WHXT
Encyclopedia
WHXT is an urban contemporary
radio station licensed to Orangeburg, South Carolina
and serves the Columbia, South Carolina
market. The Inner City Broadcasting outlet is licensed by the Federal Communications Commission
(FCC) to broadcast at 103.9 MHz with an effective radiated power
(ERP) of 9.2 kW. The station goes by the name Hot 103.9 and its current slogan is "Columbia's #1 Choice for Blazin' Hip-Hop and R&B."
format. It shared property with Top 40-formatted WORG 1580, but was under slightly different ownership. In 1976, WHCE became WORG-FM and switched to a Top 40-Adult Contemporary hybrid format, simulcasting much of the programming with the AM station in the process.
In the Spring of 1989, WORG-FM changed formats to CHR
as WKSO with the moniker of 103.9 Kiss-FM (The WORG call letters eventually resurfaced on a new FM station licensed to the nearby community of Elloree). The CHR format lasted until the early 90s when it changed, once again to Urban Contemporary
.
For the next several years, the station had various Urban
formats, including a period where the station simulcasted with WKWQ (now WZMJ
) in the Columbia radio market. By June 1999, the station had made a long-planned move into the Columbia market, becoming WHXT with the Hot 103.9 moniker. The station was the first serious challenger to WWDM
's long-standing dominance in the Urban Contemporary
format, eventually beating them in the Arbitron
ratings on several occasions. ICBC bought out WHXT in 2003, and WWDM restructured its format to an Urban AC.
WHXT was home to the nationally syndicated Doug Banks Morning Show
until the end of 2007; it is now home to The Rickey Smiley Morning Show.
The station is owned by Inner City Broadcasting, which also owns Urban AC
WWDM
, Classic rock
WMFX
, Alternative
WARQ
, ESPN Radio
outlet WZMJ
and Air America Radio
outlet WOIC
in the Columbia radio market.
Urban contemporary
Urban contemporary is a music radio format. The term was coined by the late New York DJ Frankie Crocker in the mid 1970s. Urban contemporary radio stations feature a playlist made up entirely of hip hop/rap, contemporary R&B, pop, electronica such as dubstep and drum and bass and Caribbean music...
radio station licensed to Orangeburg, South Carolina
Orangeburg, South Carolina
Orangeburg, also known as "The Garden City," is the principal city in and the county seat of Orangeburg County, South Carolina, United States. The city is also the fifth oldest city in the state of South Carolina. The city population was 12,765 at the 2000 census, within a Greater Orangeburg...
and serves the Columbia, South Carolina
Columbia, South Carolina
Columbia is the state capital and largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The population was 129,272 according to the 2010 census. Columbia is the county seat of Richland County, but a portion of the city extends into neighboring Lexington County. The city is the center of a metropolitan...
market. The Inner City Broadcasting outlet is licensed 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...
(FCC) to broadcast at 103.9 MHz with an effective radiated power
Effective radiated power
In radio telecommunications, effective radiated power or equivalent radiated power is a standardized theoretical measurement of radio frequency energy using the SI unit watts, and is determined by subtracting system losses and adding system gains...
(ERP) of 9.2 kW. The station goes by the name Hot 103.9 and its current slogan is "Columbia's #1 Choice for Blazin' Hip-Hop and R&B."
History
The station originally signed on in September 1973 as WHCE (call sign meaning "W"e "H"ave "C"ountry "E"ntertainment) in Orangeburg with a CountryCountry 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...
format. It shared property with Top 40-formatted WORG 1580, but was under slightly different ownership. In 1976, WHCE became WORG-FM and switched to a Top 40-Adult Contemporary hybrid format, simulcasting much of the programming with the AM station in the process.
In the Spring of 1989, WORG-FM changed formats to CHR
Contemporary hit radio
Contemporary hit radio is a radio format that is common in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by the Top 40 music charts...
as WKSO with the moniker of 103.9 Kiss-FM (The WORG call letters eventually resurfaced on a new FM station licensed to the nearby community of Elloree). The CHR format lasted until the early 90s when it changed, once again to Urban Contemporary
Urban contemporary
Urban contemporary is a music radio format. The term was coined by the late New York DJ Frankie Crocker in the mid 1970s. Urban contemporary radio stations feature a playlist made up entirely of hip hop/rap, contemporary R&B, pop, electronica such as dubstep and drum and bass and Caribbean music...
.
For the next several years, the station had various Urban
Urban contemporary
Urban contemporary is a music radio format. The term was coined by the late New York DJ Frankie Crocker in the mid 1970s. Urban contemporary radio stations feature a playlist made up entirely of hip hop/rap, contemporary R&B, pop, electronica such as dubstep and drum and bass and Caribbean music...
formats, including a period where the station simulcasted with WKWQ (now WZMJ
WZMJ
WZMJ is an all-sports station licensed to Batesburg, South Carolina and serves the Columbia, South Carolina market. The Inner City Broadcasting outlet is licensed by the Federal Communications Commission to broadcast at 93.1 MHz with an effective radiated power of 3 kW...
) in the Columbia radio market. By June 1999, the station had made a long-planned move into the Columbia market, becoming WHXT with the Hot 103.9 moniker. The station was the first serious challenger to WWDM
WWDM
WWDM is a Urban Adult Contemporary radio station licensed to Sumter, South Carolina and serves the Columbia, South Carolina market. The Inner City Broadcasting outlet is licensed by the Federal Communications Commission to broadcast at 101.3 MHz with an effective radiated power of 100 kW...
's long-standing dominance in the Urban Contemporary
Urban contemporary
Urban contemporary is a music radio format. The term was coined by the late New York DJ Frankie Crocker in the mid 1970s. Urban contemporary radio stations feature a playlist made up entirely of hip hop/rap, contemporary R&B, pop, electronica such as dubstep and drum and bass and Caribbean music...
format, eventually beating them in the 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...
ratings on several occasions. ICBC bought out WHXT in 2003, and WWDM restructured its format to an Urban AC.
WHXT was home to the nationally syndicated Doug Banks Morning Show
Doug Banks
Doug Banks is an American radio personality and host of The Doug Banks Radio Show.-Career highlights:The Philadelphia-born, Detroit raised Banks began his radio career broadcasting on the high school radio station. Local station WDRQ took notice of his talent and offered him a spot as a temporary...
until the end of 2007; it is now home to The Rickey Smiley Morning Show.
The station is owned by Inner City Broadcasting, which also owns Urban AC
Urban Adult Contemporary
Urban adult contemporary is the name for a format of radio music, similar to an urban contemporary format. Radio stations using this format usually would not have rap music on their playlists. The format was designed by Barry Mayo when he, Lee S. Simonson and Bill Pearson organized Broadcast...
WWDM
WWDM
WWDM is a Urban Adult Contemporary radio station licensed to Sumter, South Carolina and serves the Columbia, South Carolina market. The Inner City Broadcasting outlet is licensed by the Federal Communications Commission to broadcast at 101.3 MHz with an effective radiated power of 100 kW...
, Classic rock
Classic rock
Classic rock is a radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format features music ranging generally from the late 1960s to the late 1980s, primarily focusing on the hard rock genre that peaked in popularity in the...
WMFX
WMFX
WMFX is a Classic rock radio station licensed to St. Andrews, South Carolina and serves the Columbia, South Carolina market. The Inner City Broadcasting outlet is licensed by the Federal Communications Commission to broadcast at 102.3 MHz with an effective radiated power of 6 kW...
, Alternative
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
WARQ
WARQ
WARQ is a Modern Rock radio station licensed to Columbia, South Carolina and serves the Columbia market. The Inner City Broadcasting outlet is licensed by the Federal Communications Commission to broadcast at 93.5 MHz with an effective radiated power of 2.8 kW...
, ESPN Radio
ESPN Radio
ESPN Radio is an American sports radio network. It was launched on January 1, 1992 under the original banner of "SportsRadio ESPN." ESPN Radio is located at ESPN headquarters in Bristol, Connecticut...
outlet WZMJ
WZMJ
WZMJ is an all-sports station licensed to Batesburg, South Carolina and serves the Columbia, South Carolina market. The Inner City Broadcasting outlet is licensed by the Federal Communications Commission to broadcast at 93.1 MHz with an effective radiated power of 3 kW...
and Air America Radio
Air America Radio
Air America was an American radio network specializing in progressive talk programming...
outlet WOIC
WOIC
WOIC is a News/Talk radio station licensed to Columbia, South Carolina. It serves the Columbia market. The Inner City Broadcasting outlet is licensed by the Federal Communications Commission to broadcast at 1230 kHz with an effective radiated power of 1 kW full time...
in the Columbia radio market.