WIMZ-FM
United Stations Radio Network | |
| Ownership | |
|---|---|
| Owner |
|
| WJXB-FM, WDKW, WNFZ | |
| History | |
First air date | October 1949 (as WBIR-FM) |
Former call signs | WBIR-FM (1949–1980) |
| Technical information | |
| Facility ID | 61046 |
| Class | C |
| ERP | 79,000 watts |
| HAAT | 525 meters (1,722 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 36°8′6.00″N 83°43′29.00″W / 36.1350000°N 83.7247222°W |
| Links | |
| Webcast | Listen Live Listen Live on iHeart |
| Website | wimz.com |
WIMZ-FM (103.5
Weekday mornings begin with
Tower
The WIMZ tower is 534 meters (1,752 ft) tall. It is a guy-wired aerial mast, designed for broadcasting Channel 10 WBIR-TV, originally the CBS Network affiliate for Knoxville (geographical coordinates: 36°8′6″N 83°43′29″W / 36.13500°N 83.72472°W). The tower was completed during September 1963 and at the time was the tallest structure in the world.[1] It is currently owned by South Central Communications.
WIMZ has an effective radiated power (ERP) of 79,000 watts, among the most powerful radio stations in East Tennessee. Its signal can be received in parts of Kentucky, Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia and South Carolina.
While the tower was on one of the tallest peaks in the area, WBIR-TV's signal was shielded by mountains from some communities west of Knoxville, including Farragut, Oak Ridge, and Lenoir City. To improve its signal in those towns, Channel 10 relocated to Sharp's Ridge near downtown Knoxville during the 1970s, and the FM station remained on the original tower. To maintain coverage, WIMZ's antenna is located 525 meters (1,722 ft) in height above average terrain (HAAT), about 9 meters (30 ft) below the top of the tower.
Before the tall WBIR-TV mast was built in 1963, the owner of the television station had planned the tower to be erected on nearby House Mountain, the tallest point in Knox County, Tennessee. But WBIR's main competitor WATE-TV Channel 6 ended that idea by purchasing all the property on top of House Mountain, forcing the WBIR owners to build a taller tower on nearby Zachary Ridge at Blaine, Tennessee.
History
WBIR-FM
The station first
WBIR-AM-FM were
Rock station WIMZ
In 1979, the station flipped to
At the start of 1983, WIMZ altered its format to add more current new wave and heavy metal music acts and reduce much of the 1960s and early 70s classic rock. It also stopped using the name Rock 104 and began identifying as "103.5 WIMZ", with a new logo modeled on that of MTV.
During 1982, co-owned WHEL 1240 AM dropped its
During the 1980s and 1990s, WIMZ-FM had a popular morning program hosted by Phil Williams, Billy Kidd, and Colvin Idol (later replaced by David Henley).
Sale to Midwest Communications
On May 28, 2014,
Currently, The
See also
- List of masts
- House Mountain
References
- ^ Jack Neely, Knoxville's Secret History (Scruffy Books, 1995), p. 155.
- ^ Broadcasting Yearbook 1951 page 285, Broadcasting & Cable
- ^ Broadcasting Yearbook 1968 page B153, Broadcasting & Cable
- ^ Midwest Communications Acquires South Central Communications
- ^ "South Central Radio Group". Archived from the original on 2015-10-11. Retrieved 2014-10-03.
- ^ "Mediabase Playback". playback.mediabase.com. Retrieved 2010-05-05.
External links
- WIMZ-FM official website
- WIMZ in the FCC FM station database
- WIMZ in Nielsen Audio's FM station database
- Article on the tower's history
- WIMZ-FM Tower at Structurae
- "Listing 1043698". Antenna Structure Registration database. U.S. Federal Communications Commission.
- Drawing at skyscraperpage.com