WIHT

WIHT (99.5 FM) - branded as HOT 99.5 - is a Top 40 (CHR) formatted radio station that serves the greater Washingtonian metropolitan area. Located on the fifth floor of 1801 Rockville Pike in Rockville, Maryland, the station broadcasts 24 hours a day and is licensed to, and owned by, iHeartMedia, Inc.. The transmitter is located in Bethesda, Maryland.

History

Early years (1960s–1999)

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 1970s and 1980s.

Television ads for the station in the 1970s and 1980s featured station programmer Bob Chandler relaxing in a recliner while listening to his station's light mix of music playing in the background. During the 1980s, WGAY was reported to be then President Ronald Reagan's favorite radio station. WGAY was one of the last remaining major-market easy listening stations in the United States, as the format, which targeted older demographics, evolved towards a more mainstream adult contemporary format, or was dropped altogether.