WHOP-FM (98.7

MHz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), often described as being equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose formal expression in terms of SI base u ...

) is a

radio station Radio broadcasting is the broadcasting of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based rad ...

broadcasting an

adult contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul ...

format Format may refer to: Printing and visual media * Text formatting, the typesetting of text elements * Paper formats, or paper size standards * Newspaper format, the size of the paper page Computing * File format, particular way that informatio ...

. Licensed to and serving

Hopkinsville, Kentucky Hopkinsville is a list of cities in Kentucky, home rule-class city in and the county seat of Christian County, Kentucky, United States. The population at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census was 31,180. History Early years The area of p ...

, United States, the station serves the

Clarksville, Tennessee Clarksville is a city in Montgomery County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. The city had a population of 166,722 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tennessee, fifth-most populo ...

-Hopkinsville, Kentucky area. The station is owned by

Forcht Broadcasting Forcht Group of Kentucky ''(pronounced "fork")'' is a group of companies principally owned by Terry Forcht, with corporate headquarters in Lexington, Kentucky and Corbin, Kentucky. The corporation employs more than 2,100 people in many companies ...

, and is a sister station to WHOP. The two stations share studios located at 220 Buttermilk Road on the west side of Hopkinsville.

History

The station signed on the air as WHOP-FM in May 1948. It was the first FM station to sign on in the Clarksville/Hopkinsville radio market area, and the whole westernmost segment of Kentucky. Paducah's WPAD-FM (now WDDJ) and WKYX-FM signed on in the months after. WHOP-FM began broadcasting as a simulcast of its AM sister station WHOP. However, on December 4, 1959, the station became a separate operation by changing its callsign to WRLX, ( Guide to reading History Cards) and beginning broadcasting an

easy listening Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to the 1970s. It is related to middle of the road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit s ...

format. It was the first attempt in Kentucky at full separate FM programming since the early 1950s demise of early FM stations in the

Louisville Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...

area. The station reverted its callsign back to WHOP-FM to match its AM sister station on December 28, 1964. Upon the callsign change, the station began broadcasting a

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

format. In the mid-2000s, in response to the station's overwhelming competition against Clarksville-based but Hopkinsville-licensed

WVVR WVVR (100.3 FM, "The Beaver") is a radio station licensed to serve Hopkinsville, Kentucky. The station is owned by Saga Communications through licensee Saga Communications of Tuckessee, LLC, and operates as part of its Five Star Media Group. It ...

and Cadiz-based

WKDZ-FM WKDZ-FM (106.5 Hertz, MHz) is a radio station licensed in Cadiz, Kentucky. WKDZ-FM is owned by Ham Broadcasting. Beth Mann serves as Ham Broadcasting owner/president. The station's studios are located in a facility at Broadbent Square along U ...

, both of which were and still are broadcasting the same format, WHOP-FM changed to its current soft adult contemporary format, and rebranded as ''Lite 98.7''. It rebranded as ''LiteRock 98.7'' sometime in the late 2010s.

Programming

Along with its soft AC format, the station also features programming from

CBS News Radio CBS News Radio, formerly known as CBS Radio News and historically known as the CBS Radio Network, is a radio network that provides news to more than 1,000 radio stations throughout the United States. The network is owned by Paramount Global. It ...

and

Premiere Radio Networks Premiere Networks, Inc. (formerly Premiere Radio Networks, shortened as PRN) is an American Mass media, media company, a subsidiary of iHeartMedia, for which it currently serves as its main original Radio broadcasting, radio content distribut ...

. Both WHOP-FM and its AM counterpart serve as two of three affiliates in the Clarksville/Hopkinsville market that serves as an affiliate of the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky, United States. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical ...

Wildcats The wildcat is a species complex comprising two small wild cat species: the European wildcat (''Felis silvestris'') and the African wildcat (''F. lybica''). The European wildcat inhabits forests in Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus, while th ...

sports radio network, broadcasting football and men's basketball games involving the university's athletic teams.

in Cadiz is the other station in the area that also serve as a UK Sports Network affiliate.

HD Radio

On February 6, 2023, WHOP-FM launched a country music format on its HD2 subchannel, branded as "95.3 The Farm". It is simulcast in the analog format via former WHOP (AM) translator W237BV."Hopkinsville Has a Farm"
''RadioInsight''. February 7, 2023. Retrieved February 8, 2023. On the same day, an HD radio simulcast of WHOP (AM) became available on an HD3 subchannel.

HD Radio subchannels

The station's HD radio signal is multiplexed in this manner.

References

External links

WHOP-FM Website
* * {{Forcht HOP-FM Radio stations established in 1948 Mainstream adult contemporary radio stations in the United States Hopkinsville, Kentucky 1948 establishments in Kentucky