WNNX

WNNX (100.5 MHz, "Rock 100.5") is a commercial FM radio station licensed to College Park, Georgia, and serving Metro Atlanta. It is owned and operated by Cumulus Media and airs a mainstream rock radio format. The studios and offices are in Sandy Springs, near the Georgia Highway 400 and Interstate 285 interchange. The facilities are shared by sister stations WWWQ ("Q99.7"), W255CJ 98.9 "99X", W250BC 97.9 "OG 97-9", WKHX 101.5 "Kicks 101-5", and Dickey Broadcasting's WCNN "680 The Fan."

WNNX
CityCollege Park, Georgia
Broadcast areaAtlanta metropolitan area
Frequency100.5 MHz
BrandingRock 100.5
SloganAtlanta's Rock Station
Programming
FormatMainstream Rock
Ownership
OwnerCumulus Media
(Radio License Holding SRC LLC)
Sister stationsWKHX-FM, WWWQ, WWWQ-HD2, WWWQ-HD3
History
First air date1947 (as WHMA-FM in Anniston, AL)
January 12, 2001 (as WWWQ)
Former call signsAnniston, AL:
WHMA-FM (1947-2001)
College Park, GA:
WWWQ (2001-2008)
Call sign meaningW Ninety-Nine X (previous moniker on 99.7 FM)
Technical information
Facility ID73345
ClassC2
ERP13,500 watts
HAAT298 meters (978 ft)
Links
WebcastListen Live
WebsiteAtlantasRockStation.com

WNNX has an effective radiated power (ERP) of 13,500 watts. The transmitter is located in downtown Atlanta atop the Westin Peachtree Plaza Hotel on Peachtree Street.

History

Moving from Alabama

The 100.5 frequency has been in metro Atlanta, licensed to College Park, since early 2001. Before then, the station was licensed to Anniston, Alabama, as WHMA-FM.[1] It started out as a simulcast of WHMA (1400 AM). WHMA-AM-FM were network affiliates of ABC. In the 1970s, WHMA-FM began airing its own country music format as "Alabama 100." (After the move, that call sign shifted to another existing station in Alabama, becoming 95.3 WHMA-FM "The Big 95" in Alexandria.)

Interested in moving the station to the more lucrative Atlanta radio market, owner Robert Gammon proposed that WHMA-FM be re-licensed to Sandy Springs. It would remain at 100,000 watts effective radiated power (ERP) as a Class C station. An agreement had already been made with the nearest co-channel station, WSSL-FM in upstate South Carolina for it to move its transmitter a bit further from Atlanta. However that station was sold to Clear Channel Communications in the interim and the agreement was negated. Additionally, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) ruled that Sandy Springs was "not a community", citing its unincorporated status and letters of support from local organizations in Sandy Springs that had "Atlanta" as their addresses. At that time, Sandy Springs was part of unincorporated Fulton County, before it became an incorporated city in 2006.

After exhausting his funds in pursuit of the reallocation, Gammon sold WHMA-FM to Susquehanna Radio.[2] In a revised application before the FCC, Susquehanna proposed a different city of license, College Park. The FCC approved the application, mostly because the new application downgraded the class of the station from C (up to 100 kW at 600 meters or 1968 feet) to C3 (up to 25 kW at 100 meters or 328 feet) to protect the licensed broadcast range of WSSL-FM. Susquehanna was also forced to slightly null the station's signal away from the direction of WSSL-FM, to stay in compliance with spacing rules. When it went on the air in Atlanta, the station was powered at only 3,000 watts, using the Turner Broadcasting tower, which gave it a height above average terrain (HAAT) of less than 1,000 feet.

The move created spectrum space for two new radio stations in Alabama, but forced two low-power stations off the air: Southern Polytechnic State University low-power station WGHR and Georgia Public Broadcasting FM translator W264AE, both at 100.7 MHz FM. (Ironically, the 99X brand would later itself be moved to such a low-power translator station.)

Q100
Main article: WWWQ

100.5's first format in Atlanta was Top 40 station WWWQ ("Q100"), which made its debut on January 23, 2001. It was the first mainstream Top 40 outlet in Atlanta since WAPW flipped to alternative as WNNX in October 1992.[3] Despite its 3,000 watt signal, Q100 often received higher Arbitron listenership ratings than several of its 100,000-watt competitors, including sister station 99X.

Susquehanna continued to pursue a larger signal for the station, eventually earning approval from the FCC to go from Class C3 to Class C2. The upgrade occurred on October 24, 2005 at 5:00 PM, when the station moved from the Turner Broadcasting tower to the Westin Peachtree Plaza Hotel. WWWQ was now powered at 12,500 watts, using a tower that better covered the Atlanta market.[4] In 2006, Cumulus Media acquired Susquehanna, including both 99X and Q100.

Rock 100.5

On January 11, 2008, Cumulus announced that Q100 would move to the 100,000-watt signal at 99.7 MHz. The transition began on January 21, when "The Bert Show" was simulcast on both stations. (99X's morning show was cancelled the week before.) 99X signed off on 99.7 FM/HD1 and moved to 99.7-HD2 at 5:30 a.m. on January 25. On the same day, 100.5 began stunting, first with Beyoncé Knowles singing "To the Left" (from her song "Irreplaceable") and Bert Weiss redirecting listeners to the new frequency. At 10 a.m., the stunting then switched to a loop where eight different formats were presented. Listeners had the option to call the station and vote on which was their favorite. On January 28, 2008, at 5:45 a.m., The Regular Guys announced the debut of "Rock 100.5", carrying a radio format similar to their previous station WKLS (formerly "96 Rock"), which itself changed formats to active rock as "Project 9-6-1". Rock 100.5's first song was "Baba O' Riley" by The Who. The two stations swapped call signs on January 29.

In 2010, WNNX became the FM flagship radio station of the Atlanta Braves for that season through 2013, along with WCNN, which continues carrying the team's games to this day. The rights were moved to then-sister station WYAY starting with the 2014 season.[5] After WYAY was sold to the Educational Media Foundation in 2019, WNNX resumed carrying Braves broadcasts.[6]

Throughout the station's existence, WNNX has shifted among different genres of rock. When "Rock 100.5" first launched, the station aired a predominantly album-oriented rock format. In April 2009, the station began leaning towards adult album alternative. In 2010, the station shifted back to its broad-based AOR format, which lasted until late 2011, when the station shifted towards classic rock. Ratings for the station at that time were shaky, as the station usually pulled between a 1.5 and 2 share.

WNNX returned to a mainstream rock direction in 2012, following the flips of WKLS from active rock to Top 40/CHR and WZGC from adult album alternative to sports in the Fall of that year.

Merger with "98.9 The Bone"

On January 28, 2013, WNNX and sister station W255CJ ("98.9 The Bone") began promoting changes to the two stations on their Facebook and Twitter pages, promoting a "bigger and better change" to come starting February 1. There were rumors that Cumulus' Atlanta management was planning a merger of the two formats on one frequency, presumably on 100.5.

The official change took place on that Friday, February 1, at Midnight, when 98.9 and 100.5 began simulcasting. At 10 AM, the official relaunch took place, as WNNX shifted to active rock. The first song after the relaunch was "Chalk Outline" by Three Days Grace. The simulcast lasted until February 4 at Noon, when 98.9 flipped to a new format, Christian country, under the name "The Walk."[7][8]

"Atlanta's Classic Rock"

After broadcasting an active rock format for barely a year, the station shifted back to classic rock on January 3, 2014, now competing with Cox Media Group's WSRV. WNNX's playlist was similar to what it was in 2012, prior to its shift to active rock.[9]

"Atlanta's Rock Station"

The station's next format adjustment began in mid-2016 with a slogan tweak to "Atlanta's Rock Station." No personnel changes were made and the music was slightly updated to focus on rock music recorded between the 1990s and current releases, including the grunge era of rock. This format direction helped increase the station's ratings. On August 30, 2019, WNNX shifted back to active rock in a harder, more current direction.[10]

Air personalities
  • Bailey & Southside. Jason Bailey and "Southside" Steve Rickman in morning drive time, with Brandi Britain and Digi-Dude Nate. Bailey came to Rock 100.5 in 2015 after one year stints each at WZGC Atlanta "92.9 The Game" and Sirius XM Satellite Radio, where he used the name "Buckethead." He had also spent time as Buckethead on WTKS-FM "Real Radio 104.1" in Orlando, from 2008 to 2013. Rickman was formerly a member of "The Regular Guys" which was the station's morning show until their final breakup in 2015.
  • Lyndsey Marie Cooke. Cooke became the midday DJ on June 1, 2011. She is from Florida, by way of Michigan, and worked at K-Rock 96.1 in Ft. Myers, Florida.
  • Jesse Kage. From September 2017 until his dismissal in July 2019,[11][12] he was the host of "The Kage Kult Show" which ran during the afternoon/early evening hours, and was also the station's Assistant Program Director, working with Program Director Greg Ausham, who was also dismissed.
  • Axel Lowe. . Formerly the evening host, he is the latter Program Director. He was previously on Rock 100.5 afternoons from the station's launch in 2008 through 2010. He started/co-owned 99X/The Bone and returned to the station for a second stint to do the mornings and, later, the mid-days before its merger with Rock 100.5.
  • Jackson Heaton. Hosts overnights and serves as the station's Public Affairs Director.
  • Tommy McNulty. Weekend shifts. He previously worked on 99X/The Bone before returning to do weekends. McNulty is also a local Atlanta musician.
  • Gina Kavali. Weekends and fill-ins.
  • Dave Clapper. Formerly afternoons at competitor 97.1 the River. Now does weekends at ROCK 100.5.
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References
  1. Broadcasting Yearbook 1950 page 69
  2. "458 F.3d 1212: Bridge Capital Investors II v. Susquehanna Radio Corporation (No. 05-11052)". United States Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit. August 1, 2006.
  3. http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-RandR/2000s/2001/RR-2001-01-26.pdf
  4. Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 2007 page D-148
  5. "Braves renew with 680 The Fan and add 106.7 FM". Atlanta Business Chronicle. October 22, 2013.
  6. "WNNX (Rock 100.5)/Atlanta Replaces WYAY As Braves' FM Game Coverage Simulcast Partner". All Access. March 27, 2019. Retrieved June 6, 2019.
  7. "Cumulus Planning More Atlanta Moves - RadioInsight". 1 February 2013.
  8. http://atlradioinsider.blogspot.com/2013/01/flip-watch-989-bone-rock-1005-all-news.html
  9. Ho, Rodney. "Rock 100.5 shifts its music mix - again". Access Atlanta. Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved 28 November 2014.
  10. Rock 100.5 Atlanta Moves to Active Rock
  11. {{|publisher=Atlanta Journal Constitution |title=Axel Lowe returns as Rock 100.5 afternoon jock, replacing a ‘blindsided’ Jesse Kage |date=July 10, 2019}}
  12. |url=https://www.ajc.com/blog/radiotvtalk/former-99xer-axel-lowe-returns-atlanta-rock-100-and-afternoon-jock-replacing-jesse-kage-greg-ausham/HNZOBfIR0IiPTeqm1qONCK/

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