WARQ
Encyclopedia
WARQ is a Modern Rock
radio station licensed to Columbia, South Carolina
and serves the Columbia market. The Inner City Broadcasting outlet is licensed by the Federal Communications Commission
(FCC) to broadcast at 93.5 MHz with an effective radiated power
(ERP) of 2.8 kW. The station goes by the name Rock 93.5 and its current slogan is "New Rock Now."
/Easy Listening
music format. Later, the station converted to FM stereo, still with a Beautiful/Easy Listening music format supplied on reel to reel tape by Schulke.
In 1983, the station adopted the call letters WCEZ and maintained the Beautiful/Easy Listening format, with the slogan "The Beautiful Place to Be" and "Easy 93 WCEZ."
Shortly after the sale of then WCEZ (along with sister WVOC AM 560) to Ridgley Communications, the station abandoned the automated reel-to-reel Beautiful/Easy Listening format to a light rock format that incorporated more vocals and fewer traditional instrumentals. WCEZ then adopted the moniker "Lite 93.5" and began broadcasting a satellite-delivered light rock format supplied by Westwood One
networks known internally as "Format 41."
Ridgley Communications later filed for bankruptcy protection and a private ownership group in the Fall of 1989 purchased WCEZ/WVOC out of bankruptcy. The group of owners, which included Olympia Networks Steve Bunyard and broadcast veteran Rick Dames, organized and operated the stations under the Clayton Radio name.
In January 1990, Clayton Radio replaced the satellite-delivered Westwood One Format 41 with a Gold-based WARM AC format developed by McVay Media. The station adopted the moniker Star 93.5 and the call letters WAAS. As unfortunate as the transpositions were, the call letters were designed to put the station at the top of the Arbitron rating service list of stations and stood for "We Are Always Shining." The jingles used by WAAS were customized versions of JAM's
"Q-Cuts" package.
By 1992, WAAS was at a crossroads. The station was experiencing financial difficulties as well as a ratings battle with 2 other ACs in the market, WTCB
and WSCQ (now known as WXBT
). That August the station, in a rather bold move, dropped AC for Active Rock
(with select Classic rock
cuts) under the "Rock 93.5" handle. The new call letters became WARQ and the station set out to battle established AOR/Classic rock
hybrid WMFX
for the rock audience.
In early 1995, WARQ was sold to new owners and the studios were moved with new sister station WWDM
. When the move was completed, a brief stunt was done on April Fools' Day when WARQ dropped Album Rock for Hip hop
as "93 Jamz" for about an hour. After the stunting was done, Rock 93-5 was relaunched with a new on-air slogan "Real Rock". At that point, the station segued toward a more Active/Alternative Rock hybrid, but would eventually become a full Alternative station by early 1996 dropping the "Real Rock" slogan in the process for "Columbia's Rock Alternative".
In 1999, a new handle known as "Channel 93-5" was adopted by Clear Channel. This lasted until 2004, when the "Rock 93-5" moniker was reclaimed after Inner City bought it.
The station is owned by Inner City Broadcasting, which also owns Urban Contemporary
WHXT
, Urban AC
WWDM
, Classic rock
WMFX
, ESPN Radio
outlet WZMJ
and Air America Radio
outlet WOIC
in the Columbia radio market.
Modern rock
Modern rock is a rock format commonly found on commercial radio; the format consists primarily of the alternative rock genre...
radio station licensed to Columbia, South Carolina
Columbia, South Carolina
Columbia is the state capital and largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The population was 129,272 according to the 2010 census. Columbia is the county seat of Richland County, but a portion of the city extends into neighboring Lexington County. The city is the center of a metropolitan...
and serves the Columbia market. The Inner City Broadcasting outlet is licensed by the Federal Communications Commission
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
(FCC) to broadcast at 93.5 MHz with an effective radiated power
Effective radiated power
In radio telecommunications, effective radiated power or equivalent radiated power is a standardized theoretical measurement of radio frequency energy using the SI unit watts, and is determined by subtracting system losses and adding system gains...
(ERP) of 2.8 kW. The station goes by the name Rock 93.5 and its current slogan is "New Rock Now."
History
WARQ signed on the air as WXRY on February 6, 1971 in mono with a BeautifulBeautiful music
Beautiful music is a mostly instrumental music format that was prominent in American radio from the 1960s through the 1980s...
/Easy Listening
Easy listening
Easy listening is a broad style of popular music and radio format that emerged in the 1950s, evolving out of big band music, and related to MOR music as played on many AM radio stations. It encompasses the exotica, beautiful music, light music, lounge music, ambient music, and space age pop genres...
music format. Later, the station converted to FM stereo, still with a Beautiful/Easy Listening music format supplied on reel to reel tape by Schulke.
In 1983, the station adopted the call letters WCEZ and maintained the Beautiful/Easy Listening format, with the slogan "The Beautiful Place to Be" and "Easy 93 WCEZ."
Shortly after the sale of then WCEZ (along with sister WVOC AM 560) to Ridgley Communications, the station abandoned the automated reel-to-reel Beautiful/Easy Listening format to a light rock format that incorporated more vocals and fewer traditional instrumentals. WCEZ then adopted the moniker "Lite 93.5" and began broadcasting a satellite-delivered light rock format supplied by Westwood One
Westwood One
Westwood One was an American radio network and was based in New York City. At one time, it was managed by CBS Radio, the radio arm of CBS Corporation, and Viacom and was later purchased by the private equity firm The Gores Group...
networks known internally as "Format 41."
Ridgley Communications later filed for bankruptcy protection and a private ownership group in the Fall of 1989 purchased WCEZ/WVOC out of bankruptcy. The group of owners, which included Olympia Networks Steve Bunyard and broadcast veteran Rick Dames, organized and operated the stations under the Clayton Radio name.
In January 1990, Clayton Radio replaced the satellite-delivered Westwood One Format 41 with a Gold-based WARM AC format developed by McVay Media. The station adopted the moniker Star 93.5 and the call letters WAAS. As unfortunate as the transpositions were, the call letters were designed to put the station at the top of the Arbitron rating service list of stations and stood for "We Are Always Shining." The jingles used by WAAS were customized versions of JAM's
JAM Creative Productions
JAM Creative Productions, Inc., is an American company that produces radio jingles, promo music for television, and commercial jingles for advertisers. It has made more radio jingles than any other jingle company and has become part of American pop culture....
"Q-Cuts" package.
By 1992, WAAS was at a crossroads. The station was experiencing financial difficulties as well as a ratings battle with 2 other ACs in the market, WTCB
WTCB
WTCB is an adult contemporary radio station licensed to Orangeburg, South Carolina and serves the Columbia, South Carolina market. The Cumulus Media outlet is licensed by the Federal Communications Commission to broadcast at 106.7 MHz with an effective radiated power of 100 kW...
and WSCQ (now known as WXBT
WXBT
WVOC-FM is a news/talk station licensed to West Columbia, South Carolina and serves the Columbia, South Carolina market. The Clear Channel Communications outlet is licensed by the Federal Communications Commission to broadcast at 100.1 MHz with an ERP of 5.9 kW...
). That August the station, in a rather bold move, dropped AC for Active Rock
Active rock
Active rock is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations across the United States and Canada. Active rock plays contemporary rock artists with a mix of songs common in the classic rock radio format.-Format background:...
(with select Classic rock
Classic rock
Classic rock is a radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format features music ranging generally from the late 1960s to the late 1980s, primarily focusing on the hard rock genre that peaked in popularity in the...
cuts) under the "Rock 93.5" handle. The new call letters became WARQ and the station set out to battle established AOR/Classic rock
Classic rock
Classic rock is a radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format features music ranging generally from the late 1960s to the late 1980s, primarily focusing on the hard rock genre that peaked in popularity in the...
hybrid WMFX
WMFX
WMFX is a Classic rock radio station licensed to St. Andrews, South Carolina and serves the Columbia, South Carolina market. The Inner City Broadcasting outlet is licensed by the Federal Communications Commission to broadcast at 102.3 MHz with an effective radiated power of 6 kW...
for the rock audience.
In early 1995, WARQ was sold to new owners and the studios were moved with new sister station WWDM
WWDM
WWDM is a Urban Adult Contemporary radio station licensed to Sumter, South Carolina and serves the Columbia, South Carolina market. The Inner City Broadcasting outlet is licensed by the Federal Communications Commission to broadcast at 101.3 MHz with an effective radiated power of 100 kW...
. When the move was completed, a brief stunt was done on April Fools' Day when WARQ dropped Album Rock for Hip hop
Hip hop
Hip hop is a form of musical expression and artistic culture that originated in African-American and Latino communities during the 1970s in New York City, specifically the Bronx. DJ Afrika Bambaataa outlined the four pillars of hip hop culture: MCing, DJing, breaking and graffiti writing...
as "93 Jamz" for about an hour. After the stunting was done, Rock 93-5 was relaunched with a new on-air slogan "Real Rock". At that point, the station segued toward a more Active/Alternative Rock hybrid, but would eventually become a full Alternative station by early 1996 dropping the "Real Rock" slogan in the process for "Columbia's Rock Alternative".
In 1999, a new handle known as "Channel 93-5" was adopted by Clear Channel. This lasted until 2004, when the "Rock 93-5" moniker was reclaimed after Inner City bought it.
The station is owned by Inner City Broadcasting, which also owns Urban Contemporary
Urban contemporary
Urban contemporary is a music radio format. The term was coined by the late New York DJ Frankie Crocker in the mid 1970s. Urban contemporary radio stations feature a playlist made up entirely of hip hop/rap, contemporary R&B, pop, electronica such as dubstep and drum and bass and Caribbean music...
WHXT
WHXT
WHXT is an urban contemporary radio station licensed to Orangeburg, South Carolina and serves the Columbia, South Carolina market. The Inner City Broadcasting outlet is licensed by the Federal Communications Commission to broadcast at 103.9 MHz with an effective radiated power of 9.2 kW...
, Urban AC
Urban Adult Contemporary
Urban adult contemporary is the name for a format of radio music, similar to an urban contemporary format. Radio stations using this format usually would not have rap music on their playlists. The format was designed by Barry Mayo when he, Lee S. Simonson and Bill Pearson organized Broadcast...
WWDM
WWDM
WWDM is a Urban Adult Contemporary radio station licensed to Sumter, South Carolina and serves the Columbia, South Carolina market. The Inner City Broadcasting outlet is licensed by the Federal Communications Commission to broadcast at 101.3 MHz with an effective radiated power of 100 kW...
, Classic rock
Classic rock
Classic rock is a radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format features music ranging generally from the late 1960s to the late 1980s, primarily focusing on the hard rock genre that peaked in popularity in the...
WMFX
WMFX
WMFX is a Classic rock radio station licensed to St. Andrews, South Carolina and serves the Columbia, South Carolina market. The Inner City Broadcasting outlet is licensed by the Federal Communications Commission to broadcast at 102.3 MHz with an effective radiated power of 6 kW...
, ESPN Radio
ESPN Radio
ESPN Radio is an American sports radio network. It was launched on January 1, 1992 under the original banner of "SportsRadio ESPN." ESPN Radio is located at ESPN headquarters in Bristol, Connecticut...
outlet WZMJ
WZMJ
WZMJ is an all-sports station licensed to Batesburg, South Carolina and serves the Columbia, South Carolina market. The Inner City Broadcasting outlet is licensed by the Federal Communications Commission to broadcast at 93.1 MHz with an effective radiated power of 3 kW...
and Air America Radio
Air America Radio
Air America was an American radio network specializing in progressive talk programming...
outlet WOIC
WOIC
WOIC is a News/Talk radio station licensed to Columbia, South Carolina. It serves the Columbia market. The Inner City Broadcasting outlet is licensed by the Federal Communications Commission to broadcast at 1230 kHz with an effective radiated power of 1 kW full time...
in the Columbia radio market.