WKXU has an effective radiated power (ERP) of 1,500 watts and is considered a Class A FM station. By contrast, some Raleigh-area stations, such as WNCB and WRDU run 100,000 watts. The transmitter is off Bivins Road north of Durham.[4]
Curtis Media Group purchased WHLQ and WYRN from Franklin Broadcasting in 2003.[8] The following year, the call letters were changed to WKXU.[1] The station, called Country 102.5, moved in a more contemporary direction, playing only songs from the previous 20 years.[9]
Initial "Pulse 102" logo while simulcasting with 102.3
In September 2010, WKXU signed off from its Louisburg site and signed on again October 23 from a new site in northwestern Durham County, licensed to Hillsborough.[10] At that time, the station began stunting, along with new simulcast partner WWMY. On October 27, WKXU changed its call letters to WPLW,[1] while WWMY became WWPL. On October 31, at 5PM, after several days of Halloween music,[11] the stunting ended and both stations debuted their new rhythmic contemporary format as "Pulse 102".[12] The first song on "Pulse" was "I Like It" by Enrique Iglesias ft. Pitbull. The format was described as "sort of the hip-hop and R&B that has crossed over into Top 40."[13] Its primary target audience was women aged 25 to 34, and was expected to compete with Radio One station K 97.5 and Clear Channel's G105, and 93.9 Kiss FM, who ironically transitioned from Rhythmic AC to Rhythmic Top 40 after Pulse 102 signed on. The stations played 10,000 songs in a row and promised fewer commercials than other stations. Artists include Lady Gaga, Enrique Iglesias and Kesha.[11] By October 2011, WPLW was added to the Mediabasecontemporary hit radio panel.
As of 2014, WPLW also could be heard on a translator at W226BV (93.1 FM). In September 2014, the simulcast with WWPL changed from 102.3 FM to 96.9 FM.[14][15]
Previous logo
On May 28, 2019, the call sign was changed from WPLW to WPLW-FM, in order to allow the WPLW call sign to be assigned the next month to AM 570 in Raleigh. On December 26, 2022, WPLW-FM, along with WKJO, began simulcasting the classic hits programming originating from WKIX-FM.[16] The station changed its callsign back to WKXU to associate it with the "Kix" branding on January 11, 2023.
