City |
WKMK: Eatontown, New Jersey WTHJ: Bass River Township, New Jersey |
---|---|
Broadcast area |
Monmouth and Middlesex County at 106.3 FM Ocean, Burlington, Atlantic County at 106.5 FM |
Branding | "Thunder 106" |
Slogan | Rockin' Country |
Frequency |
WKMK: 106.3 MHz WTHJ: 106.5 MHz |
Format | Country |
ERP |
WKMK: 1,100 watts WTHJ: 1,450 watts |
HAAT |
WKMK: 161 meters (528 ft) WTHJ: 208 meters (682 ft) |
Class |
WKMK: A WTHJ: A |
Facility ID |
WKMK: 72324 WTHJ: 49984 |
Transmitter coordinates |
WKMK: 40°16′41.00″N 74°04′51.00″W / 40.2780556°N 74.0808333°W WTHJ: 39°37′53.00″N 74°21′12.00″W / 39.6313889°N 74.3533333°W |
Callsign meaning |
WKMK: unknown WTHJ: THunder Country Jersey |
Former callsigns |
WKMK: WHTG-FM (1961–2010) WTHJ: WBBO (2006–2010) WKOE (1992–2006) WSLT (1981–1992) |
Owner | Press Communications, LLC |
Sister stations | WJLP-DT, KJLP-DT, WHTG, WWZY / WBHX, WBBO |
Webcast | Listen Live |
Website | thunder106.com |
WKMK and WTHJ (106.3 and 106.5 FM, "Thunder 106") are two radio stations simulcasting a country music format. The stations are licensed to Eatontown and Bass River Township, New Jersey, respectively. The station is owned by Press Communications. WKMK's transmitter is located at exit 105 of the Garden State Parkway in Tinton Falls. WTHJ's transmitter is located on the tower of Philadelphia television station WWSI/62 located in Tuckerton in extreme southern Ocean County. The studios are located in Neptune, New Jersey.
The 106.3 WKMK signal reaches Staten Island to the north, Toms River to the south and Hightstown to the west. The 106.5 WTHJ signal reaches Brick Township to the north, Ocean City to the south and Philadelphia to the west.
This facility was originally allocated to Ocean City and broadcast from that city as WSLT-FM on 106.3 MHz, beginning around 1970. The station broadcast with beautiful music, adult contemporary and classical formats until a local marketing agreement led to a country format and the new call sign of WKOE. More format changes ensued, but none of them made much of an impact on the Atlantic City market and the owners eventually applied to move the station to its present location and frequency. On July 6, 2006, WKOE swapped frequencies with WBBO, which had been simulcasting WHTG-FM on 98.5 FM and was known as B98.5 prior to that. From August 2005 to January 2009 it simulcasted G 106.3 in Ocean County and South Jersey. On January 19, 2009, the format switched to Top 40 along with WHTG-FM. On December 8, 2010 the WBBO call letters reverted to the FM station on 98.5 MHz licensed to Ocean Acres, NJ, near Manahawkin, NJ. Concurrently the station on 106.5 MHz in bass River Township, NJ, became WTHJ.
WHTG-FM first signed on at the 105.5 MHz frequency on October 11, 1961, as the sister station of WHTG (1410 AM). The station was named for Harold and Theo Gade, its first owners and operators. Eventually, the Gades' daughter Faye became general manager of the station. Faye Gade assumed ownership of the station in 1985.