WBTF

Last updated

WBTF
Broadcast area Lexington-Fayette metropolitan area
Frequency 107.9 MHz
Branding107.9 The Beat
Programming
Format Urban contemporary
Affiliations Premiere Networks
Ownership
OwnerL.M. Communications
WCDA, WGKS, WBVX, WLXG
History
First air date
1998 (1998)
Former call signs
WAHY (1994–1998, CP)
Call sign meaning
Beat of Fayette County
Technical information [1]
Licensing authority
 FCC
Facility ID 4592
Class A
ERP 6,000 watts
HAAT 100 meters (330 ft)
Links
Public license information
Webcast Listen live
Website 1079thebeat.com

WBTF (107.9 FM, "107.9 The Beat") is a commercial radio station licensed to Midway, Kentucky, United States, and serving the Lexington-Fayette metropolitan area. Owned by L.M. Communications, WBTF airs an urban contemporary format with studios at Triangle Center in downtown Lexington. [2]

Contents

The transmitter is off U.S. Route 60 at Pisgah Pike in Lexington. [3]

History

A construction permit was granted by the Federal Communications Commission for the building of a new FM station in Midway in 1994. It was issued the call sign WAHY, although that was never used on the air. [4]

The station signed on the air in 1998 as WBTF. [5] From its beginning, the station played urban contemporary music, including hip hop and R&B. It was the first time in six years that an FM urban-formatted station was heard in Lexington since WCKU left the format in 1994 to begin playing album rock.

For much of its history, WBTF has been the only FM station in the Lexington market aiming at African-American listeners. Therefore, its playlist included old school music, soul, slow jams and Sunday morning urban gospel to cater to both the mainstream and adult audiences in the African American community.

The station was the home of the Doug Banks Morning Show until the end of 2007, when Banks was replaced by Steve Harvey.

References

  1. ↑ "Facility Technical Data for WBTF". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  2. ↑ 1079thebeat.com/contest-rules
  3. ↑ FCCdata.org/WBTF
  4. ↑ Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 1999 page D-183. Retrieved Jan. 27, 2026.
  5. ↑ Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 2010 page D-244. Retrieved Jan. 27, 2026.

38°11′41″N84°38′25″W / 38.1948°N 84.6402°W / 38.1948; -84.6402

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