City | Munford, Tennessee |
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Broadcast area | Memphis metropolitan area |
Branding | 98.9 The Vibe |
Frequency | 98.9 MHz |
First air date | 1958 (as KTMO) September, 2006 (as WKIM) |
Format | Classic hip-hop |
ERP | 100,000 watts horiz 98,100 watts vert |
HAAT | 187 meters |
Class | C1 |
Facility ID | 33671 |
Callsign meaning | KIM FM (former format) |
Former callsigns | KTMO (1958-2001) WXMI (4/2001-5/2001) WJZN (2001-2004) WMPW (2004-2006) |
Owner |
Cumulus Media (Radio License Holding CBC, LLC) |
Sister stations | WGKX, WRBO, WXMX |
Webcast | Listen Live |
Website | 989thevibe.com |
WKIM (98.9 FM, "98.9 The Vibe") is a classic hip-hop formatted radio station licensed to Munford, Tennessee and serving the Memphis area. It is owned by Cumulus Media. The station's studios are located at the Memphis Radio Group building in East Memphis, and the transmitter site is in Cordova, Tennessee.
The station was originally located in Kennett, Missouri, and used the call sign KTMO prior to its move-in in 2001. The station then would target Memphis with a Smooth Jazz format as Smooth Jazz 98.9 WJZN. In November 2004, the station changed to a Rhythmic Contemporary format as WMPW, "Power 99", putting it in direct competition with rivals Urban WHRK, fellow Rhythmic Contemporary Hit KXHT and Mainstream Top 40 rival WHBQ-FM.
On September 15, 2006, at 2 PM, WMPW flipped to a female-leaning adult hits format as 98.9 Kim FM under new call letters of WKIM. The first song on "Kim FM" was Like a Prayer by Madonna. After several books of substandard ratings and programming, the station abruptly flipped formats to hot AC about more than a year later. The change was still unsuccessful at the station, and on March 31, 2010, at 5 PM, the format was flipped to 1990s hits as Gen X 98.9. The first song on "Gen X 98.9" was Losing My Religion by R.E.M. As of September 26, 2010, the station has added some current hits, making it a 1990s/hot AC hybrid format reminiscent of The Pulse (Sirius XM) before the Sirius/XM Radio merger in 2009.