WIVK
Encyclopedia
WIVK-FM is an FM radio station broadcasting at 107.7 MHz near Knoxville
, Tennessee
, USA. The station is owned by Cumulus Media
.
WIVK is an Federal Communications Commission
-Licensed Class C FM radio station serving the valleys and mountains of East Tennessee
. WIVK provides country music
, news, and University of Tennessee
sports from its Sequoyah Hills
studios in west Knoxville.
WIVK operates a 91,000-watt transmitter located at Greentop Knob on Chilhowee Mountain
near Pigeon Forge, Tennessee
. The signal can be received in East Tennessee
and parts of southwestern Virginia
, western North Carolina
, southeastern Kentucky
, northern Georgia
, and northwest South Carolina
.
WIVK is deeply rooted in regional heritage. Commonly known as "WIVK {weh-vik} The Frog Station," WIVK has received numerous Country Music Association
, Academy of Country Music
, Associated Press
, NAB Marconi and RTNDA Edward R. Murrow Awards and is the number-one rated station by Arbitron in the Knoxville Media Market..
of WIVK-AM
850's country music format. For several years the station aired a morning show hosted by Claude "The Cat" Tomlinson.
WIVK-FM lost the simulcast when the AM station switched to an adult contemporary format, becoming WHIG-AM. Many of the people were not happy, so the adult contemporary format on WHIG-AM 850 was short-lived. The WIVK-AM simulcast on 107.7 returned.
On September 1, 1988, WIVK-AM 850's signal was donated to the University of Tennessee
and became a news/talk station as WUTK-AM
850. WIVK-AM moved to 990 on the same day and the simulcast continued.
The AM 990/FM 107.7 simulcast lasted almost 9 years when AM 990 went to a news
/talk
format as "NewsTalk 990 WNOX
" and later "NewsTalk 99". Today AM 990 is the Sports Animal which covers University of Tennessee athletics as well as sports across the nation. WIVK-FM 107.7 continues the country music format since they signed on back in 1965.
WIVK has been the number one station in Arbitron
's radio ratings for the Knoxville market in every single survey since the market was first surveyed in 1970, with the exception of the April/May 1971 survey period, in which WNOX 990, at the time a Top 40 station, was number one.
Knoxville, Tennessee
Founded in 1786, Knoxville is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Tennessee, U.S.A., behind Memphis and Nashville, and is the county seat of Knox County. It is the largest city in East Tennessee, and the second-largest city in the Appalachia region...
, Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
, USA. The station is owned by Cumulus Media
Cumulus Media
Cumulus Media, Inc. is the second largest Owner and Operator of AM and FM radio stations in the United States, behind Clear Channel Communications, operating 570 stations in 150 markets as of September 16, 2011. The company also owns Cumulus Media Networks...
.
WIVK is an Federal Communications Commission
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
-Licensed Class C FM radio station serving the valleys and mountains of East Tennessee
East Tennessee
East Tennessee is a name given to approximately the eastern third of the U.S. state of Tennessee, one of the three Grand Divisions of Tennessee defined in state law. East Tennessee consists of 33 counties, 30 located within the Eastern Time Zone and three counties in the Central Time Zone, namely...
. WIVK provides country music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
, news, and University of Tennessee
University of Tennessee
The University of Tennessee is a public land-grant university headquartered at Knoxville, Tennessee, United States...
sports from its Sequoyah Hills
Sequoyah Hills, Tennessee
Sequoyah Hills is a neighborhood in Knoxville, Tennessee, USA, located off Kingston Pike between the city's downtown area and West Knoxville. Initially developed in the 1920s, Sequoyah Hills was one of Knoxville's first suburbs, and today is home to some of the city's most affluent residents...
studios in west Knoxville.
WIVK operates a 91,000-watt transmitter located at Greentop Knob on Chilhowee Mountain
Chilhowee Mountain
Chilhowee Mountain is a low ridge at the outer edge of the Great Smoky Mountains that stretches between the Little Tennessee River to the west and the Little Pigeon River watershed to the east...
near Pigeon Forge, Tennessee
Pigeon Forge, Tennessee
Pigeon Forge is a mountain resort city in Sevier County, Tennessee, located in the southeastern United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 5,875....
. The signal can be received in East Tennessee
East Tennessee
East Tennessee is a name given to approximately the eastern third of the U.S. state of Tennessee, one of the three Grand Divisions of Tennessee defined in state law. East Tennessee consists of 33 counties, 30 located within the Eastern Time Zone and three counties in the Central Time Zone, namely...
and parts of southwestern Virginia
Southwest Virginia
Southwest Virginia, often abbreviated as SWVA, is a mountainous region of Virginia in the westernmost part of the commonwealth. Southwest Virginia has been defined alternatively as all Virginia counties on the Appalachian Plateau, all Virginia counties west of the Eastern Continental Divide, or...
, western North Carolina
Western North Carolina
Western North Carolina is the region of North Carolina which includes the Appalachian Mountains, thus it is often known geographically as the state's Mountain Region. It is sometimes included with upstate South Carolina as the "Western Carolinas", which is also counted as a single media market...
, southeastern Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
, northern Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
, and northwest South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
.
WIVK is deeply rooted in regional heritage. Commonly known as "WIVK {weh-vik} The Frog Station," WIVK has received numerous Country Music Association
Country Music Association
The Country Music Association was founded in 1958 in Nashville, Tennessee. It originally consisted of only 233 members and was the first trade organization formed to promote a music genre...
, Academy of Country Music
Academy of Country Music
The Academy of Country Music was founded in 1964 in Los Angeles, California as the Country & Western Music Academy. Whereas the Country Music Association, founded in 1958, was based in Nashville, the Academy sought to promote country music in the western states. Among those involved in the...
, Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
, NAB Marconi and RTNDA Edward R. Murrow Awards and is the number-one rated station by Arbitron in the Knoxville Media Market..
History
WIVK-FM signed on the air on December 16, 1965 as a simulcastSimulcast
Simulcast, shorthand for "simultaneous broadcast", refers to programs or events broadcast across more than one medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at the same time. For example, Absolute Radio is simulcast on both AM and on satellite radio, and the BBC's Prom concerts are often...
of WIVK-AM
WKVL
WKVL is a radio station broadcasting a Classic country format. Licensed to Knoxville, Tennessee, USA, the station serves the Knoxville area...
850's country music format. For several years the station aired a morning show hosted by Claude "The Cat" Tomlinson.
WIVK-FM lost the simulcast when the AM station switched to an adult contemporary format, becoming WHIG-AM. Many of the people were not happy, so the adult contemporary format on WHIG-AM 850 was short-lived. The WIVK-AM simulcast on 107.7 returned.
On September 1, 1988, WIVK-AM 850's signal was donated to the University of Tennessee
University of Tennessee
The University of Tennessee is a public land-grant university headquartered at Knoxville, Tennessee, United States...
and became a news/talk station as WUTK-AM
WKVL
WKVL is a radio station broadcasting a Classic country format. Licensed to Knoxville, Tennessee, USA, the station serves the Knoxville area...
850. WIVK-AM moved to 990 on the same day and the simulcast continued.
The AM 990/FM 107.7 simulcast lasted almost 9 years when AM 990 went to a news
News
News is the communication of selected information on current events which is presented by print, broadcast, Internet, or word of mouth to a third party or mass audience.- Etymology :...
/talk
Talk radio
Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often feature interviews with a number of different guests. Talk radio typically includes an element of listener participation, usually by broadcasting live...
format as "NewsTalk 990 WNOX
WNOX
WNOX is a radio station in the Knoxville, Tennessee area. It broadcasts a news-talk format.WNOX operates a 100,000-watt transmitter, located on Cross Mountain north of Briceville, Tennessee...
" and later "NewsTalk 99". Today AM 990 is the Sports Animal which covers University of Tennessee athletics as well as sports across the nation. WIVK-FM 107.7 continues the country music format since they signed on back in 1965.
WIVK has been the number one station in Arbitron
Arbitron
Arbitron is a consumer research company in the United States that collects listener data on radio audiences. It was founded as American Research Bureau by Jim Seiler in 1949 and became national by merging with L.A. based Coffin, Cooper and Clay in the early 1950s...
's radio ratings for the Knoxville market in every single survey since the market was first surveyed in 1970, with the exception of the April/May 1971 survey period, in which WNOX 990, at the time a Top 40 station, was number one.
Talent
| 2>Hours | 2>Talent |
|---|---|
| Andy & Allison And The Morning Crew | |
| 5:45 A.M. - 10:00 A.M. | Andy Richie, Allison West, Jimmy Holt |
| Colleen's Radio Cafe | |
| 10:00 A.M. - 3:00 P.M. | Colleen Adair |
| The Ride with your Cowboy Pal Gunner | |
| 3:00 P.M. - 7:00 P.M. | Gunner |
| WIVK at Night with Jack Ryan | |
| 7:00 P.M. - 12:00 A.M. | Jack Ryan |
| Overnight | |
| 12:00 A.M. - 5:45 A.M. | Hoss |
Further reading
- Ed HooperEd HooperWilliam Edward Hooper is an author, news broadcaster and columnist from Knoxville, Tennessee. He is most widely known for his work in military affairs reporting and his coverage of historic preservation and U.S. veterans issues....
(2008), Knoxville's WIVK, Arcadia PublishingArcadia PublishingArcadia Publishing is an American publisher of local history.-History:It was founded in Dover, New Hampshire in 1993 by United Kingdom-based Tempus Publishing, but became independent in 2004....
. ISBN 0738567035, ISBN 9780738567037