WKHY

Infobox Radio Station
name = WKHY


city =
area = Lafayette, Indiana
branding = 93-5 'KHY
slogan = Lafayette's Rock Station
airdate =
frequency = 93.5 (MHz)
format = Album-oriented rock
erp = 2,950 watts
class = A
owner = WASK, Inc.
website = [http://www.wkhy.com/ wkhy.com]
callsign_meaning = W Klassic Hits for You

WKHY, "Lafayette's Rock Station" is an FM radio station licensed to the city of Lafayette, Indiana. The station operates on the FM radio frequency of 93.5 MHz, FM channel 228. [http://svartifoss2.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/pubacc/prod/sta_det.pl?Facility_id=63185] . The studios are located at 3575 McCarty Lane in Lafayette, Indiana.

History

WKHY was originally WXUS, a radio station located at 92.7 MHz on the FM dial. The station originally carried religious/inspirational programming until the station was sold to a secular broadcaster. The format then became Adult contemporary as "US 93". In addition to the AC format, the station also carried some religious programming during the late night/early morning hours to fulfill their license requirements. This continued until the station moved frequencies. In the mid-80s, the AC format was dropped in favor of album-oriented rock. The station continued to call themselves "US 93". In the late 80s, the station moved to 93.5MHz as a result of a frequency reassignment which affected many stations in the 92-94MHz band throughout North-central Indiana and East-central Illinois. Shortly after the switch, despite high ratings, the station flipped its format to Classic hits due to a lack of advertising. A contest was then launched to pick the call letters for the station. The winner chose WKHY, meaning Klassic Hits for You. The calls remain on 93.5 to this day.

Classic hits remained on the station through the early 1990s when the station segued to Classic rock. WKHY would also tweak their on-air branding to "93-5 KHY". In 1996, Artistic Media Partners' fledging country music outlet, WGBD, switched to an alternative rock format giving WKHY a direct competitor. This especially proved true when WGBD won the rights to air the syndicated and regionally popular Bob & Tom Show over WKHY. Due to the competition playing mainly new rock, KHY decided to move back in a more contemporary direction to protect their heritage as Lafayette's Rock station. WKHY became Album-oriented rock as "Real Rock 93-5 KHY". Both stations fared well with KHY winning mainly the upper end of their targer demo and WGBD winning the younger end and college crowd, according to Arbitron. In 2001, WGBD flipped to classic rock and now competes with WKHY for the older male demographic. KHY maintained their AOR format and, to this day, continue to be a ratings winner for males 18-49 and have also recently included a contest for 49-70.

Interesting Fact

WKHY is one of the few remaining true album-oriented rock stations left in the USA.

External links

* [http://www.wkhy.com 93-5 'KHY Website]
*FMQ|WKHY
*FML|WKHY
*FMARB|WKHY