WZKT (97.7 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 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 ...

to serve

Walnut Creek, North Carolina Walnut Creek is a village in Wayne County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 835 in 2010. It is included in the Goldsboro, North Carolina Metropolitan Statistical Area. The village is built around the Walnut Creek Country Club. ...

, United States. The station, founded in 1976, is owned by New Age Communications, Inc. WZKT broadcasts 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 an ERP of 2,650 watts.

History

At one time, this frequency was home to WQDW, an

urban contemporary Urban contemporary music, also known as urban music, hip hop, 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 contem ...

station in

Kinston, North Carolina Kinston is a city in Lenoir County, North Carolina, United States, with a population of 21,677 as of the 2010 census. It has been the county seat of Lenoir County since its formation in 1791. Kinston is located in the coastal plains region of e ...

, along with sister station WISP (1230 AM, now

WLNR WDLX (930 AM) and WGHB (1250 AM) are radio stations broadcasting a sports format. The WDLX/WGHB simulcast is currently owned by Pirate Media Group. Licensed to Washington, North Carolina, United States, WDLX serves the Greenville-New Bern area ...

). In December 1986, Caravelle Broadcast Group Inc. completed its purchase of WSFL-FM and Kinston radio stations WISP and WQDW. WZBR was a

radio station owned by ABG North Carolina Inc. In 2003, Archway Broadcasting Group, LLC, announced its acquisition of WZBR and three other Greenville market stations—

WRHT WRHT (96.3 FM), also known as "Talk 96.3", is a radio station, broadcasting with 100,000 watts that cover the Greenville/New Bern/Jacksonville area with a talk format. WRHT is licensed to Morehead City. WRHT is owned and operated by Inner Bank ...

, WCBZ, and WNBR—from Eastern North Carolina Broadcasting Company, Inc. for $6.5 million. Also that year, Archway bought WGPM and WCZI. Archway announced May 25, 2004, that it was selling WWNF to

Curtis Media Group Curtis Media Group is a broadcast media company based in Raleigh, North Carolina, USA. The company owns and operates several North Carolina radio stations and television networks. Broadcast Stations Curtis Media Group owns and operates the fol ...

. During 2006–2008, this station was called "Kix

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 the ...

97.7" and it used the WKIX call letters. The station was assigned the WEQR call letters by the

Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdiction ...

on December 24,

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

. From late 2008 until 2010, Q97.7 was

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 ...

. In 2010, WEQR changed its format to CHR and changed its slogan to "The Best Songs On The Radio." Later, the slogan was changed to "Today's Hits." On October 27, 2014, WEQR changed their call letters to WZKT. On December 26, 2014 the station changed formats and 97-7 "Katie Country" was born.

References

External links

* ZKT Country radio stations in the United States {{NorthCarolina-radio-station-stub