WPWT (870 AM) is a

classic country Classic country is a music radio format that specializes in playing mainstream country and western music hits from past decades. Repertoire The radio format specializes in hits from the 1950s through the early 1980s, and focus primarily on innov ...

music formatted

broadcast Broadcasting is the distribution of audio or video content to a dispersed audience via any electronic mass communications medium, but typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum ( radio waves), in a one-to-many model. Broadcasting began ...

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

Colonial Heights, Tennessee Colonial Heights is a census-designated place (CDP) in Sullivan County, Tennessee, United States. It is surrounded by the city of Kingsport. The population was 3,055 at the 2020 census down from 6,934 at the 2010 census, due to annexation by the ...

, serving the Tri-Cities, VA/ TN area. WPWT is owned and operated by Kenneth Clyde Hill.

History

This station signed on the air in 1984. Prior to its sign-on, it had been assigned the call letters WIKV by the FCC. Since these calls were deemed by constructing supervisor Dave Murray (husband of Martha Murray, the original licensee) to be too close to the calls of a prominent FM in the market, WIKQ, the calls were changed, to WPRQ. All this transpired before the station ever officially hit the air. The original power was 5,000 watts. This was increased later to 10,000 watts. The signal, which shares the clear channel of 870 kHz with Class-A 50,000-watt WWL in

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

, was licensed as daytime-only, which it remains today. The original format was contemporary Christian hit music. Other formats have followed, including news/talk and religious talk. In the late 1980s/early 1990s, the station was dark (silent) for a time, but was sold and returned to the air. Its current owner, Kenneth Clyde Hill, owns other stations as well. The transmitter was originally a single tower near

Warrior's Path State Park Warriors' Path State Park is a 950-acre (3.84 km²) Tennessee State Park in Colonial Heights, Kingsport, Sullivan County, Tennessee, in the United States. It is named for the Great Indian Warpath that was used by the Iroquois in ...

, which is south of

Kingsport, Tennessee Kingsport is a city in Sullivan and Hawkins counties in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, its population was 55,442. Lying along the Holston River, Kingsport is commonly included in what is known as the Mountain Empire, w ...

. It remains there today. The original studio was in a residence, in

, which was owned by Dave and Martha Murray. In November 2017, WPWT rebranded as "96.3 The Possum" (simulcasting on FM translators W242CQ 96.3 Colonial Heights and W264BY 100.7 Kingsport).Classic Country Possum Debuts in Kingsport/Johnson City
Radioinsight - November 28, 2017

Management

Dr. Kenneth C. Hill is the owner of WPWT and sister stations

WHCB WHCB is a Religious formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Bristol, Tennessee, serving the Tri-Cities Tri-Cities most often refers to: *Tri-Cities, Tennessee, United States *Tri-Cities, Washington, United States Tri-City, Tricity or Tri-C ...

and

WHGG WHGG (1090 AM) is a Contemporary Christian formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Kingsport, Tennessee, serving the Tri-Cities, VA/ TN area. History This station signed on the air in 1967 with call letters WGOC and a modern-Nashville-c ...

Previous logo

References

External links

96.3 The Possum Online
PWT Classic country radio stations in the United States Radio stations established in 1984 1984 establishments in Tennessee PWT {{Tennessee-radio-station-stub