WCYQ (100.3 FM) is a

commercial radio Commercial broadcasting (also called private broadcasting) is the broadcasting of television programs and radio programming by privately owned corporate media, as opposed to state sponsorship, for example. It was the United States' first model ...

station

licensed A license (American English) or licence (Commonwealth English) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit). A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another part ...

Oak Ridge, Tennessee Oak Ridge is a city in Anderson County, Tennessee, Anderson and Roane County, Tennessee, Roane counties in the East Tennessee, eastern part of the U.S. state of Tennessee, about west of downtown Knoxville, Tennessee, Knoxville. Oak Ridge's po ...

, and serving the

Knoxville metropolitan area The Knoxville metropolitan area, commonly known as Greater Knoxville, is a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) centered on Knoxville, Tennessee, the third largest city in Tennessee and the largest city in East Tennessee. It is the third larges ...

and

East Tennessee East Tennessee is one of the three Grand Divisions of Tennessee defined in state law. Geographically and socioculturally distinct, it comprises approximately the eastern third of the U.S. state of Tennessee. East Tennessee consists of 33 coun ...

. The station is owned by

SummitMedia SummitMedia, LLC is an American radio broadcasting company based in Birmingham, Alabama. The company formed to purchase mid-market radio stations being divested by Cox Radio in 2013. On November 1, 2018, SummitMedia acquired 19 stations in ...

and broadcasts 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 ...

radio format A radio format or programming format (not to be confused with broadcast programming) describes the overall content broadcast on a radio station. The radio format emerged mainly in the United States in the 1950s, at a time when Radio broadcasting, ...

, calling itself ''100.3 The Wolf'', its studios and offices are on Amherst Road in

Knoxville Knoxville is a city in Knox County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located on the Tennessee River and had a population of 190,740 at the 2020 United States census. It is the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division ...

. WCYQ has an

effective radiated power Effective radiated power (ERP), synonymous with equivalent radiated power, is an IEEE standardized definition of directional radio frequency (RF) power, such as that emitted by a radio transmitter. It is the total power in watts that would ha ...

(ERP) of 96,000 watts, its

transmitter In electronics and telecommunications, a radio transmitter or just transmitter (often abbreviated as XMTR or TX in technical documents) is an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna (radio), antenna with the purpose of sig ...

is north of

Briceville, Tennessee Briceville is an Unincorporated area#United States, unincorporated community in Anderson County, Tennessee. It is included in the Knoxville, Tennessee Metropolitan Statistical Area. The community is named for railroad tycoon and one-term Democr ...

. Its tower is at 618.2 meters (2,028 feet) in

height above average terrain Height above average terrain (HAAT), or (less popularly) effective height above average terrain (EHAAT), is the vertical position of an antenna site above the surrounding landscape. HAAT is used extensively in FM radio and television, as it is ...

(HAAT). That elevation means its signal can be received around East Tennessee as well as parts of

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

and

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

History

WOKI-FM

The station

signed on A sign-on (or start-up in Commonwealth countries except Canada) is the beginning of operations for a radio broadcasting, radio or television station, generally at the start of each day. It is the opposite of a sign-off (or closedown in Commonw ...

the air on April 20, 1974, its original

call sign In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign (also known as a call name or call letters—and historically as a call signal—or abbreviated as a call) is a unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be formally as ...

was WOKI-FM. It largely

simulcast Simulcast (a portmanteau of "simultaneous broadcast") is the broadcasting of programs or events across more than one resolution, bitrate or medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at exactly the same time (that is, simultaneously) ...

the programming of its

sister station In broadcasting, sister stations or sister channels are radio or television stations operated by the same company, either by direct ownership or through a management agreement. Radio sister stations will often have different formats, and somet ...

, WORI 1550 AM, a

daytimer A clear-channel station is a North American AM radio station that has the highest level of protection from interference from other stations, particularly from nighttime skywave signals. This classification exists to ensure the viability of cross ...

that is now silent. When the AM station had to sign off at sunset, WOKI-FM could continue its

Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is a list of the 40 currently most popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "To ...

hits into the night. WOKI-AM-FM were owned by Radioak, Inc., with studios on Tulsa Road in Oak Ridge.

WNOX-FM

Dick Broadcasting acquired 99.1 WNOX-FM in Loudon, which became a simulcast signal for the

talk radio Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues and consisting entirely or almost entirely of original spoken word content rather than outside music. They may feature monologues, dialogues between the hosts, Interview (jo ...

programming heard on WIVK 990 AM. Shortly thereafter, the 990 call letters were changed back to WNOX (now WNML). The two stations, 990 AM & 99.1 FM, were jointly called "NewsTalk99 WNOX." The stations' local morning show was hosted by Ed Brantley and Bob Thomas. In afternoon

drive time Drive time is the daypart in which radio broadcasters can reach the most people who listen to car radios while driving, usually to and from work, or on public transportation. Drive-time periods are when the number of radio listeners in this c ...

, Terry Fair and Russell Smith were heard. Syndicated hosts were carried the rest of the day including

Neal Boortz Neal A Boortz Jr. (born April 6, 1945) is an American author, former attorney, and former libertarian radio host. His nationally syndicated talk show, ''The Neal Boortz Show'', which ended in 2013, was carried throughout the United States. The ...

Dave Ramsey David Lawrence Ramsey III (born September 3, 1960) is an American radio personality who offers financial advice. He is the founder and CEO of Ramsey Solutions and a co-host of '' The Ramsey Show'', a nationally syndicated radio program. He ...

Laura Ingraham Laura Anne Ingraham (; born June 19, 1963) is an American conservative television presenter. Gale Biography In Context. She has been the host of '' The Ingraham Angle'' on Fox News Channel since October 2017, and is the editor-in-chief of Li ...

and

Jerry Doyle Jerry Doyle (July 16, 1956 – July 27, 2016) was an American talk radio host, political commentator, television actor and founder of the content platform EpicTimes. His nationally syndicated talk show, ''The Jerry Doyle Show'', aired througho ...

. In 2005, the station moved its talk format to 100.3 MHz, the former WOKI-FM. 990 AM and 99.1 FM then became

sports radio Sports radio (or sports talk radio) is a radio format devoted entirely to discussion and broadcasting of sport, sporting events. A widespread programming genre that has a narrow audience appeal, sports radio is characterized by an often-low comed ...

WNML and

WNML-FM WNML-FM (99.1 Hertz, MHz; "99.1 The Sports Animal") is a commercial radio, commercial radio station city of license, licensed to Friendsville, Tennessee, and serving the Knoxville metropolitan area. It simulcasts a sports radio radio format, fo ...

, known as "The Sports Animal."

Citadel Broadcasting Citadel Broadcasting Corporation was a Las Vegas, Nevada-based broadcast holding company founded and developed by Larry Wilson. Citadel owned 243 radio stations across the United States and was the third-largest radio station owner in the count ...

ended its lease agreement with Oak Ridge FM, Inc. for the 100.3 WNOX frequency two years early and announced that it would be broadcasting the programming of WNOX on both 100.3 WNOX-FM and 98.7 WOKI from July 9, 2010, until August 1, 2010. On July 7, 2010, Oak Ridge FM announced plans for WNOX to stay news/talk, but with different hosts. Ed Brantley, the former general manager of the Knoxville Citadel radio group and previous

WIVK-FM WIVK-FM (107.7 MHz) is a commercial radio station in Knoxville, Tennessee. The station is owned by Cumulus Media and broadcasts a country music radio format known as "107.7 WIVK " The studios and offices are on Old Kingston Pike in the Sequoya ...

DJ, was hired as general manager of 100.3 FM, and John Pirkle of Oak Ridge FM said he would be an on-air personality. On July 19, 2010, WNOX moved its former programming to 98.7 WOKI, with 100.3 FM airing nothing but reminders that former WNOX listeners should tune to 98.7, its new frequency. On August 1, 2010, the station's owner, Oak Ridge FM, Inc. regained programming control of the station and resumed broadcasting a news/talk format.

WCYQ

On May 3, 2013, the sale of the station to Journal Broadcast Group closed. Upon taking possession, WNOX began stunting towards a new format to be launched on May 9, 2013. The talk programming moved to WKVL 850 AM in Knoxville. The country format of WCYQ moved to 100.3 permanently after simulcasting for two weeks. A classic hits format was launched on 93.1 in

Karns, Tennessee Karns is an Unincorporated area#United States, unincorporated community and census-designated place in northwest Knox County, Tennessee, about northwest of the center of Knoxville, Tennessee, Knoxville. The population of the CDP was 3,536 at the ...

, on May 23, 2013. On May 9, 2013, WNOX changed its call letters to WCYQ, swapping call signs with 93.1 FM, which became WNOX.

Journal Communications Journal Media Group (formerly Journal Communications) was a Milwaukee, Wisconsin-based newspaper publishing company. The company's roots were first established in 1882 as the owner of its namesake, the ''Milwaukee Journal'', and expanded into br ...

and the

E. W. Scripps Company The E. W. Scripps Company, also known as Scripps, is an American broadcasting company founded in 1878 as a chain of daily newspapers by Edward Willis "E. W." Scripps and his sister, Ellen Browning Scripps. It was also formerly a media conglom ...

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 WCYQ. The transaction was completed in 2015, pending shareholder and regulatory approvals. Scripps exited radio in 2018. The Knoxville stations went to

in a four-market, $47 million deal completed on November 1, 2018. On September 19, 2019, after stunting with construction sounds. WCYQ rebranded as "100.3 The Wolf". In November 2021, Scott Grimes was named the Operations Manager of SummitMedia's Knoxville stations and Program Director of 100.3 WCYQ. Nine months later, Grimes departed WCYQ and SummitMedia Knoxville.

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References

External links

{{The Bobby Bones Show 1974 establishments in Tennessee Country radio stations in the United States Radio stations established in 1974 CYQ