WRQX

WRQX
City Washington, D.C.
Broadcast area Washington, D.C.
Branding Mix 107.3
Slogan More Music, More Variety
Frequency 107.3 MHz (also on HD Radio)
First air date 1948 (as WMAL-FM)
Format Analog/HD-1: Hot AC
ERP 19,500 watts
HAAT 246 meters (807 ft)
Class B
Facility ID 73252
Transmitter coordinates 38°57′00″N 77°04′44″W / 38.950°N 77.079°W / 38.950; -77.079Coordinates: 38°57′00″N 77°04′44″W / 38.950°N 77.079°W / 38.950; -77.079
Callsign meaning RQX = "Rocks" (former format)
Former callsigns WMAL-FM (1948-1978)
Owner Cumulus Media
(Radio License Holdings LLC)
Sister stations WMAL, WMAL-FM
Webcast Listen Live
Listen Live via iHeart
Website mix1073.com

WRQX (107.3 FM, "Mix 107.3"), is an American commercial radio station licensed to Washington, D.C., and serves the Washington Metropolitan Area. The station airs a hot adult contemporary format. WRQX is currently owned and operated by Cumulus Media with the broadcast license held by Radio License Holding VII, LLC.

Established in 1948, the station's studios are located at 4400 Jenifer Street NW in Washington, two blocks from the city's border with Maryland. The station's transmitter resides at the intersection of Wisconsin Avenue NW and 41st Street NW in the northwestern section of the district.[1]

WRQX broadcasts in the HD Radio (hybrid) format.[2]

History

107.3 FM came on air in 1948 as WMAL-FM, airing an easy listening and classical music format. As an easy listening-classical station, programming was mostly automated with the exception of the weekday and Saturday mornings when the station simulcasted the Harden and Weaver show on WMAL. In the 1970s, it flipped to album-oriented rock as "The Soft Explosion". Automation was reduced considerably during that time. In 1979, the station changed to top 40, and branded as "Q107" with the current WRQX call letters.[3] The station eliminated automation completely during this time. On August 31, 1990, at noon, the station changed to Hot AC, branded as "Mix 107.3".[4] The first song on "Mix" was "Let The Music Play" by Shannon.

Former logo used between August 31, 1990, and August 28, 2013

WRQX is one of the many Disney/ABC Radio stations that merged with Citadel Broadcasting in 2007; Citadel, in turn, merged with Cumulus Media on September 16, 2011.[5] The station's slogan is "More Music, More Variety". Previous slogans have been "Not too hard, Not too light", "The Best Mix of the 80s, 90s & Today", "The Best Mix of...Everything", "Washington's Best Music Mix", "Today's Best Hits", and "All the Hits."

On April 27, 2013, long-time morning show host Jack Diamond was unexpectedly released from the station due to his contract expiring and not being renewed by station management.[6] Diamond had been at the station since the day the station flipped to "Mix" in 1990. It was widely speculated that the station would take their morning show in a new direction to compete against WIHT; to this end, Bert Weiss, currently the host of The Bert Show on sister WWWQ/Atlanta (and formerly Diamond's co-host), took over morning drive beginning May 16.[7] The Bert Show was syndicated from Atlanta.

On August 19, 2013, WRQX began to slowly phase out its "Mix" moniker, and began emphasizing their slogan "All The Hits", as well as furthering its playlist shift towards more current music, while dropping all 1980s and most 1990s–early 2000s material. Rival company Clear Channel picked up word on this potential shift, and began registering domains such as "allthehits1073.com" and "q1073dc.com" to prevent Cumulus from using them (the domains redirected to WIHT's website). On August 28, WRQX completed its shift back to Top 40, then branded as "All The Hits 107.3". The station debuted a new logo and transferred its online assets to 1073Hits.com.[8]

On May 2, 2014, WRQX dropped "The Bert Show" after one year, due to very low ratings.[9][10][11] Marco, who had previously been the station's afternoon drive personality, took over morning drive on an interim basis three days later.

On July 30, 2014, the Sarah, Ty and Mel Show debuted on 107.3.[12] It was heard weekdays ay 6–10 a.m., and was hosted by Sarah Fraser (formerly of The Kane Show), Ty Bentli (formerly of WNOW-FM in New York City) and Melanie Glazener (who also worked with Fraser on The Kane Show).

Also in July 2014, "All The Hits 107.3" was re-branded as "DC's 107.3" and its website address was changed to dcs1073.com.

During September and October 2015, WRQX began shifting back towards Hot AC. On November 9, 2015, Louie Diaz was announced as WRQX's new program director, replacing Jan Jeffries.[13][14] On that same day, the station's air staff was dismissed, leading to rumors of a format change, possibly back to Hot AC, once again as "Mix 107.3", as the station's ratings have been continually ranked low with the previous CHR format (rival WIHT was ranked number 4 in the market with a 5.9 share, while WRQX was ranked #18 with a 2.1 share of the market as of the October 2015 Nielsen ratings report).[15][16]

On November 11, 2015, Cumulus announced that WRQX would revert to its "Mix 107.3" branding on November 13. In addition, the station began stunting with Christmas music (beginning at 3 PM on November 13), which Cumulus announced would last for the holiday season (though it would only last for that weekend). At 6 AM on November 16, the station officially relaunched as "Mix" with the return of morning host Jack Diamond.[17]

Current Personalities

General Staff

References

  1. ↑ Yorke, Jeffrey (February 21, 1995). "A New Setting for Diamond?; WRQX Morning Host Mulls West Coast Job Offers". The Washington Post. p. D7.
  2. ↑ http://hdradio.com/station_guides/widget.php?id=8 HD Radio Guide for Washington DC
  3. ↑ Potts, Mark (November 3, 1990). "Rap, Rock-and-Roll Make Way for Hot AC; WRQX Changes Tunes to Attract Ad Dollars". The Washington Post. p. C1.
  4. ↑ Yorke, Jeffrey (September 4, 1990). "WRQX-FM's Format Flop; Station Switches Its Mix to Fight Declining Ratings". The Washington Post. p. C7.
  5. ↑ "Cumulus now owns Citadel Broadcasting". Atlanta Business Journal. September 16, 2011. Retrieved September 16, 2011.
  6. ↑ http://www.allaccess.com/net-news/archive/story/117844/jack-diamond-is-replaced-by-the-bert-show-on-wrqx
  7. ↑ https://radioinsight.com/blog/headlines/81814/jack-diamond-departs-dcs-wrqx/
  8. ↑ "WRQX Ditching Its Mix Moniker For All The Hits" from Radio Insight (August 19, 2013)
  9. ↑ https://radioinsight.com/blog/headlines/88481/wrqx-drops-bert-show/
  10. ↑ http://patch.com/virginia/chantilly/radio-station-wrqx1073fm-drops-the-bert-show-in-dc
  11. ↑ http://www.allaccess.com/net-news/archive/story/129132/bert-weiss-to-exits-mornings-at-wrqx-marco-to-do-m
  12. ↑ https://radioinsight.com/blog/headlines/netgnomes/89530/107-3-washington-completes-on-air-revamp-with-new-morning-show/
  13. ↑ https://radioinsight.com/blog/headlines/94966/jan-jeffries-exits-cumulus/
  14. ↑ https://radioinsight.com/blog/headlines/95183/louie-diaz-named-wrqx-washington-program-director/
  15. ↑ http://www.allaccess.com/nielsen/q/market/135/washington-dc
  16. ↑ https://radioinsight.com/blog/headlines/netgnomes/95021/daily-domains-1027-cumulus-prepping-overhaul-at-107-3-washington-dc/
  17. ↑ Cumulus Makes Return Of Mix 107.3 Washington Official; Jack Diamond Returns for Mornings - RadioInsight (published November 11, 2015)
  18. ↑ https://radioinsight.com/blog/headlines/96776/jason-kidd-joins-mix-107-3-dc-for-afternoons/
  19. ↑ https://radioinsight.com/blog/headlines/95183/louie-diaz-named-wrqx-washington-program-director/

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