It was the radio flagship station for the Wichita Falls Wildcats hockey team.

Originally proposed in 1995 as a non-commercial educational station, KOLI went on the air in 1998 as a commercial oldies station programmed by, and subsequently sold to, Cumulus Media. It switched to classic country in 2001, and Texas and red dirt country in 2006. Cumulus took the station off the air in 2025.

History

Larry D. Hickerson's High I-Q Radio Inc., applied for a construction permit for a non-commercial educational station on 94.9 MHz in Electra on November 8, 1995.{{cite news |title=For the Record |work=Broadcasting & Cable |date=December 4, 1995 |page=94}} The new station was assigned the call sign KOLI on January 9, 1998,{{cite news |title=Call Letter Changes |work=The M Street Journal |date=January 14, 1998 |page=5}} and went on the air January 30; on February 4, despite the non-commercial educational permit, it began operating as a commercial station, a decision that High I-Q attributed to "a change in circumstances" in its license application.{{cite web |last1=Dortch |first1=Marlene H. |title=Memorandum Opinion and Order |url=https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/FCC-04-60A1.pdf |publisher=Federal Communications Commission |access-date=February 28, 2025 |date=April 21, 2004}} A few months after putting it on the air, High I-Q filed to sell the station to Cumulus Broadcasting for $238,400,{{cite news |title=Cumulus Hits Quota In Savannah |work=Radio & Records |date=May 1, 1998 |page=6}} a deal completed on August 10, 1999.{{cite book|title=Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 2010|year=2010|page=D-525}} KOLI joined a Cumulus cluster in Wichita Falls that already included KLUR, KQXC, and KYYI; the company had already been programming the station under a time brokerage agreement. In its early years, KOLI was an oldies station;{{cite news |title=Format Changes & Updates |work=The M Street Journal |date=May 6, 1998 |page=2}} it switched to classic country in 2001.{{cite news |title=Format Changes & Updates |work=The M Street Journal |date=February 21, 2001 |page=2}}

The launch of KOLI and its sale to Cumulus were opposed by Apex Broadcasting, owner of a competing cluster of Wichita Falls radio stations, as High I-Q Radio had turned over managerial and financial control of the station to Cumulus as early as 1997, and did not properly obtain authorization to convert its non-commercial educational permit to commercial status. In 2004, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) admonished High I-Q and Cumulus.

In 2006, KOLI began programming Texas and red dirt country as "94.9 The Outlaw".{{cite news |last1=Copeland |first1=Emily |title=94.9 The Outlaw to end broadcasts after nearly 20 years on the air |url=https://www.texomashomepage.com/news/local-news/94-9-the-outlaw-to-end-broadcasts-after-nearly-20-years-on-the-air/ |access-date=February 28, 2025 |work=texomashomepage.com |date=February 24, 2025}} On February 24, 2025, program director and morning host James Cook announced that Cumulus would close KOLI on February 28; he would remain with the company to host an "Outlaw"-branded Saturday night red dirt country program on KLUR. Cook subsequently announced that KOLI's closure had been postponed, with only his morning show ending on February 28;{{cite news |last1=Venta |first1=Lance |title=94.9 The Outlaw Wichita Falls Update |url=https://radioinsight.com/headlines/295228/outlaw-exiting-wichita-falls/ |access-date=February 28, 2025 |work=RadioInsight |date=February 28, 2025}} industry trade website RadioInsight subsequently reported that the station would remain on the air until mid-March.{{cite news |last1=Venta |first1=Lance |title=Audacy/Cumulus Truth & Rumors |url=https://radioinsight.com/headlines/295755/audacy-cumulus-truth-rumors/ |access-date=March 4, 2025 |work=RadioInsight |date=March 3, 2025}} KOLI would be one of 11 Cumulus stations to close the weekend of March 14, as part of a larger shutdown of underperforming Cumulus stations.{{cite news |last1=Venta |first1=Lance |title=Twenty Cumulus & Townsquare Media Stations Cease Operations With More To Come |url=https://radioinsight.com/headlines/296690/twenty-cumulus-townsquare-media-stations-cease-operations-with-more-to-come/ |access-date=March 14, 2025 |work=RadioInsight |date=March 14, 2025}}

References

External links

[http://www.949theoutlaw.com Official Website]

Category:Country radio stations in the United States

OLI

Category:Cumulus Media radio stations

Category:Radio stations established in 1998

Category:1998 establishments in Texas