WLIL - Misplaced Pages

Radio station in Lenoir City, Tennessee

WLIL
Lenoir City, Tennessee

Broadcast area	Knoxville, Tennessee
Frequency	730 kHz 102.7 FM
Branding	The Legendary AM 730 and 102.7
Programming
Format	Country
Ownership
Owner	Fowlers Holdings Lllp
Sister stations	WIFA
History
First air date	May 27, 1950
Technical information
Licensing authority	FCC
Facility ID	73211
Class	D
ERP	1,000 watts day 214 watts night
Transmitter coordinates	35°46′12.00″N 84°16′47.00″W / 35.7700000°N 84.2797222°W / 35.7700000; -84.2797222
Links
Public license information	Public file LMS
Website	http://wlilcountry.com

WLIL "The Legendary AM 730" is a radio station broadcasting "East Tennessee's Country Classics." Licensed to Lenoir City, Tennessee, it serves the Knoxville, Tennessee area.

History

WLIL has been "serving east Tennessee since 1950." Arthur Wilkerson, who worked in construction, traveled a lot. One day, he was working in Louisville, Kentucky and could see inside a radio station from where he was working. Finding that interesting, he went to the station after work and sat in the audience of live broadcasts. Wilkerson pondered whether his home town of Lenoir City, Tennessee could support a radio station. In 1949, he applied for a license, and WLIL-AM went on the air at 730, a clear channel, on May 27, 1950, with 1000 watts during the day.

Although few people had FM radios, Wilkerson also applied for an FM station at 100.3. In 1956, WSM in Nashville, Tennessee closed its FM station, and Wilkerson did the same, believing that if such a big station couldn't succeed, he had no chance.

Knoxville got its first FM station in 1966, and Wilkerson realized he may have made a mistake. WLIL-FM signed on at 93.5 in 1967.

In addition to his radio station, Wilkerson owned a lumber mill and built custom homes. He served as president of the Tennessee Association of Broadcasters. He was also a pilot and he ran a restaurant.

After Wilkerson died in 1998, BP Broadcasters purchased the station.

In 2006, Progressive Media, owner of WIFA, purchased WLIL from BP Broadcasters LLC. BP kept the FM station, which had simulcast the AM through its entire history. Dwight Wilkerson, son of Arthur, kept WLIK in Newport, Tennessee.

Fowlers Holdings Lllp now owns WLIL. Don Fowler owns furniture stores in Tennessee and Georgia.

References

"Facility Technical Data for WLIL". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
^ "Serving East Tennessee since 1950". wlilcountry.com. Retrieved March 21, 2023.
"Deals," Broadcasting and Cable, August 14, 2006.

External links

WLIL official website
Facility details for Facility ID 73211 (WLIL) in the FCC Licensing and Management System
WLIL in Nielsen Audio's AM station database

Radio stations in the Knoxville metropolitan area (Tennessee)

By AM frequency

By FM frequency

LPFM	97.9 99.9 101.1 103.9 WOZO-LP WOZW-LP
Translators	92.3 92.5 93.9 94.7 97.1 99.5 W258DB W258DG 99.7 100.7 101.1 102.5 102.9 105.1 105.7 105.9 107.3

Digital radio
by frequency & subchannel

By call sign

Defunct

Radio stations in East Tennessee: Chattanooga; Johnson City-Kingsport-Bristol; Knoxville

Other nearby regions: Asheville; Cookeville; Greenville-Spartanburg; Southwest Virginia

See also: List of radio stations in Tennessee

v t e Country radio stations in the state of Tennessee
Stations	KYTN – Union City WAKM – Franklin WANT – Lebanon WBRY – Woodbury WCOR – Lebanon WCYQ – Oak Ridge WDEB-FM – Jamestown WDKW – Maryville WDXE – Lawrenceburg WECO-FM – Wartburg WEIO – Huntingdon WEPG – South Pittsburg WEYE – Surgoinsville WGKX – Memphis WGOC – Kingsport WGSQ – Cookeville WHMT - Tullahoma WHNY - Paris WHNY-FM – Henry WIKQ – Tusculum WIVK-FM – Knoxville WJDT – Rogersville WJJM-FM – Lewisburg WJLE – Smithville WJLE-FM – Smithville WJSQ – Athens WKBQ – Covington WKDF – Nashville WKJQ-FM – Parsons WKOS – Kingsport WKWX – Savannah WKXD-FM – Monterey WLAR – Athens WLCT – Lafayette WLFP – Memphis WLIJ - Shelbyville WLIL – Lenoir City WLIV – Livingston WLLX – Lawrenceburg WLNQ – White Pine WLNT-LP – Loudon WLOD – Loudon WLXA - Loretto WMCP – Columbia WMCT – Mountain City WMOD – Bolivar WMSR-FM - Collinwood WMTN – Morristown WMYL – Halls Crossroads WNFN - Franklin WNKX-FM – Centerville WNPC – Newport WNTC - Ashland City WOGT - East Ridge WOGY – Jackson WOOP-LP – Cleveland WOPC - Linden WORM-FM – Savannah WOWF – Crossville WPWT - Colonial Heights WRGS – Rogersville WSBI – Static WSDQ – Dunlap WSIX-FM – Nashville WSLV - Ardmore WSM – Nashville WSM-FM – Nashville WTNK – Hartsville WTNV – Tiptonville WTRB – Ripley WUCH – Monterey WUCZ – Carthage WUSY – Cleveland WVFB – Celina WWGM - Selmer WWGY - Union City WWON - Waynesboro WWYN – Mckenzie WXRH - Rockwood WYCZ – White Bluff WYSH – Clinton WYTM-FM – Fayetteville WZLT – Lexington
Defunct	WAXO – Lewisburg WFWL – Camden WXOQ – Selmer
See also adult contemporary classic hits college country news/talk NPR oldies religious rock sports top 40 urban other radio stations in Tennessee

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