WHKO "K99.1 FM" is a country music station licensed to Dayton, Ohio. The station is owned by Cox Radio, Inc. With its 50,000 watt signal, WHKO is one of the strongest FM stations in the Southwestern Ohio area, and frequently makes mention of this during on-air promos. K99.1FM is known for playing a mix of both "New country and your familiar favorites" and has historically played more music and less commercials than most radio stations in the Dayton / Cincinnati radio market. With the strong signal and commitment to playing more music than the competition, WHKO has a long history of being near the top of the Dayton Arbitron ratings since it began it's country format in March, 1989. K99.1 also shows up regularly in the Cincinnati Arbitron ratings, as its signal comes in clear throughout the greater Cincinnati market as well.
| Broadcast area | Dayton, Ohio Springfield, Ohio Cincinnati, Ohio |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 99.1 MHz |
| Branding | K99.1 FM |
| Programming | |
| Format | Country |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Cox Radio, Inc. |
| History | |
First air date | March, 1989 |
Call sign meaning | Station changed calls from WHIO-FM to WHKO in 1989 when format was changed to country |
| Technical information | |
| Class | B |
| ERP | 50,000 watts |
| Links | |
| Website | www.k99online.com |
Early hisory
Originally founded in 1946 as WHIO-FM with a beautiful music format which since the 1960s was a kindred compliment to the middle of the road format of WHIO (AM). Though many FMs at first floundered and failed during its fledgling in the 1950s in favor of AM, WHIO-FM remained solid. It eventually became the reigning number 1 station in the Dayton market for many years as FM was eventually considered an easy alternative to the commercial pop music and by the rise of Top 40 and country music on the AM dial during that time.. In November of 2006 the WHIO-FM calls were resurrected at 95.7 FM in Piqua (the former WDPT) as a simulcast of WHIO-AM's news talk format.
WHKO Today
In 1989,the calls switched to WHKO and with it the format switch to new country. Beforehand the top-rated country station in Dayton from 1969 to 1990 was WONE (AM) which now employs a sports/talk format.