WMZQ-FM

WMZQ-FM (98.7 MHz) is a commercial radio station in Washington, D.C. owned by iHeartMedia, Inc.. It has had a country music radio format since 1977. The studios and offices are located on Rockville Pike in Rockville, Maryland.[4]

WMZQ-FM
CityWashington, D.C.
Broadcast areaWashington metropolitan area
Frequency98.7 MHz (HD Radio)
Branding98.7 WMZQ
SloganFM/HD1: Today's Best Country
HD2: Classic Country Favorites
Programming
FormatFM/HD1: Country
HD2: Classic Country
AffiliationsPremiere Networks
Ownership
OwneriHeartMedia, Inc.
(AMFM Radio Licenses, L.L.C.)
Sister stationsWASH, WBIG, WIHT, WWDC
History
First air dateApril 2, 1947 (as WWDC-FM)
Former call signsWWDC-FM (1947–1950)
WOL-FM (1950–1968)
WMOD (1968–1977)[1]
Former frequencies100.9 MHz (1947)
101.1 MHz (1947–1950)[1]
Call sign meaningtribute to WMAQ,[2] abbreviation of "music"[3]
Technical information
Facility ID73305
ClassB
ERP50,000 watts
HAAT149 meters (489 ft)
Links
WebcastListen Live
HD2: Listen Live
WebsiteWMZQ.iheart.com/

The transmitter is on Tower Street in Falls Church, Virginia.[5] WMZQ-FM has an effective radiated power (ERP) of 50,000 watts, the maximum power for radio stations in the Washington area. It broadcasts from a tower at 149 meters (489 feet) in height above average terrain (HAAT). With a good radio, WMZQ-FM can be heard from Baltimore, Maryland to Fredericksburg, Virginia.

WMZQ-FM broadcasts in the HD Radio format.[6]

History

This station signed on the air on April 2, 1947 as WWDC-FM, originally on 100.9 MHz, moving to 101.1 MHz a few months later.[7] It was owned by the Capital Broadcasting Company with its studios at 1000 Connecticut Avenue NW. The station originally simulcast its sister station, WWDC, then on AM 1450.

Meanwhile, WOL-FM signed on at 98.7 MHz in 1947, simulcasting its sister station, WOL 1260 kHz. In 1950, WWDC and WOL came under common ownership; that February 20, WWDC moved to the far higher-powered 1260 kHz allocation, and WOL was shifted to 1450 kHz to be resold. WWDC-FM also swapped callsigns and facilities with WOL-FM on the same day, and each simply modified their licenses to continue operating on their same frequencies.[8][9] As the actual licenses were not exchanged, WMZQ-FM is the legal successor of the original WWDC-FM.

WOL-AM-FM aired a full service Rhythm & Blues format, featuring personalities, news and talk for the African-American community. It was owned by the Peoples Broadcasting Company, relocated to the 1000 Connecticut Avenue NW studios and offices.

In 1965, WOL-AM-FM were acquired by the Sonderling Broadcasting Company.[10] In 1968, Sonderling switched the FM station to an Oldies format, as WMOD, while the AM continued as an R&B station. WMOD played the rock-era hits of the 1950s and early 60s, including doo-wop music. By the mid 1970s, the format shifted to classic rock.

In 1977, Sonderling switched 98.7 to country music as WMZQ-FM.[11] Although press reports at the time attributed the call sign as a simple abbreviation of "music", then-program director Bill Figenshu claims to have chosen it in homage to WMAQ Chicago, which was at the time a successful large-market country station. A since-repealed FCC rule also required stations to notify their competitors of a call sign change, and Figenshu suspected the "Q" – then as now, a common branding for contemporary music stations – might fool them into thinking a top-40 format was about to launch.[3][2]

The Washington market already had one FM station playing modern country, but it was based in Northern Virginia, 105.9 WXRA (today WMAL-FM) licensed to Woodbridge, Virginia. Its signal had a hard time reaching the D.C. suburbs north of Washington, while WMZQ-FM covered the entire D.C. radio market. The change proved a success for WMZQ-FM and the station at 105.9 eventually switched to classic rock.

Viacom acquired WMZQ-FM a few years after the switch to the country format. In 1987, Viacom began simulcasting WMZQ-FM on AM station WMZQ in Arlington, Virginia.[12][13]

In 1997, WMZQ-FM switched hands again, this time acquired by Chancellor Media.[14] In 2000, Chancellor was acquired by Clear Channel Communications, which a few years later became iHeartMedia, Inc., the current owner.

Past Personalities

Previous morning shows on WMZQ-FM include Boxer in the Morning with Aly Jacobs, Ben and Brian, Murphy and Cash, and Jim London and Mary Ball. WMZQ currently airs the Bobby Bones morning show in the morning, syndicated by Premiere Networks, and based out of Nashville, Tennessee.

gollark: It uses a bunch of mildly accursed regexes for language processing.
gollark: I should port ABR to APIONET.
gollark: ++choose 1000 ferris lyric
gollark: ++choose 1000 esobot macron "V O I D"
gollark: It has three "nodes", two actual nodes.

References
  1. "FCC History Card for WMZQ-FM".
  2. White, Thomas. "Washington, D.C. AM Station History". earlyradiohistory.us.
  3. https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1977/06/29/wmod-changes-its-tune/0e2461c8-fb6b-41be-9e5d-ddde039368a5/
  4. WMZQ.iheart.com/contact
  5. Radio-Locator.com/WMZQ-FM
  6. http://hdradio.com/station_guides/widget.php?id=8 Archived 2015-10-02 at the Wayback Machine HD Radio Guide for Washington D.C.
  7. Broadcasting Yearbook 1950 page 108
  8. "WNEW, WWDC Sales Given Approval By FCC" (PDF). Broadcasting. January 30, 1950. p. 26.
  9. Broadcasting Yearbook 1952 page 105
  10. Broadcasting Yearbook 1969 page B-33
  11. Broadcasting Yearbook 1979 page C-40
  12. Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 1994 page B-383
  13. Yorke, Jeffrey (July 21, 1987). "WKYS, singing a no. 1 tune". The Washington Post. Retrieved July 7, 2019.
  14. Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 2000 page B-84

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