WGFX

Infobox Radio Station
name = WGFX


city = Gallatin, Tennessee
area = Nashville, Tennessee
branding = 104.5 The Zone
slogan = THE Sports Station!
airdate = July 21, 1978
frequency = 104.5 (MHz)
format = Sports Talk
power = 58,000 watts
class = C
owner = Citadel Broadcasting
website = [http://www.1045thezone.com/ www.1045thezone.com]
callsign_meaning = Gallatin's FoX (from its former incarnation as Classic rock 104.5 The Fox, also fits well with its current affiliation with Fox Sports Radio)
sister_stations = WKDF

WGFX is a radio station broadcasting on the FM band at 104.5 MHz licensed to the city of Gallatin, Tennessee, but serving the Nashville market as a whole. It is currently branded as 104.5 The Zone, broadcasting a sports talk format. It is owned by Citadel Broadcasting Company and operates out of studios on Second Avenue South in Nashville. Its transmitter is located just north of downtown Nashville.

History

The station signed on as WFMG-FM on Dec 1, 1960 in Gallatin, Tennessee with a Big Band format. In 1972 Sumner Country Broadcasting Co., which owned WHIN-AM in Gallatin, purchased WFMG and changed call letters to WHIN-FM. During the early years of WHIN-FM, the format was Easy Listening. In 1974, the station switched to an All Oldies format. In July, 1978 WHIN-FM switched formats to CHR. Just over one month later, the call letters were changed to WWKX using the moniker Kicks 104. In the late 70s and early 80s, the station was very popular and featured morning DJ Coyote McCloud. Its 100,000 watt signal broadcasting from "Music Mountain", one of the highest points on the northern Highland Rim north of Gallatin [about 30 miles (47 km) northeast of Nashville] and the site of several broadcasting facilities, boomed far into the rural areas of northern Tennessee and southern Kentucky. By the mid 1980s, WGFX was faced with competition from two new area CHRs, "96 Kiss" (WZKS, now WCJK) and "Y107" (WYHY, now WRVW). Additionally, McCloud defected to WYHY in 1985 to host its morning show. To try to differentiate itself, WWKX segued into a rock-leaning Top-40 format calling itself "Rock Hits 104, Kicks FM". This move proved unfruitful, and the station evolved back to mainstream CHR a year later in 1986. Faced with the success of Y107, this would not last.

In the summer of 1987, WWKX moved its tower from Music Mountain into Nashville and downgraded power, noticeably affecting signal strength in rural areas north of the city. The call letters changed to WGFX on August 13, 1987 and the moniker became 104.5 The Fox with a classic rock format. In the late 1980s, Dick Broadcasting took over operations of the station through a Local Marketing Agreement, and paired it with its popular rock and roll station WKDF (now a country music station) to form "Nashville's Rock Network". The format would undergo several position and moniker changes throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, mostly involving variations on 1970s rock music (except for 15 months from late 1998 to early 2000 when the station featured rhythmic oldies). The call letters, however, have not changed since 1987.

The station was purchased outright by Dick Broadcasting following the Telecommunications Act of 1996, and then Citadel purchased the station (along with all of DBC's assets outside the Greenville, South Carolina market) in September 2000.

Its current format, "104.5 The Zone" (sports talk), began its life on August 11, 2003 after hiring popular personality George Plaster away from WWTN (99.7 FM), though because of a contract dispute, he did not appear on the station until two months after its launch.

In the past, WGFX has been the host to popular syndicated morning show personalities "John Boy and Billy" and "Rick and Bubba". It is currently the Nashville affiliate for "The Jim Rome Show" and "Fox Sports Radio".

WGFX was the flagship station for the Tennessee Oilers/Titans of the NFL from 1997 until the completion of the 2001 season, when the rights were shifted to WGFX's sister station, WKDF (WGFX returned as an "affiliate" station of the team's network for the 2004 season only). WGFX also aired the franchise's games in 1996, the final year the team was located in Houston.

WGFX is currently the flagship for the Nashville Predators of the NHL and Football and men's basketball broadcasts for Vanderbilt University. It also carries NBA games of the Memphis Grizzlies and Belmont University men's basketball games which do not conflict with the aforementioned teams. On June 14, 2006, the agreement to extend the Predators' contract with WGFX for an additional two years was announced on "The Sports Zone".

Breaks in current format

The station deviates from the sports format for four hours on Saturday mornings when programming relating to home improvement and lawns and gardens are broadcast. The station also broadcasts an hour block of public affairs programming on Sunday morning in accordance with FCC regulations.

Prior formats

*Rockin' Hits 104.5 WGFX - Classic Hits, 2002-2003
*The New 104 The Core (briefly known as The New 104—That 70's Station) - Classic rock, 2000-2002
*Groovin' Hits 104.5 (briefly known as Hot 104.5 and Jammin' Oldies 104.5) - R&B Oldies, 1998-2000
*Arrow 104.5 - Classic Hits, 1993-1998
*104.5 The Fox - Classic Rock, 1988-1993 (call letters changed to WGFX, which stood for Gallatin's FoX)
*KX104 - Top 40, 1986-1987
*Rock Hits 104, Kicks FM - Rock/Top 40, 1985-1986
*Kicks 104 - Top 40, 1978-1985 (as WHIN-FM and WWKX)
*WHIN-FM - Oldies, 1974-1978/Easy Listening, 1972-1974
*WFMG-FM - Big Bands, 1960-1972

Famous station alumni

*Hallerin Hilton Hill - "2003-2005"
*Coyote McCloud - "1980s"
*Carl P. Mayfield - "2003"
*Mike "The Duke" Donegan - "2003-2004"
*George Plaster - "2003-present"
*Rich "Brother" Robbin - "2002-2003"
*Frank Wycheck - "2004-present"

ee also

*List of Nashville media

External links

* [http://www.1045thezone.com/ Official site]
* [http://www.1045wgfx.com/ Former site] - from "Rockin' Hits 104.5 WGFX" days - site still available for viewing
*fmq|WGFX