WQLQ

WQLQ (99.9 FM) is a radio station licensed to Benton Harbor, Michigan targeting the South Bend, Indiana market. WQLQ is owned by Mid-West Family Broadcasting. Its signal is regularly heard as far as Chicago, Illinois, and as far east as Battle Creek, Michigan

WQLQ
CityBenton Harbor, Michigan
Broadcast areaSouth Bend, Indiana
Frequency99.9 MHz (HD Radio)
BrandingLive 99.9
SloganThe #1 For New Music
Programming
FormatTop 40/CHR
HD2: Classic rock "95.7 The Lake"
Ownership
OwnerMid-West Family Broadcasting
(WSJM, Inc.)
WSBT, WNSN, WZOC
History
First air date
October 10, 1947 (as WHFB-FM)[1]
Former call signs
WHFB-FM (1947-2016)
Call sign meaning
W Q Live 99.9 Q
Technical information
Facility ID72175
ClassB
ERP50,000 watts
HAAT124 meters (407 ft)
Translator(s)95.7 W239CJ (Benton Harbor, relays HD2)
Links
WebcastListen Live
Websitelive999radio.com
957thelake.com (HD2)

As of June 2011, the station has re-imaged from Cat Country 99-9 to Real Country 99-Nine.

Previous to the country format, the then-WHFB-FM acted as a local station serving the Benton Harbor/St. Joseph area, with beautiful music and adult contemporary music formats.

In September 2015, Schurz Communications, which previously held a minority interest in Douglas Road Radio, agreed to acquire full ownership of the company. The transaction is part of the $442.5 million acquisition of Schurz' broadcast interests, including WHFB-FM, by Gray Television.[2][3][4] Though Gray initially intended to keep Schurz' radio stations, on November 2, it announced that Mid-West Family Broadcasting would acquire WHFB-FM and Schurz' other South Bend radio stations for $5.5 million. Mid-West Family already owns several stations in the Benton Harbor-St. Joseph area, where the station's city of license is located.[5][6][7] The sale to Mid-West was consummated on February 16, 2016.

Upon acquiring the station, Midwest Family announced on October 4, 2016, that WHFB would flip to Top 40/CHR as "Live 99.9" the following Tuesday, the 11th. The station began stunting with TV theme songs on October 7, 2016, which ended with the Noon launch on the aforementioned date. The station will import the syndicated Brooke & Jubal show for mornings, while Shady comes aboard from sister station WJQM in Madison for nights. The new CHR format on 99.9 will place the station up against market leading WNDV-FM, which registered a 10.6 share in the Spring 2016 Nielsen Audio ratings. The move leaves WBYT as the sole Country station in the South Bend market; however, the move takes 99.9 out of competition with sister station WYTZ in the Benton Harbor market. The first song on Live was "This Is What You Came For" by Calvin Harris and Rihanna. The callsign was changed on October 12, 2016 to WQLQ to match.[8][9]

WQLQ-HD2

On January 30, 2019, WQLQ launched a classic rock format on its HD2 subchannel, branded as "95.7 The Lake" (simulcast on translator W239CJ 95.7 FM Benton Harbor).[10]

References
  1. 1971 Broadcasting Yearbook, Broadcasting, 1971. p. B-102. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
  2. "Schurz Communications to sell WSBT and other TV, radio stations". South Bend Tribune. September 14, 2015. Retrieved September 14, 2015.
  3. Kuperberg, Jonathan (September 14, 2015). "Gray Acquiring TV, Radio Stations from Schurz for $442.5 Million". Broadcasting & Cable. Retrieved September 14, 2015.
  4. "APPLICATION FOR CONSENT TO ASSIGNMENT OF BROADCAST STATION CONSTRUCTION PERMIT OR LICENSE". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. September 17, 2015. Retrieved September 18, 2015.
  5. "Gray Sells Radio Stations From Schurz Deal". TVNewsCheck. November 2, 2015. Retrieved November 2, 2015.
  6. Venta, Lance (November 2, 2015). "Gray Television Divests Schurz Clusters To Three Buyers". RadioInsight. Retrieved November 2, 2015.
  7. Allen, Kevin (November 2, 2015). "WSBT Radio Group will have a new owner, again". South Bend Tribune. Retrieved November 2, 2015.
  8. Midwest Family To Launch CHR "Live 99.9" South Bend
  9. Live 99.9 South Bend Debuts
  10. 95.7 The Lake Debuts in Benton Harbor Radioinsight - January 31, 2019

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