WXMA

Infobox Radio station
name = WXMA


city = Louisville, Kentucky
area = Louisville
branding = "102.3 The Max"
slogan = "The 90s And Today"
airdate = 1964
frequency = 102.3 FM
format = Hot Adult Contemporary
power =
erp = 6,000 watts
haat = 87 meters (286 feet)
class = A
facility_id = 37236
coordinates = 38° 14' 37" N, 85° 45' 34" W
callsign_meaning = "MAX" (The station's moniker.)
former_callsigns = WLRS (1964-2000), WULV (2000-2002)
owner = Main Line Broadcasting
licensee =
sister_stations =
webcast =
website = http://www.themaxfm.com
affiliations =

WXMA, also known as "102.3 The Max", is a Hot Adult Contemporary station located in Louisville, Kentucky. The station is licensed by the FCC to broadcast on 102.3 FM with a ERP of 6 kW.

tation history

102.3 FM signed on as WLRS in 1964 as a stand-alone FM station for Louisville Radio School (hence the call-letters for the station). The station was used as a training ground for the school's broadcast students in its early years. In the late 1960s, station owner Clarence Henson entered into an agreement to sell WLRS to crosstown AM Top 40 WAKY, but the deal fell apart when WAKY did not meet the six month deadline to complete the transaction. By 1970, WLRS was noted as being one of only nine stand-alone FMs in the state of Kentucky.

WLRS went to first place in the Arbitron ratings in 1978. By that time, the station was Album Rock, a format that the station had adopted for many years.

However, by 1981 WLRS was beaten by rival Album Rock station WQMF in the ratings and in 1984, the station switched to Top 40, adding pop and urban artists like Michael Jackson and Whitney Houston to its playlist (while still leaning toward Rock), to fill the void left when WKJJ abandoned Top 40 for Adult Contemporary in 1982. Eventually WKJJ switched back to CHR as WDJX and both WLRS and WDJX (which leaned more toward R&B and dance) battled each other for the next few years before WLRS evolved back to Album Rock in the late 80s. By that time, ratings were poor.

On January 1 1991, WLRS dropped Album Rock for Adult Contemporary as "Mix 102", using the "WMIX" call-letters as part of the on-air handle but retaining the WLRS call-letters as their legal ID. Shortly afterwards, the real WMIX in Mount Vernon, Illinois issued a C&D letter to WLRS, which forced the station to dropped the fake "WMIX" call sign from the station's name, but the Adult Contemporary format continued for the next several years, while ratings remained low.

In 1997, WLRS dropped AC for Alternative rock as "LRS 102.3".

In February 2000, WLRS moved from 102.3 to 105.1, while 102.3 was launched as a Soft Adult Contemporary outlet "Love 102.3" under the WULV call letters.

In August 2002, WULV dropped Soft Adult Contemporary for Hot Adult Contemporary as "102.3 The Max" WXMA.

WXMA is owned by Main Line Broadcasting.

External links

* [http://www.themaxfm.com/ 102.3 The Max's official station website]
* [http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/fmq?list=0&facid=37236 WXMA's FCC entry]
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