The station was assigned the call letters WBLG on November 1, 1985, when the FCC first issued the construction permit for the station.[5] The station signed on the air 13 months later, on December 1, 1986. On May 4, 1987, the station was purchased by Hilltopper Broadcasting, a local company that was led by long-time Western Kentucky Hilltoppers play-by-play commentator Wes Strader. That company would also end up owning WBGN the following year.[6][7]
In the station's first 14 years on the air, it played an Adult contemporary format. Hourly national news updates were provided by NBC News Radio during that time period. Throughout much of the late 1980s and 1990s until March 2001, the station was branded as "Gator 107",[6] and later "G-107." In 1991, the station was granted a power increase to 50,000 watts, and announced plans to relocate its transmission facility to its current location. However, this change forced nearby competitor WHHT, a Glasgow-based station which broadcast at 106.7 MHz at the time, to change frequencies to accommodate WBLG's power increase.[8] The station added the "-FM" suffix to its callsign on April 30, 1999.[2]
On March 15, 2001, the station changed its call letters to the current WUHU. The current Top 40 format and "WUHU" branding were introduced on April 2, 2001, after a weekend stunt during the preceding weekend (March 31-April 1, 2001), in which the station played the same three songs (each of which featured the word "woo-hoo") repeatedly.[9] Forever Communications acquired the station on December 31, 2002.
As a Top 40-formatted station, WUHU often competes with WRVW of Lebanon, Tennessee for listener allegiances due to Bowling Green's 60-mile proximity to the Nashville area.
Programming
Along with its music programming, the station is the local home of the American Top 40 and Weekend Top 30. Weather forecasts aired on the station are provided by the area's NBC/CBS dual affiliate WNKY.
From March 2000 until March 2001, the station also ran a local program, Live and Local, which featured local musical talents from the region.[11]
References
^"Directory of Radio Stations in the United States and Canada". Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 1992. Washington, DC: Broadcasting Publications, Inc. 1992. p. A-145.
^"Directory of Radio Stations in the United States and Canada". Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 1997. Washington, DC: Broadcasting Publications, Inc. 1997. p. B-187. [1]
^"WUHU-FM debuts in Bowling Green". Bowling Green Daily News. April 2, 2001. p. 3A. Retrieved July 8, 2023 – via Google Books.. "After a weekend of repeatedly playing the same three songs in what some listeners took as an April Fool's Day prank, radio station WBLG-FM was reborn Monday morning as WUHU-FM. In preparation for the switch, the WRUS Inc.-owned station played Dire Straits' "Walk of Life," which features the word "woo-hoo," and two songs titled "Woohoo" - one by Blur and one by the Rocketeens, throughout the weekend."
^"Game time". Park City Daily News. December 30, 1998 – via Google Books.