WCKN (92.5 FM) is a

radio station Radio broadcasting is transmission 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 radi ...

broadcasting a

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

format. Licensed to

Moncks Corner, South Carolina Moncks Corner is a town in and the county seat of Berkeley County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 7,885 at the 2010 census. As defined by the U.S. Census Bureau, Moncks Corner is included within the Charleston-North Charleston-S ...

, United States, the station serves the Charleston, South Carolina area. The station is currently owned by the Charleston Radio Group subsidiary of Saga Communications. The station's studios are located in Charleston (east of the Cooper River) and the transmitter tower is in Mount Pleasant.

History

This station started out at 92.1 with 3,000 watts and the letters WTWE and was licensed to

Manning, South Carolina Manning is a city in and the county seat of Clarendon County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 4,108 as of the 2010 census, with an estimated population in 2018 of 3,941. It was named after former South Carolina governor John L ...

. In 1986, WTWE moved to 92.5 and became WHLZ "Wheels 92.5", a

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while ...

radio station, broadcasting at 100,000 watts while remaining licensed to Manning. It was one of the biggest country stations in the Carolinas, with a signal from Lumberton, NC to Charleston, SC. 92.5 moved closer to Charleston in 2003 and became

hot 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 present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quiet ...

WCSQ "Coast 92.5," while the country format and WHLZ call letters moved to a smaller station licensed to

Marion, South Carolina Marion is a city in and the county seat of Marion County, South Carolina, United States. It is named for Francis Marion, a brigadier general from South Carolina in the American Revolutionary War. The population was 6,939 at the 2010 census. Histo ...

, near

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany Regions of Italy, region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilan ...

. WCSQ changed its format to

top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 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. "Top 40" or "cont ...

with the call letters WIHB in 2005 with the moniker B92. It mainly competed with the more established top 40 in the market,

WSSX WSSX-FM (95.1 FM, "95SX") is a Top 40 (CHR) radio station located in Charleston, South Carolina. The station is licensed by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to broadcast with an effective radiated power (ERP) of 100 kW. The stat ...

, although B92 had more of a rhythmic lean. In 2009, WIHB applied for a taller tower with power reduced to 77,000 watts. On Friday, March 19, 2010, "B-92" flipped formats from

Mainstream Urban Mainstream may refer to: Film * ''Mainstream'' (film), a 2020 American film Literature * ''Mainstream'' (fanzine), a science fiction fanzine * Mainstream Publishing, a Scottish publisher * ''Mainstream'', a 1943 book by Hamilton Basso ...

as "92-5 The Box." The station called itself "Charleston's New #1 for Hip-Hop" and featured the

Rickey Smiley Broderick Dornell Smiley (born August 10, 1968) is an American stand-up comedian, television host, actor, and radio personality, known for his prank phone calls. The calls feature Smiley disguising his voice and carrying on a conversation with th ...

Morning Show from 6:00am to 10:00am. On May 31, 2011, WIHB changed their format to country, simulcasting WIOP 95.9 FM, which began its own format two weeks later. WIHB became WCKN "Kickin' 92.5", with Charlie James of WWNU as the morning host. In August 2013, WCKN began calling itself "New Country, Kickin’ 92.5." In June 2017, WCKN rebranded as "92.5 Kickin' Country" with the slogan "Real Country Variety from the 1990s to Now." On September 6, 2017, the sale of the station to Saga Communications was complete.

Call sign history

The station was assigned

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 assign ...

WHLZ on 1986-03-01. On 2003-01-01, the station changed its call sign to WCSQ and again on 2005-09-21 to WIHB and on 2011-06-03 to the current WCKN.

Previous logos

References

External links

Station website
* {{Saga Communications CKN Country radio stations in the United States Radio stations established in 1986 1986 establishments in South Carolina