WNOX (93.1 FM, "Classic Rock 93.1") is a

commercial Commercial may refer to: * (adjective for) commerce, a system of voluntary exchange of products and services ** (adjective for) trade, the trading of something of economic value such as goods, services, information or money * a dose of advertising ...

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 ...

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 ...

to the suburb of Karns,

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

, 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 ...

. 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 airs a

classic rock Classic rock is a radio format that developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, it comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the early-1990s, primarily focusing on comm ...

format. WNOX's

studio A studio is a space set aside for creative work of any kind, including art, dance, music and theater. The word ''studio'' is derived from the , from , from ''studere'', meaning to study or zeal. Types Art The studio of any artist, esp ...

s and offices are on Amherst Road in Knoxville. The

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 off Vance Lane, also in Knoxville.

History

On October 3,

1988 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the Morris worm, 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United State ...

, the station first

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 ...

under the

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 ...

WCKS "93 KISS-FM". The station was owned by Bill Strelitz when it aired 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. The station switched call signs to WWZZ "Z-93" on December 3, 1990 when it aired an

active rock Active rock is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations across the United States and Canada. Active rock stations play a balance of new hard rock songs with valued classic rock favorites, normally with an emphasis on the harder edge o ...

format.

WWST and WMYU frequency swap

On May 20, 1994, 93.1 FM changed to ''Star 93.1 FM'' with the call sign WWST. The format remained

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 ...

. On March 9, 2001, WWST and sister station WMYU (Oldies 102) swapped frequencies bringing WMYU to 93.1 FM while the

WWST WWST (102.1 FM, "Star 102.1") is a radio station licensed to Sevierville, Tennessee, and serving the Knoxville market. The station is owned by SummitMedia. The station is a top 40 (CHR) station that broadcasts with 15,000 watts of power and is ...

call sign was moved to 102.1 FM as ''Star 102.1''. WMYU broadcast an '80s format known as "931 The Point", until November 26, 2008, when the station switched to a country music format as ''Q93'' switching its call sign to WCYQ. On May 9, 2013, WCYQ changed its call sign to WNOX, swapping call signs with WNOX 100.3 FM Oak Ridge, Tennessee, which took the WCYQ call sign. On May 23, 2013, WNOX split from its

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) ...

with country-formatted

WCYQ WCYQ (100.3 FM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and serving the Knoxville metropolitan area and East Tennessee. The station is owned by SummitMedia and broadcasts a country music radio format, calling itself ' ...

100.3 FM Oak Ridge. WNOX changed its format to classic hits, branded as "Classic Hits 93.1".

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 WNOX. 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. From November 15, 2019 until December 25, 2019, the station switched to all

Christmas music Christmas music comprises a variety of Music genre, genres of music regularly performed or heard around the Christmas and holiday season, Christmas season. Music associated with Christmas may be purely instrumental, or in the case of Christmas ...

. The brand was modified to "Knoxville's Greatest Hits" on December 25, 2019. On April 12, 2021, WNOX rebranded as "Awesome 93.1". On September 7, 2023, WNOX changed its format from 1980s hits to classic rock, branded as "Classic Rock 93.1".Awesome 93.1 Knoxville Flips to Classic Rock
Radioinsight - September 11, 2023

Previous logos

References

External links

WNOX official website
* {{Authority control

NOX In atmospheric chemistry, is shorthand for nitric oxide () and nitrogen dioxide (), the nitrogen oxides that are most relevant for air pollution. These gases contribute to the formation of smog and acid rain, as well as affecting tro ...

Classic rock radio stations in the United States Radio stations established in 1988 1988 establishments in Tennessee