WKXU (102.5

MHz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose expression in terms of SI base units is s−1, meaning that one he ...

) is a

classic hits Classic hits is a radio format which generally includes songs from the top 40 music charts from the late 1960s to the early 2000s, with music from the 1980s serving as the core of the format. Music that was popularized by MTV in the early 1980s ...

formatted commercial

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 radio ...

licensed to Hillsborough, North Carolina, and serving the

Research Triangle The Research Triangle, or simply The Triangle, are both common nicknames for a metropolitan area in the Piedmont region of North Carolina in the United States, anchored by the cities of Raleigh and Durham and the town of Chapel Hill, home to ...

, including Durham and

Raleigh Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the seat of Wake County in the United States. It is the second-most populous city in North Carolina, after Charlotte. Raleigh is the tenth-most populous city in the Southeas ...

. The station simulcasts the "KIX 102, Carolina's Greatest Hits" programming of hit music from the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s that originates from WKIX-FM (102.9 FM) in Raleigh. The station is owned by New Century Media Group. According to FCC ownership filings, New Century Media Group is 100% owned by Donald W. Curtis, Chairman and CEO of Curtis Media Group. WKXU 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 hav ...

(ERP) of 1,500

watt The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named after James Wa ...

s and is considered a Class A FM station. By contrast, some Raleigh-area stations, such as

WNCB WNCB (93.9 FM), known as "B93.9", is a country music radio station that serves the Raleigh-Durham market of North Carolina. It is owned and operated by iHeartMedia, Inc., whose sister stations include WDCG, WTKK, WRDU, and W237BZ. The station ...

and WRDU run 100,000 watts. The

transmitter In electronics and telecommunications, a radio transmitter or just transmitter is an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna (radio), antenna. The transmitter itself generates a radio frequency alternating current, which i ...

is off Bivins Road north of Durham.

History

The station

signed on Signing may refer to: * Using sign language * Signature A signature (; from la, signare, "to sign") is a handwritten (and often stylized) depiction of someone's name, nickname, or even a simple "X" or other mark that a person writes on do ...

from Louisburg in 1989 as WHLQ, 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 present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quie ...

station branded as Q-102.5. The station later began simulcasting 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 with its sister AM station,

WYRN WYRN (1480 AM) is a radio station broadcasting a news–talk format. Licensed to Louisburg, North Carolina, United States, it serves the Raleigh area. The station is currently owned by Sadie Diana Alston, through licensee A and D Broadcasting, ...

. Curtis Media Group purchased WHLQ and WYRN from Franklin Broadcasting in 2003. The following year, the call letters were changed to WKXU. The station, called Country 102.5, moved in a more contemporary direction, playing only songs from the previous 20 years. In September 2010, WKXU signed off from its Louisburg site and signed on again October 23 from a new site in northwestern Durham County, licensed to Hillsborough. At that time, the station began stunting, along with new simulcast partner WWMY. On October 27, WKXU changed its call letters to WPLW, while WWMY became WWPL. On October 31, at 5PM, after several days of

Halloween Halloween or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve) is a celebration observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Saints' Day. It begins the observanc ...

music, the stunting ended and both stations debuted their new rhythmic contemporary format as "Pulse 102". The first song on "Pulse" was "I Like It" by

Enrique Iglesias Enrique Miguel Iglesias Preysler (; (born 8 May 1975) is a Spanish singer and songwriter. He started his recording career in the mid-1990s on the Mexican indie label Fonovisa and became the bestselling Spanish-language act of the decade. By the ...

ft.

Pitbull Pit bull is a term used in the United States for a type of dog descended from bulldogs and terriers, while in other countries such as the United Kingdom the term is used as an abbreviation of the American Pit Bull Terrier breed. The term was f ...

. The format was described as "sort of the hip-hop and R&B that has crossed over into Top 40." Its primary target audience was women aged 25 to 34, and was expected to compete with Radio One station K 97.5 and Clear Channel's G105, and 93.9 Kiss FM, who ironically transitioned from Rhythmic AC to Rhythmic Top 40 after Pulse 102 signed on. The stations played 10,000 songs in a row and promised fewer commercials than other stations. Artists include

Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta ( ; born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her image reinventions and musical versatility. Gaga began performing as a teenag ...

, Enrique Iglesias and

Kesha Kesha Rose Sebert (; born March 1, 1987), formerly stylized as Ke$ha, is an American singer and songwriter. In 2005, at age 18, Kesha was signed to Kemosabe Records. Her first major success came in early 2009 after she was featured on America ...

. By October

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

, WPLW was added to the Mediabase

contemporary hit radio Contemporary hit radio (also known as CHR, contemporary hits, hit list, current hits, hit music, top 40, or pop radio) is a radio format that is common in many countries that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by ...

panel. As of 2014, WPLW also could be heard on a

translator Translation is the communication of the Meaning (linguistic), meaning of a #Source and target languages, source-language text by means of an Dynamic and formal equivalence, equivalent #Source and target languages, target-language text. The ...

at W226BV (93.1 FM). In September 2014, the simulcast with WWPL changed from 102.3 FM to

96.9 FM The following radio stations broadcast on FM frequency 96.9 MHz: Argentina * 9 digital in Concepción del Uruguay, Entre Ríos * Bar in Alta Gracia, Córdoba * Bien Argentina in Luján, Buenos Aires * blu in Rio Cuarto, Córdoba * LRM7 ...

. On May 28, 2019, the call sign was changed from WPLW to WPLW-FM, in order to allow the WPLW call sign to be assigned the next month to AM 570 in Raleigh. On December 26, 2022, WPLW-FM, along with WKJO, began simulcasting the classic hits programming originating from WKIX-FM. The station changed its callsign back to WKXU to associate it with the "Kix" branding on January 11, 2023.

References

External links

WKIX 102 FM official website
* {{Classic Hits Radio Stations in North Carolina KXU Radio stations established in 1990 Companies based in Hillsborough, North Carolina 1990 establishments in North Carolina Classic hits radio stations in the United States