WWWX (96.9 FM, "96.9 The Fox") is an

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

formatted

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 A license (or licence) 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 party (licensee) as an element of an agreeme ...

Oshkosh, Wisconsin Oshkosh is a city in Winnebago County, Wisconsin, of which it is the county seat. The city had a population of 66,816 in 2020, making it the ninth-largest city in Wisconsin. It is also adjacent to the Town of Oshkosh. History Oshkosh was ...

, that serves the Appleton- Oshkosh area. The station is owned by

Cumulus Media Cumulus Media, Inc. is an American broadcasting company and is the third largest owner and operator of AM and FM radio stations in the United States behind Audacy and iHeartMedia. As of June 2019, Cumulus lists ownership of 428 stations in 87 ...

. The station shares a transmitter site with

WNAM WNAM (1280 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station licensed to Neenah- Menasha, Wisconsin, that serves the Appleton- Oshkosh radio market. The station is owned by Cumulus Media. It uses the "America's Best Music" radio format supplied by co-owne ...

located along

I-41 Interstate 41 (I-41) is a north–south Interstate Highway connecting the interchange of I-94 and U.S. Route 41 (US 41), located south of the Wisconsin–Illinois border at the end of the Tri-State Tollway in metropolitan Ch ...

History

The station signed on January 30, 1967 as WMKC, operating on 96.7 FM under the ownership of Kimball Broadcasting. In 1968, the station became an affiliate of the ABC FM network. By 1971, WMKC had a middle of the road format, and devoted 20 hours a week to

jazz music Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major f ...

. The station changed its affiliation to the

Mutual Broadcasting System The Mutual Broadcasting System (commonly referred to simply as Mutual; sometimes referred to as MBS, Mutual Radio or the Mutual Radio Network) was an American commercial radio network in operation from 1934 to 1999. In the Old-time radio, golden ...

in 1978; by then, programming also included three hours of

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also ...

. Kimball Broadcasting, a subsidiary of the Miles Kimball

mail order Mail order is the buying of goods or services by mail delivery. The buyer places an order for the desired products with the merchant through some remote methods such as: * Sending an order form in the mail * Placing a telephone call * Placing a ...

company, sold WMKC to Cummings Communications for $400,000 in 1980. The new owners changed the call letters of the station to WAHC, which at the time carried a

Beautiful music Beautiful music (sometimes abbreviated as BM, B/EZ or BM/EZ for "beautiful music/easy listening") is a mostly instrumental music format that was prominent in North American radio from the late 1950s through the 1980s. Easy listening, elevator musi ...

format. Several short lived format changes came through the station after the sale. WAHC tried an

album oriented rock Album-oriented rock (AOR, originally called album-oriented radio) is an FM radio format created in the United States in the 1970s that focuses on the full repertoire of rock albums and is currently associated with classic rock. Album-oriente ...

format which didn't attract listeners, then by December 1982 switched (back) to middle of the road. In September 1983, facing miserable audience ratings of less than 1% of the market, it made another format switch, this time to

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 ...

under the moniker SuperHit 97; the station was affiliated with the

RKO Radio Network The RKO Radio Network, a subsidiary of RKO General, was the first commercial radio network to distribute programming entirely by satellite. When it began operations on October 1, 1979, the initial RKO network was the first new full-service Ameri ...

and competed with

WIXX WIXX (101.1 FM) is a Top 40/ CHR radio station licensed to and serving Green Bay, Wisconsin, along with Appleton, Oshkosh, and much of Northeast Wisconsin. The station is owned and operated by Wausau, Wisconsin-based Midwest Communications, ...

. WAHC kept this format until 1987, when it switched to modern country. ODON Communications bought the station in 1988 and changed its call letters to WUSW in 1989. In 1991, a reallocation of various FM frequencies in Wisconsin moved WUSW to 96.9 FM. In January 1997, WUSW and

were sold to Value Radio Corporation, who in turn sold them to

on August 31, 1997. In 1999, the station began simulcasting a

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

format, branded "The Fox", with WEZR (107.5 FM) in Green Bay and changed its call letters to WWWX. The simulcast ended in 2003, when the Green Bay station (which had become WXWX) took on the

sports radio Sports radio (or sports talk radio) is a radio format devoted entirely to discussion and broadcasting of sporting events. A widespread programming genre that has a narrow audience appeal, sports radio is characterized by an often- boisterous on-ai ...

format of

WDUZ WDUZ (1400 AM) and WDUZ-FM (107.5 FM) are radio stations serving the Green Bay, Wisconsin area, simulcasting a sports format as "Sports Radio 107.5 and 1400 The Fan." The stations were owned by Clear Channel Communications, though they were ...

; the "Fox" format would continue on WWWX. After

swapped its Green Bay radio stations to

Clear Channel Communications iHeartMedia, Inc., formerly CC Media Holdings, Inc., is an American mass media corporation headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It is the holding company of iHeartCommunications, Inc. (formerly Clear Channel Communications, Inc.), a company fou ...

for two stations in

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

and entered into a

local marketing agreement In North American broadcasting, a local marketing agreement (LMA), or local management agreement, is a contract in which one company agrees to operate a radio or television station owned by another party. In essence, it is a sort of lease or tim ...

to retain control of the Green Bay stations (which Cumulus reacquired in 2013), WWWX, along with WZNN in

Allouez, Wisconsin Allouez is a village in Brown County in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The population was 13,975 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Green Bay Metropolitan Statistical Area. Geography Allouez is located between Green Bay to the north, and De ...

, was placed into a trust, WI Radio, LLC, that was required to sell the stations. In 2013, WWWX was transferred to another trust, Current Radio, LLC. After Cumulus moved

WOGB WOGB (103.1 FM) is a classic hits radio station licensed to Reedsville, Wisconsin, and serving Northeast Wisconsin. WOGB's studios are located on Victoria Street in Green Bay, while its transmitter is located near Shirley in the Town of Glenmor ...

city of license In American, Canadian, and Mexican broadcasting, a city of license or community of license is the community that a radio station or television station is officially licensed to serve by that country's broadcast regulator. In North American broa ...

from

Kaukauna Kaukauna () is a city in Outagamie and Calumet counties, Wisconsin, United States. It is situated on the Fox River, approximately north of Milwaukee. The population was 15,462 at the 2010 census. It is a part of the Appleton, Wisconsin Metr ...

(part of the Appleton market) to Reedsville (part of the Green Bay market) in August 2013, Cumulus was able to reacquire WWWX in 2017.

References

External links

Official website
* {{Cumulus Media WWX Modern rock radio stations in the United States Radio stations established in 1967 1967 establishments in Wisconsin Cumulus Media radio stations