WIVK-FM signed on the air on December 16, 1965; 59 years ago (1965-12-16).[2] It was a simulcast of the country format on co-owned WIVK850 AM. Because the AM station is a daytimer, its format could continue on 107.7 FM after sunset. For several decades, the two stations aired a morning show hosted by Claude "The Cat" Tomlinson. He also served as the program director and promotions director.
The simulcast briefly ended when the AM station switched to a full service, adult contemporary format, becoming WHIG. Many listeners were not happy, so the adult contemporary format on WHIG was short-lived. The WIVK simulcast on 107.7 FM and 850 AM returned. On September 1, 1988, WIVK 850 AM signal was donated to the University of Tennessee and became a news/talk station as WUTK. WIVK moved its AM simulcast to another station at 990 kHz on the same day and the simulcast continued.
For most of the 1980s and 1990s, WIVK-AM-FM were owned by Dick Broadcasting, with James A. Dick as the chairman.[3] The stations were acquired by Citadel Broadcasting in the early 2000s. In 2011, Citadel was merged into Cumulus Media.
The AM 990/FM 107.7 simulcast lasted almost nine years. In 1997, AM 990 switched to a talk format as "NewsTalk 990 WNOX" and later "NewsTalk 99". Today AM 990 is "The Sports Animal" which covers University of Tennessee athletics as well as national pro and college sports.
