| WIHT | |
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| City of license | Washington, D.C. |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Washington, D.C. |
| Branding | HOT 99.5 |
| Slogan | "DC'S Hottest Music" |
| Frequency | 99.5 MHz (Also on HD Radio) |
| Format | Top 40 (CHR) |
| ERP | 22,000 watts |
| HAAT | 229 meters |
| Class | B |
| Facility ID | 25080 |
| Callsign meaning | W I HOT |
| Owner | Clear Channel Communications |
| Sister stations | WASH, WBIG, WMZQ, WWDC |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | hot995.com |
WIHT (99.5 FM, "HOT 99.5") is a Top 40 (CHR) formatted radio station that serves the greater Washington, DC metropolitan area. The station broadcasts 24 hours a day. WIHT is licensed to and owned by Clear Channel Communications. It is located in Rockville, Maryland.
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History
Long known as WGAY and located in Silver Spring, Maryland, the station ran a beautiful music format in the 1960s and 1970s which evolved to an easy listening format by the 1980s. WGAY would often finish at number one in the Persons 12+ Arbitron radio ratings for the Washington D.C. area during the 70s and 80s.
Television ads for the station in the 70s and 80s featured station programmer Bob Chandler relaxing in a recliner while listening to his station's lite mix of music playing in the background. During the 80s WGAY was reported to be then President Ronald Reagan's favorite radio station.
For a while in the early 1990s, WGAY switched its calls and became "Bright 99.5" WEBR, but listeners didn't accept the more up-tempo music. WGAY switched from the still ratings successful format permanently by the late-90s although not because its listeners were too few but because demographically they were getting too old and therefore less desirable for radio advertisers.
99.5 is currently also available in HD Radio.
Current era
After a switch back to the "easy" WGAY format, in April 1999 the station changed to an urban oldies format, known as WJMO-FM "Jammin' Oldies 99.5." At the time, they were co-owned with AM station WJMO in Cleveland, Ohio. The format lasted for almost two years. The last song played on WJMO was Last Dance by Donna Summer.
That was followed by a final "Survivor Radio" stunt before contemporary hit radio debuted as "Hot 99.5" in April 2001.[1] With the change of format came a change in call sign to the current WIHT ("Hot 99.5") on April 18, 2001.[2]
References
- ^ "Station Information Profile". Arbitron. http://www.arbitron.com/radio_stations/station_information.htm. Retrieved June 28, 2009.
- ^ "Call Sign History". FCC Media Bureau CDBS Public Access Database. http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/pubacc/prod/call_hist.pl?Facility_id=25080&Callsign=WIHT. Retrieved June 28, 2009.
External links
- Hot 99.5 official website
- WIHT-HD2
- WQMR/WGAY Memories
- Query the FCC's FM station database for WIHT
- Radio Locator information on WIHT
- Query Arbitron's FM station database for WIHT
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