WTLT (1120 AM) 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 ...

Maryville, Tennessee Maryville is a city in and the county seat of Blount County, Tennessee. Its population was 31,907 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. History The Great Indian Warpath (which was used to build the route U.S. Route 411, US-411) was long ...

, and serving the

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 ...

radio market A media market, broadcast market, media region, designated market area (DMA), television market area, or simply market is a region where the population can receive the same (or similar) television and radio station offerings, and may also incl ...

. It airs an

urban contemporary Urban contemporary music, also known as urban music, urban pop, or just simply urban, is a music radio format. The term was coined by New York radio DJ Frankie Crocker in the early to mid-1970s as a synonym for Black music. Urban contemporary r ...

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, ...

and is owned by Loud Media and operated by One Major Media LLC under via LMA. WTLT broadcasts at 1,000 watts by day; because

AM 1120 The following radio broadcasting, radio stations broadcast on AM broadcasting, AM frequency 1120 kHz: 1120 AM is a United States clear-channel frequency. KMOX in St. Louis, Missouri, is the dominant station on 1120 AM. In Argentina * LV5 S ...

is a clear channel frequency reserved for

KMOX KMOX (1120 AM broadcasting, AM) is a commercial radio station in St. Louis, Missouri, owned by Audacy, Inc. The station is a 50,000 watt List of North American broadcast station classes, Class A clear-channel station with a omnidirectional ante ...

St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...

, it must

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

sunset Sunset (or sundown) is the disappearance of the Sun at the end of the Sun path, below the horizon of the Earth (or any other astronomical object in the Solar System) due to its Earth's rotation, rotation. As viewed from everywhere on Earth, it ...

to avoid interference. Listeners in the Knoxville metropolitan area can hear WTLT around the clock on its FM

translator station A broadcast relay station, also known as a satellite station, relay transmitter, broadcast translator (U.S.), re-broadcaster (Canada), repeater (two-way radio) or complementary station (Mexico), is a broadcast transmitter which repeats (or tran ...

, W246DH at 97.1

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 ...

, and could previously be heard on W268BP at 101.5 MHz.

History

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 ...

as WCGM in 1989. It aired a

Christian radio Christian radio refers to Christian media radio formats that focus on Christian religious broadcasting or various forms of Christian music. Many such formats and programs include contemporary Christian music, gospel music, sermons, radio dramas, ...

format and was owned by Dove, Inc. From 2007 to 2009, the then-WKCE had been a Spanish-language

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 ...

station as an

ESPN Deportes Radio ESPN Deportes Radio was an American Spanish language sports radio network created and produced by Disney-owned ESPN. Programming included call-in talk shows and commentary from hosts about a full range of sporting events, including soccer, ...

affiliate. Then it was an English-language sports station from 2010 to 2014. It aired a

comedy radio Radio comedy, or comedic radio programming, is a radio broadcast that may involve variety show, sitcom elements, sketches, and various types of comedy found in other media. It may also include more surreal or fantastic elements, as these can be c ...

format until January 2015, when the format changed to

oldies Oldies is a term for musical genres such as pop music, rock and roll, doo-wop, surf music from the second half of the 20th century, specifically from around the mid-1950s to the 1980s, as well as for a radio format playing this music. Since 2 ...

. WKCE changed briefly to an

all-news radio All-news radio is a radio format devoted entirely to the discussion and broadcast of news. All-news radio is available in both local and radio syndication, syndicated forms, and is carried on both major US satellite radio networks. All-news sta ...

format under the moniker "1120 News Now" on July 4, 2015. WKCE returned to oldies on December 5, 2015. The station changed its call sign to WVLZ on September 19, 2018. On March 18, 2019, WVLZ changed its format from oldies (after stunting with

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 ...

and variety hits) to

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 ...

, branded as "101.5 VLZ" (simulcasting on FM translator W268BP 101.5 FM). WVLZ also began simulcasting on translator W246DH 97.1 FM shortly thereafter, and this became the sole translator in February 2020. On July 1, 2020, the call sign was changed to WJMP and the radio station rebranded as "Jump 97.1", with a

classic hip hop Classic hip hop is a music radio format focusing primarily on hip hop music from the 1980s, 1990s, and the early to mid-2000s. Although stations with such a format date back as far as 2004, the format was first popularized in October 2014, after ...

format. The WJMP call letters were moved by Loud Media to start a second Jump station in

Plattsburgh, New York Plattsburgh is a city in and the county seat of Clinton County, New York, United States, situated on the north-western shore of Lake Champlain. The population was 19,841 at the United States Census, 2020, 2020 census. The population of the sur ...

, on October 1, 2021, and this station became WTLT. On December 14, 2021, WTLT flipped to urban contemporary and rebranded as "Lit 97.1".

References

External links

* * {{Daytime-only radio stations in Tennessee TLT Radio stations established in 1985 1985 establishments in Tennessee TLT Urban contemporary radio stations in the United States Maryville, Tennessee