WQQO

WQQO (105.5 FM) – branded Q105 – is a commercial contemporary hit radio station licensed to serve Sylvania, Ohio. Owned by Cumulus Media, the station services the Toledo metropolitan area and much of surrounding Northwest Ohio. Both the WQQO studios and station transmitter reside in Toledo's Scott Park neighborhood. Besides a standard analog transmission, WQQO broadcasts over two HD Radio channels, and is available online; WQQO-HD2 carries an active rock format branded as "100.7 The Zone", which is relayed over low-power analog translator W264AK.[1]

WQQO
CitySylvania, Ohio
Broadcast areaToledo metropolitan area
Northwest Ohio
Frequency105.5 MHz (HD Radio)
BrandingQ105
SloganToledo's Hit Music!
Programming
FormatContemporary hit radio
SubchannelsHD1: WQQO analog
HD2: Active rock
AffiliationsWestwood One
Ownership
OwnerCumulus Media
(Cumulus Licensing LLC)
WKKO, WTOD, WRQN, WMIM, WXKR
History
First air date
November 29, 1968 (1968-11-29)
Former call signs
WGLN (196872)
WXEZ (197282)
WWWM (198290)
WWWM-FM (19902016)
Technical information
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID42127
ClassA
ERP4,300 watts
HAAT118.7 meters (389 ft)
Transmitter coordinates
41.647°N 83.605°W / 41.647; -83.605
Translator(s)HD2: 100.7 W264AK (Toledo)
Links
Public license information
Profile
LMS
Webcast
Websitewww.q1055.com

History

The 105.5 MHz spot on the radio dial in the Toledo area began in November 1968 as WGLN, located in a cornfield in western Lucas County, the remote studio-transmitter location was the home of the "Jones Boys", a concept introduced in Toledo by station manager and native Toledoan Michael Drew Shaw. Like WTRX in Flint, Michigan where Shaw had been program director several years before being named manager at WGLN, every DJ used the last name Jones. Among the more notable, Davy Jones, Casey Jones, Tom Jones, and John Paul Jones. More notable D.J.s sporting the name JONES were Joe Hood, Steve Wright, Earl Sharninghouse, and Klaus Helfers, The station featured country music - the first such FM station in the market - and broadcast live performances.

After a few months, WGLN became as "Golden 105," featuring a primarily oldies playlist with a sprinkling of current hits introduced with the tagline "Here today, Golden tomorrow." Then in late 1971, the format shifted to progressive rock. It was Toledo's first so-called underground FM station playing the songs and deep album cuts that no one else in the market was playing at the time. The station, however, was later sold in 1972 to Midwest Broadcasting and by spring of that year, 105.5 FM became a beautiful music station with the WXEZ call sign. In response to the format change, a citizens' group known as the Citizens' Committee to Keep Progressive Rock filed an objection with the FCC on the basis that Toledo already had several other middle-of-the-road/easy listening-type format stations and did not need another; the FCC rejected the appeal, and the committee continued to appeal the rejection until the Reams family changed WCWA-FM (104.7) to WIOT in December 1972, after which the objection was withdrawn.[2]

At this time, 105.5 FM was still located in its tiny studio in the rural cornfield setting at its transmitter site in Berkey, Ohio. It later was moved into the newly remodeled garage at the Pickle Road studios of WOHO. By the late 1970s it had transformed into an automated Top 40/rock format called "Z-Rock" (no relation to the heavy-metal music format of the same name) station known as "Z-105".[3]

In 1979-1980, the station had a simulcast of sister station WOHO 1470 AM for morning drive time as well as for weekend broadcasts of American Top 40. In 1980 the station went on its own with live local on-air talent. As the format changed from rock to adult contemporary, it was known as "Z-105" to "3WM 105 FM" in the early 1980s. After dumping the WXEZ calls (to a Chicago station) they obtained WWWM-FM (from a Cleveland station who went by "M105"), hence the "3WM".[4]

Their AM sister station on 1470, WOHO, then also changed their calls to WWWM from 1990-1995. The format was urban contemporary music at the time.

The Toledo duopoly of 1470AM/105.5FM has always been owned by the Lew Dickey family, first as Midwestern Broadcasting, then as Cumulus Broadcasting/Media.

The station re-branded as "Star 105" in 1998, changing format from adult contemporary to hot adult contemporary.

In April 2007, Star 105.5 became Toledo's home for Delilah's syndicated love-songs program, which competes with the John Tesh show on Clear Channel's WRVF. WWWM had previously aired Delilah for a time during the late 1990s. At the same time, the station became known as "Star 105.5" rather than simply "Star 105" and modified its playlist in a more mainstream AC direction, adding more music from the 1970s. However, after Star 105.5 dropped Delilah, and in 2008 replaced her with the Billy Bush show, the station returned to hot AC and pre-1980s music was dropped.

In April 2008, WWWM-FM began continuous HD Radio digital radio broadcasts.

WWWM was re-branded as "Star 105" on March 19, 2012, concurrent with a format switch to contemporary hit radio; "Andrew Z in the Morning" was picked up for morning drive at this time, but dropped from the lineup that December. In September 2014, Denny Schaffer returned to the Toledo market to host morning drive on WWWM.[5]

On the morning of April 1, 2016, WWWM re-branded as "Channel 105.5", completing its shift back to Hot AC.[6] By that June 22, WWWM re-branded as "Q105.5" under new WQQO calls; the WWWM call sign was subsequently parked on a co-owned Eden Prairie, Minnesota station.[7]

On September 4th, 2020, at 3PM, WQQO dropped the hot adult contemporary format and began stunting by playing 90s and 2000s throwback hip hop and pop hits, such as Eminem, Fabolous, Fergie, and Fall Out Boy, as a “throwback weekend”, while mentioning “9/8/2020 at 5AM” on every sweeper, and dropping the Q105.5 moniker. Morning show host Eric Chase (formerly on rival WVKS) stated in a teaser video posted on the station’s Facebook page that he gets to do something he has always wanted to do since joining WQQO in 2017. At said time, WQQO shifted back to CHR as "Q105".[8]

WQQO-HD2

WQQO airs a modern rock format on its HD2 subchannel, branded as "100.7 The Zone" (simulcast on translator W264AK 100.7 FM Toledo).[9]

References

  1. http://hdradio.com/station_guides/widget.php?id=84 HD Radio Guide for Toledo
  2. "The Citizens Committee to Keep Progressive Rock, Appellant, v. Federal Communications Commission, Appellee, Midwesternbroadcasting Company, Intervenor, 478 F.2d 926 (D.C. Cir. 1973)". Justia Law. Retrieved August 17, 2020.
  3. "American Radio, Spring, 1978 Report" by James Duncan
  4. "American Radio, Fall 1982" James H Duncan Jr.
  5. "Denny Schaffer Returns To Toledo". RadioInsight. September 19, 2014. Retrieved August 17, 2020.
  6. "Star 105 Toledo Changes Its Channel". RadioInsight. April 1, 2016. Retrieved August 17, 2020.
  7. "105.5 Toledo Rebrands Again". RadioInsight. June 23, 2016. Retrieved August 17, 2020.
  8. https://radioinsight.com/headlines/197129/q105-toledo-stunting-with-throwback-weekend-ahead-of-tuesday-revamp/
  9. The Zone Returns to Toledo Radioinsight - November 4, 2019
FM Translator
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