WMXC
Encyclopedia
WMXC is a radio station
licensed
to serve Mobile, Alabama
, USA. The station is owned by Clear Channel Communications
and the broadcast license is held by CC Licenses, LLC.
Founded in 1947 as WKRG-FM, the station currently broadcasts an adult contemporary music format serving the greater Mobile, Alabama
, and Pensacola, Florida
, area.
, a movie theatre owner, broadcast
pioneer, and architect
. Giddens owned the WKRG radio stations and WKRG-TV
, the latter of which continues to broadcast with the same call letters. Giddens would go on to head the Voice of America
from 1969 to 1977 and served as acting director of Radio Marti
in 1985.
WMXC was originally a simulcast
of AM
sister WKRG — today's WNTM — but adopted a beautiful music
format in 1965. During the 1970s, WKRG-FM became the area's first FM Top-40 station and was known as "G-100". The station has offered some form of pop contemporary format ever since.
For a time in the 1960s, WKRG-TV, Inc., which was the license holder for WKRG, WKRG-FM, and WKRG-TV, was 50%-owned by the Mobile Press-Register. In 1966, when S. I. Newhouse
acquired the Mobile newspaper company he also acquired that 50% ownership stake. Newhouse, who also owned radio stations associated with his other two Alabama-based newspapers, would later sell all of these stations to focus on the print side of his media empire.
Station founder Kenneth Giddens, a former board member of the National Association of Broadcasters
, died in May 1993. After nearly five decades of operation by the Giddens family, WKRG-TV, Inc., reached an agreement in April 1994 to sell WKRG-FM to Coast Radio, LLC. The deal was approved by the FCC on July 21, 1994. In September 1994, Coast Radio, LLC, flipped the station to Capitol Broadcasting Company, LLC. The deal was approved by the FCC on December 15, 1994, and the transaction was consummated the same day.
The station was assigned the call letters WKRD by the Federal Communications Commission
on September 12, 1994
. This change would prove short-lived as the station was assigned the current WMXC callsign on October 3, 1994.
In April 1997, Capitol Broadcasting Company, LLC, made a deal to sell this station to Clear Channel Communications
through their Clear Channel Radio License, Inc, subsidiary. The deal, part of the $24 million complete acquisition of Capital Broadcasting, was approved by the FCC on November 21, 1997, and the transaction was consummated on December 31, 1997.
WMXC has used the monikers "Coast 100" and "Mix 99.9"; but since May 7, 1998, the station has operated with its current name and format.
Hurricane Ivan
struck the Gulf Coast in 2004, and Hurricane Katrina
followed in 2005. On both occasions, the station dropped all regular programming, and along with WKSJ, broadcast local hurricane and recovery information. It was the market's only radio-specific storm coverage. During Katrina, WMXC's continuous local coverage ran for 122 consecutive hours.
In 2006, WMXC began streaming on the Internet but with a different commercial
schedule than its over-the-air signal. During 2007, the station started broadcasting in HD
. A secondary HD-2 channel is also operating with a full-time Smooth Jazz
format, a complement to the primary station's Smooth Jazz Sunday Brunch.
to play 100% Christmas music
during the holiday
season, between Thanksgiving
and Christmas Day. WMXC joined KESZ
/Phoenix, Arizona
, which had previously adopted the all-Christmas tactic. The strategy was a success, cementing WMXC's position in the Mobile and Pensacola markets. WMXC continues to offer all-Christmas music for the holidays each year.
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
licensed
City of license
A city of license or community of license, in American and Canadian broadcasting, is the community that a radio station or television station is officially licensed to serve by that country's broadcast regulator....
to serve Mobile, Alabama
Mobile, Alabama
Mobile is the third most populous city in the Southern US state of Alabama and is the county seat of Mobile County. It is located on the Mobile River and the central Gulf Coast of the United States. The population within the city limits was 195,111 during the 2010 census. It is the largest...
, USA. The station is owned by Clear Channel Communications
Clear Channel Communications
Clear Channel Communications, Inc. is an American media conglomerate company headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It was founded in 1972 by Lowry Mays and Red McCombs, and was taken private by Bain Capital LLC and Thomas H. Lee Partners LP in a leveraged buyout in 2008...
and the broadcast license is held by CC Licenses, LLC.
Founded in 1947 as WKRG-FM, the station currently broadcasts an adult contemporary music format serving the greater Mobile, Alabama
Mobile, Alabama
Mobile is the third most populous city in the Southern US state of Alabama and is the county seat of Mobile County. It is located on the Mobile River and the central Gulf Coast of the United States. The population within the city limits was 195,111 during the 2010 census. It is the largest...
, and Pensacola, Florida
Pensacola, Florida
Pensacola is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle and the county seat of Escambia County, Florida, United States of America. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 56,255 and as of 2009, the estimated population was 53,752...
, area.
History
WMXC can trace its history back to October 16, 1947, when it signed on as WKRG-FM. The original call letters represented the initials of Kenneth R. GiddensKenneth R. Giddens
Kenneth R. Giddens was an architect and movie theater owner, but most notably the broadcaster who put two radio stations and one television station based in Mobile, Alabama on the air, all at one point in time bearing the call sign “WKRG”...
, a movie theatre owner, broadcast
Broadcast
Broadcast or Broadcasting may refer to:* Broadcasting, the transmission of audio and video signals* Broadcast, an individual television program or radio program* Broadcast , an English electronic music band...
pioneer, and architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
. Giddens owned the WKRG radio stations and WKRG-TV
WKRG-TV
WKRG-TV, virtual channel 5 , is the CBS-affiliated television station for Mobile, Alabama, Pensacola, Florida, and Pascagoula/Biloxi, Mississippi; and has been the network's affiliate in the area since its inception on August 29, 1955. The station was founded by the architect and movie theater...
, the latter of which continues to broadcast with the same call letters. Giddens would go on to head the Voice of America
Voice of America
Voice of America is the official external broadcast institution of the United States federal government. It is one of five civilian U.S. international broadcasters working under the umbrella of the Broadcasting Board of Governors . VOA provides a wide range of programming for broadcast on radio...
from 1969 to 1977 and served as acting director of Radio Marti
Radio Martí
Radio y Televisión Martí is a radio and television broadcaster based in Miami, Florida, financed by the United States government , which transmits Spanish radio broadcasts to Cuba...
in 1985.
WMXC was originally a simulcast
Simulcast
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 AM
AM broadcasting
AM broadcasting is the process of radio broadcasting using amplitude modulation. AM was the first method of impressing sound on a radio signal and is still widely used today. Commercial and public AM broadcasting is carried out in the medium wave band world wide, and on long wave and short wave...
sister WKRG — today's WNTM — but adopted a beautiful music
Beautiful music
Beautiful music is a mostly instrumental music format that was prominent in American radio from the 1960s through the 1980s...
format in 1965. During the 1970s, WKRG-FM became the area's first FM Top-40 station and was known as "G-100". The station has offered some form of pop contemporary format ever since.
For a time in the 1960s, WKRG-TV, Inc., which was the license holder for WKRG, WKRG-FM, and WKRG-TV, was 50%-owned by the Mobile Press-Register. In 1966, when S. I. Newhouse
Samuel Irving Newhouse, Sr.
Samuel Irving Newhouse, Sr. was an American broadcasting businessman, magazine and newspaper publisher. He was the founder of Advance Publications, eventually taken over by his son, Samuel Irving Newhouse, Jr..-Biography:...
acquired the Mobile newspaper company he also acquired that 50% ownership stake. Newhouse, who also owned radio stations associated with his other two Alabama-based newspapers, would later sell all of these stations to focus on the print side of his media empire.
Station founder Kenneth Giddens, a former board member of the National Association of Broadcasters
National Association of Broadcasters
The National Association of Broadcasters is a trade association, workers union, and lobby group representing the interests of for-profit, over-the-air radio and television broadcasters in the United States...
, died in May 1993. After nearly five decades of operation by the Giddens family, WKRG-TV, Inc., reached an agreement in April 1994 to sell WKRG-FM to Coast Radio, LLC. The deal was approved by the FCC on July 21, 1994. In September 1994, Coast Radio, LLC, flipped the station to Capitol Broadcasting Company, LLC. The deal was approved by the FCC on December 15, 1994, and the transaction was consummated the same day.
The station was assigned the call letters WKRD by the 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...
on September 12, 1994
1994 in radio
The year 1994 in radio involved some significant events.-Events:*January 11 - The Irish government announces the end of a 15-year broadcasting ban on the Provisional Irish Republican Army and its political arm Sinn Féin....
. This change would prove short-lived as the station was assigned the current WMXC callsign on October 3, 1994.
In April 1997, Capitol Broadcasting Company, LLC, made a deal to sell this station to Clear Channel Communications
Clear Channel Communications
Clear Channel Communications, Inc. is an American media conglomerate company headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It was founded in 1972 by Lowry Mays and Red McCombs, and was taken private by Bain Capital LLC and Thomas H. Lee Partners LP in a leveraged buyout in 2008...
through their Clear Channel Radio License, Inc, subsidiary. The deal, part of the $24 million complete acquisition of Capital Broadcasting, was approved by the FCC on November 21, 1997, and the transaction was consummated on December 31, 1997.
WMXC has used the monikers "Coast 100" and "Mix 99.9"; but since May 7, 1998, the station has operated with its current name and format.
Hurricane Ivan
Hurricane Ivan
Hurricane Ivan was a large, long-lived, Cape Verde-type hurricane that caused widespread damage in the Caribbean and United States. The cyclone was the ninth named storm, the sixth hurricane and the fourth major hurricane of the active 2004 Atlantic hurricane season...
struck the Gulf Coast in 2004, and Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
followed in 2005. On both occasions, the station dropped all regular programming, and along with WKSJ, broadcast local hurricane and recovery information. It was the market's only radio-specific storm coverage. During Katrina, WMXC's continuous local coverage ran for 122 consecutive hours.
In 2006, WMXC began streaming on the Internet but with a different commercial
Commerce
While business refers to the value-creating activities of an organization for profit, commerce means the whole system of an economy that constitutes an environment for business. The system includes legal, economic, political, social, cultural, and technological systems that are in operation in any...
schedule than its over-the-air signal. During 2007, the station started broadcasting in HD
HD Radio
HD Radio, which originally stood for "Hybrid Digital", is the trademark for iBiquity's in-band on-channel digital radio technology used by AM and FM radio stations to transmit audio and data via a digital signal in conjunction with their analog signals...
. A secondary HD-2 channel is also operating with a full-time Smooth Jazz
Smooth jazz
Smooth jazz is a genre of music that grew out of jazz fusion and is influenced by R&B, funk, rock, and pop music styles ....
format, a complement to the primary station's Smooth Jazz Sunday Brunch.
Christmas music
In 2000, WMXC became one of the first FM stations in the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
to play 100% Christmas music
Christmas music
Christmas music comprises a variety of genres of music normally performed or heard around the Christmas season, which tends to begin in the months leading up the actual holiday and end in the weeks shortly thereafter.-Early:...
during the holiday
Holiday
A Holiday is a day designated as having special significance for which individuals, a government, or a religious group have deemed that observance is warranted. It is generally an official or unofficial observance of religious, national, or cultural significance, often accompanied by celebrations...
season, between Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving (United States)
Thanksgiving, or Thanksgiving Day, is a holiday celebrated in the United States on the fourth Thursday in November. It has officially been an annual tradition since 1863, when, during the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national day of thanksgiving to be celebrated on Thursday,...
and Christmas Day. WMXC joined KESZ
KESZ
KESZ, 99.9KEZ-FM, is an Adult Contemporary outlet based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Clear Channel Communications station broadcasts at 99.9 MHz with an ERP of 99 kW.-History:...
/Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...
, which had previously adopted the all-Christmas tactic. The strategy was a success, cementing WMXC's position in the Mobile and Pensacola markets. WMXC continues to offer all-Christmas music for the holidays each year.