WHOP-FM

For the AM radio station in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, United States, see WHOP (AM).

WHOP-FM

Hopkinsville, Kentucky
Broadcast area	Clarksville, Tennessee
Frequency	98.7 MHz (HD Radio)
Branding	Lite Rock 98.7
Programming
Format	Adult contemporary
Subchannels	HD2: Country "95.3 The Farm" HD3: News–talk (WHOP simulcast)
Affiliations	CBS News Radio Premiere Networks UK Sports Network
Ownership
Owner	Forcht Broadcasting (Hop Broadcasting, Inc.)
Sister stations	WHOP
History
First air date	May 1948 (1948-05)
Former call signs	WHOP-FM (1948–1959) WRLX (1959–1964)
Call sign meaning	Hopkinsville, Kentucky
Technical information
Licensing authority	FCC
Facility ID	27633
Class	C1
ERP	100,000 watts
HAAT	189.1 metres (620 ft)
Transmitter coordinates	36°55′41″N 87°32′50″W
Translator(s)	HD2: 95.3 W237BV (Hopkinsville)
Links
Public license information	Public file LMS
Webcast	Listen Live
Website	lite987whop.com

WHOP-FM (98.7 MHz) is a radio station broadcasting an adult contemporary format. Licensed to and serving Hopkinsville, Kentucky, United States, the station serves the Clarksville, Tennessee-Hopkinsville, Kentucky area. The station is owned by Forcht Broadcasting, and is a sister station to WHOP. The two stations share studios located at 220 Buttermilk Road on the west side of Hopkinsville.

History

The station signed on the air as WHOP-FM in May 1948. It was the first FM station to sign on in the Clarksville/Hopkinsville radio market area, and the whole westernmost segment of Kentucky. Paducah's WPAD-FM (now WDDJ) and WKYX-FM signed on in the months after. WHOP-FM began broadcasting as a simulcast of its AM sister station WHOP. However, on December 4, 1959, the station became a separate operation by changing its callsign to WRLX, and beginning broadcasting an easy listening format. It was the first attempt in Kentucky at full separate FM programming since the early 1950s demise of early FM stations in the Louisville area.

The station reverted its callsign back to WHOP-FM to match its AM sister station on December 28, 1964. Upon the callsign change, the station began broadcasting a country music format. In the mid-2000s, in response to the station's overwhelming competition against Clarksville-based but Hopkinsville-licensed WVVR and Cadiz-based WKDZ-FM, both of which were and still are broadcasting the same format, WHOP-FM changed to its current soft adult contemporary format, and rebranded as Lite 98.7. It rebranded as LiteRock 98.7 sometime in the late 2010s.

Programming

Along with its soft AC format, the station also features programming from CBS News Radio and Premiere Radio Networks.

Both WHOP-FM and its AM counterpart serve as two of three affiliates in the Clarksville/Hopkinsville market that serves as an affiliate of the University of Kentucky Wildcats sports radio network, broadcasting football and men's basketball games involving the university's athletic teams. WKDZ-FM in Cadiz is the other station in the area that also serve as a UK Sports Network affiliate.

HD Radio

On February 6, 2023, WHOP-FM launched a country music format on its HD2 subchannel, branded as "95.3 The Farm". It is simulcast in the analog format via former WHOP (AM) translator W237BV. On the same day, an HD radio simulcast of WHOP (AM) became available on an HD3 subchannel.

HD Radio subchannels

The station's HD radio signal is multiplexed in this manner.

Freqnency (MHz-subchannel)	Callsign	Programming
98.7 FM 98.7-1 HD	WHOP-FM WHOP-HD1	Simulcast of the traditional FM signal "LiteRock 98.7" (adult contemporary)
98.7-2 HD	WHOP-HD2	W237BV "95.3 The Farm" (country)
98.7-3 HD	WHOP-HD3	Simulcast of WHOP (news/talk)

External links

• WHOP-FM Website
• Facility details for Facility ID 145325 (W237BV) in the FCC Licensing and Management System
• W237BV at FCCdata.org