WKIM
| Broadcast area | Memphis metropolitan area |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 98.9 MHz |
| Branding | News Talk 98.9 |
| Programming | |
| Format | News/Talk |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| WGKX, WRBO, WXMX | |
| History | |
First air date | 1958 (as KTMO) |
Former call signs | KTMO (1958–2001) KXMI (4/2001–5/2001) WJZN (2001–2004) WMPW (2004–2006) |
Call sign meaning | KIM FM (former format) |
| Technical information | |
| Facility ID | 33671 |
| Class | C1 |
| ERP | 100,000 watts horizontal 98,100 watts vertical |
| HAAT | 187 meters (614 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 35°09′18″N 89°49′19″W / 35.155°N 89.822°W |
| Links | |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | newstalk989.com |
WKIM (98.9 FM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Munford, Tennessee, and serving the Memphis metropolitan area. It is owned by Cumulus Media and airs a news/talk radio format.
The studios are located on Murray Road at the Memphis Radio Group building in East Memphis. The transmitter site is in Cordova, Tennessee, off Raleigh-Lagrange Road.[1] WKIM has an effective radiated power of 100,000 watts.
History
The station was originally located in Kennett, Missouri, and used the call sign KTMO prior to its move-in to the Memphis radio market in 2001. The station then began targeting Memphis with a smooth jazz format as "Smooth Jazz 98.9" WJZN. In November 2004, the station changed to a rhythmic contemporary format as WMPW, "Power 99", putting it in competition with urban contemporary WHRK, rhythmic KXHT and mainstream top 40 WHBQ-FM.
On September 15, 2006, at 2 p.m., WMPW flipped to a female-leaning adult hits format as "98.9 Kim FM" under new call letters WKIM. The first song on "Kim FM" was Like a Prayer by Madonna. After several books of substandard ratings, about a year later, the station flipped formats to Hot AC. The change still did not draw enough listeners.
On March 31, 2010, at 5 p.m., the format was flipped to 1990s hits as Gen X 98.9. The first song on "Gen X 98.9" was Losing My Religion by R.E.M.[2] By that autumn, the station added some current hits, making it a 1990s/Hot AC hybrid format.
On April 25, 2011, the station switched to a talk format, branded as "News/Talk 98.9".[3] Because the station is owned by Cumulus Media, many of the shows heard on News/Talk 98.9 were from the co-owned Westwood One Network.
On February 27, 2015, at Noon, WKIM flipped to classic hip-hop, branded as "98.9 The Vibe." The first song on "The Vibe" was "Hip Hop Hooray" by Naughty by Nature. WKIM was one of two stations in the market airing the format; WIVG was the other. (That station has since flipped back to alternative rock).[4]
On October 31, 2017, at Noon, WKIM began stunting with Christmas music as "Christmas 98.9." On December 26, at 6 a.m., WKIM flipped to adult contemporary as "98.9 The Bridge." The switch puts WKIM in competition with Entercom-owned WRVR, one of Memphis' leading radio stations.[5] From early November until the Christmas holidays, WKIM switched to all-Christmas music. Weekday mornings, WKIM carried the syndicated Bob & Sheri Show from WLNK in Charlotte.
On May 25, 2021, it was announced that Cumulus had set a five-year agreement to carry University of Memphis Tigers athletics, moving them from WREC and WEGR, with the intention of carrying them on WKIM. Concurrently, it was also announced the station would flip back to a news/talk format, centered around the Memphis agreement, as "News/Talk 98.9, The Roar of Memphis". Alongside the carriage of the college's football and men's and women's basketball games, the station will also have weekly coaches' shows with football coach Ryan Silverfield and men’s basketball coach Penny Hardaway starting this fall. No date has been given for the change; however, the station will also carry the Dan Bongino Show, which currently lists it's date of debut on the station as June 28.[6]
References
External links
- News Talk 98.9 official website
- Facility details for Facility ID WKIM ({{{2}}}) in the FCC Licensing and Management System
- {{{2}}} in Nielsen Audio's FM station database