The station signed on November 27, 1946, as WKYB, a daytime-only station operating at 800kHz;[3] its first license was issued on January 16, 1947.[4] The station was owned by the Paducah Sun-Democrat;[3] this marked the newspaper's return to broadcasting, as it operated WIAR in the 1920s.[5] On January 19, 1951, WKYB moved to 570kHz; this allowed it to operate at night.[6]Paducah Newspapers sold WKYB to Bruce Barrington, owner of WEW in St. Louis, in 1957; the sale came as the company prepared to launch television station WPSD-TV.[7]
WKYB, along with WKYB-FM 93.3, was sold to Arthur C. Shofield for $140,000 in 1962.[8] The call sign was changed to WKYX on September 18, 1964.[4] In May 1965, Shofield was fined $250 by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for allowing Nationwide Stations to operate the station from 1962 to 1964 without FCC approval, and for not reporting a sale of 20 percent of the station to Raymond F. Damgen.[9] Later that year, the station was transferred to KICKS of Kentucky; Shofield retained 40 percent of the new company, with George G. Beasley, William R. Britt, and WKYX manager James E. Harrelson each acquiring 20 percent stakes.[10] W. L. Nininger and C. Edward Wright, owners of WFHG in Bristol, Virginia; WKOY in Bluefield, West Virginia; and WKAZ in Charleston, West Virginia, bought WKYX for $200,000 in 1971.[11]
On December 26, 2022, WKYX and translator W265DZ 100.9 FM split from a news/talk simulcast with sister stations WKYX-FM and WNGO and changed their format to urban contemporary, branded as "102.5/100.9 The Beat". WKYX also changed its call sign to WBMP on January 30, 2023.[12]
