WGFX

WGFX (104.5

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.^[2]

In the late 1980s, Dick Broadcasting Company (DBC) took over operations of the station through a local marketing agreement (LMA), and paired it with its popular rock and roll station WKDF to form "Nashville's Rock Network". In the early 1990s, the station became known as "Arrow 104.5" (with Arrow originally standing for "All Rock n' Roll Oldies"). This format was somewhat successful and endured until the late 1990s.

The station was purchased outright by Dick Broadcasting Company following the Telecommunications Act of 1996, which, in part, loosened broadcast ownership rules. Shortly after the acquisition, Dick Broadcasting entered into an agreement with SFX Broadcasting, the then-owner of WLAC-FM, to trade the intellectual property of the stations. The trade, to have taken place February 2, 1998, would have moved WLAC-FM's adult contemporary format to 104.5 FM, and moved WGFX's classic rock format to 105.9 under SFX ownership. However, when the agreement fell apart, SFX converted WLAC-FM to a classic rock format of its own, changed the call letters to WNRQ, and began to compete directly with WGFX.

Rhythmic Oldies

Responding to the early ratings success of WNRQ, WGFX reformatted to rhythmic oldies as "Jammin' Oldies 104.5", on December 11, 1998, but quickly changed its name to "Groovin' Hits 104.5" after a brief trademark dispute.^[3]

In early 1999, WGFX was slated to convert to a country music outlet built around local air personality Carl P. Mayfield. Dick Broadcasting purchased advertising in other media promoting Mayfield's impending debut on 104.5 WGFX. However, the company ultimately succumbed to Mayfield's repeated demands that the format be installed on the stronger-signalled WKDF, leaving WGFX to continue broadcasting rhythmic oldies.

Classic Hits

In January 2000, the station reverted to a classic hits format, focusing mainly on 1970s music. First known as simply "The New 104 — That '70s Station", it became "The New 104 — The Core" a few months later, and was positioned as a lighter alternative to WNRQ.

Citadel Broadcasting purchased the station (along with all of DBC's assets outside the Greenville, South Carolina market) in September 2000. In the summer of 2002, the station broadened its playlist to include music from 1980s, and changed its name to "Rockin' Hits 104.5 WGFX", marking the only time the station has used those call letters in its branding.

Sports 104.5 The Zone

The All Sports format began on August 11, 2003, with the station renamed "104.5 The Zone." Management hired popular personalities George Plaster, Willy Daunic and Darren McFarland away from Cumulus Media station WWTN (99.7 FM). However, because of litigation surrounding a contract dispute, Plaster did not appear on the station until two months after its launch.

In the early days of the Zone, the station had a heavy focus on local news, and featured general-interest talk on weekdays from 6am-Noon, with sports in all other dayparts. For the first three weeks of the talk format, the station broadcast "The Rick and Bubba Show" (a holdover from the previous "Rockin' Hits" format). It then brought over Mayfield's "Carl P. & The P-Team" show from WKDF, where it had been replaced in morning drive. Following Mayfield's exit in December 2003, the station began broadcasting "The Wake-Up Zone" in early mornings, featuring Mayfield's supporting cast, but led by Nashville music industry executive Charlie Monk. Popular Knoxville morning talk personality Hallerin Hilton Hill also hosted a 2-hour version of his show for the Nashville market in the late morning slot.

Over the course of 18 months, the station migrated to 24/7 sports talk. Hill's show was canceled, and "The Wake-Up Zone" was converted to a sports-focused show, replacing Charlie Monk & Mike Donegan with Kevin Ingram and retired Titans tight end Frank Wycheck. They joined Mark Howard, who continued with the show from its previous iteration. The trio of Ingram, Howard and Wycheck continued on the show until 2017, when Wycheck left the show and was replaced with another former Titans star, Blaine Bishop.

Titans and Volunteers Football

WGFX was the

WGFX is the major Nashville-area affiliate for the University of Tennessee Volunteers football^[4] and men's basketball,^[5] The Vols moved to WGFX on 2010 after many years on WLAC.

The station also broadcasts selected Belmont Bruins men's basketball games which do not conflict with the Vols.^[6]

In the past, WGFX has served as the flagship station for the Nashville Predators (NHL, 2005–2010), Vanderbilt Commodores (SEC, 2004–2009), and Nashville Sounds (PCL, 2010–2011).

WGFX has previously served as the Nashville affiliate for