WKHT
{{short description|Radio station in Knoxville, Tennessee}}
{{Use American English|date=February 2025}}
{{for multi|the radio station in Manchester, Connecticut which held the call sign WKHT from 1984 to 1989|WNEZ|the radio station in Lamar, South Carolina which held the call sign WKHT from 1992 to 2003|WSIM}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2024}}
{{Infobox radio station
| name = WKHT
| logo = 200px
| city = Knoxville, Tennessee
| area = Knoxville metropolitan area
| branding = Hot 104.5
| frequency = 104.5 MHz {{HD Radio}}
| airdate = {{start date and age|1991|11}}
| format = Rhythmic Top 40
| erp = 1,400 watts
| haat = {{convert|209.1|meters}}
| class = A
| licensing_authority = FCC
| facility_id = 40854
| coordinates = {{coord|36|0|10|N|83|56|40|W}}
| callsign_meaning = We're Knoxville's Hot 104.5!
| former_callsigns = {{ubl|WEMQ (1991–1993)|WQBB-FM (1993–1998)|WQIX (1998–2000)|WBON (2000–2003)}}
| owner = SummitMedia
| licensee = SM-WKHT, LLC
| sister_stations = WCYQ, WNOX, WWST
| webcast = [https://www.hot1045.net/player/ Listen Live]
| website = [https://www.hot1045.net hot1045.net]
}}
WKHT (104.5 FM) is a rhythmic Top 40 station based in Knoxville, Tennessee. The SummitMedia outlet broadcasts with an ERP of 1.4 kW.
History
This station signed on in November 1991 as WEMQ, later on as WQBB-FM, airing the same programming as adult standards WQBB. Later the FM played "Young country" as WQIX.{{cite web |title=Radio Stations |url=http://web.knoxnews.com/entertainment/tvradio/radiostations.shtml |access-date=March 20, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020418215131/http://web.knoxnews.com/entertainment/tvradio/radiostations.shtml |archive-date=April 18, 2002 |language=en}}
Prior to its flip to Rhythmic Top 40 in July 2003, the station was a Classic Rock outlet as "104.5 The Bone".{{Cite web |title=RR-2003-07-04 |url=https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-RandR/2000s/2003/RR-2003-07-04.pdf |access-date=January 28, 2024 |website=americanradiohistory.com}} HOT 104.5 has enjoyed success. In less than two years on the air HOT 104.5 forced its competitor WILD 98.7/WYIL to change formats. Currently HOT 104.5's only competitor is sister station Top 40 Mainstream WWST.
The playlist of WKHT primarily consists of R&B/hip-hop plus some Rhythmic Pop hits; thus it is considered to be a rhythmic Top 40 station by Billboard as opposed to mainstream R&B. This is due to the fact that Knoxville does not have a large African-American population. Its target audience is females 18-34.
Journal Communications and the E. W. Scripps Company announced on July 30, 2014, that the two companies would merge to create a new broadcast company under the E.W. Scripps Company name that owned the two companies' broadcast properties, including WKHT. The transaction was completed in 2015, pending shareholder and regulatory approvals.{{cite news|title=E.W. Scripps, Journal Merging Broadcast Ops|url=http://www.tvnewscheck.com/article/78093/ew-scripps-journal-merging-broadcast-ops|accessdate=July 31, 2014|work=TVNewsCheck|date=July 30, 2014}} Scripps exited radio in 2018; the Knoxville stations went to SummitMedia in a four-market, $47 million deal completed on November 1, 2018.{{cite news |title=Scripps Completes Two More Pieces Of Radio Division Sale. |url=http://www.insideradio.com/free/scripps-completes-two-more-pieces-of-radio-division-sale/article_7760f668-de69-11e8-8452-576eb3d6fc32.html |accessdate=November 2, 2018 |work=Inside Radio |date=November 2, 2018 |language=en}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.hot1045.net Station website]
{{FM station data|40854|WKHT}}
- [https://www.facebook.com/hot1045/ Hot 104.5 Facebook]
{{Knoxville FM}}
{{Rhythmic Contemporary Radio Stations in Tennessee}}
Category:Radio stations established in 2003
Category:Rhythmic contemporary radio stations in the United States