The station went on the air as WWUD on March 13, 1992. On May 22, 1992, the station changed its call sign to WKYI, on July 13, 1999, to WULV, on February 16, 2000, to WLRS, and on March 1, 2000, to WLXO.[4]
On Christmas Day 2020, the Hank classic country format moved from WLXO to then-WWRW (105.5 FM), which unlike the 96.1 facility covers the entire Lexington market, with a simulcast continuing for the time being on 96.1.[5] The WLXO call sign moved to 105.5 on June 14, 2021; 96.1 then changed from WWRW to WZNN on August 16, 2021.
On Saturday, August 28, 2021, the format switched from classic country to sports as the new "Sports 96.1, The Zone".[6]
On April 25, 2023, WZNN flipped to a hybrid format focused on Americana, Folk, and Bluegrass music branded as "96.1 The Hound". The station described the format on their website as "a local and fiercely independent Kentucky–centric anti-radio station. It answers to no corporation, no stockholders and no record label. It only cares about you. It is grounded by Kentucky roots, but is anything but traditional. The sound of The Hound is the music that feeds your soul, that keeps you up at night with tunes dancing through your head.”[7]
