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WCOL-FM (92.3
MHz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), often described as being equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose formal expression in terms of SI base u ...
) – branded 92.3 WCOL – is a commercial
country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...
radio station Radio broadcasting is the broadcasting of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based rad ...
licensed to
Columbus, Ohio Columbus (, ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Ohio, most populous city of the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 United States census, 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the List of United States ...
, serving the Columbus metro area. Owned by
iHeartMedia iHeartMedia, Inc., or CC Media Holdings, Inc., is an American mass media corporation headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It is the holding company of iHeartCommunications, Inc., formerly Clear Channel Communications, Inc., a company founded by ...
, the WCOL-FM studios are located in Downtown Columbus, while its transmitter resides northwest of downtown on the WBNS-TV tower. In addition to a standard
analog transmission Analog transmission is a transmission method of conveying information using a continuous signal which varies in amplitude, phase, or some other property in proportion to that information. It could be the transfer of an analog signal, using an an ...
, WCOL-FM broadcasts over one
HD Radio HD Radio (HDR) is a trademark for in-band on-channel (IBOC) digital radio broadcast technology. HD radio generally simulcast, simulcasts an existing analog radio station in digital format with less noise and with additional text information. HD R ...
channel, and streams online via
iHeartRadio iHeartRadio (often shortened to just "iHeart") is an American freemium broadcast, podcast, radio streaming and Music Streaming platform owned by iHeartMedia. Founded in August 2008, iHeartRadio serves as the national umbrella brand for iHeart ...
.


History

WCOL-FM first came on the air in 1948. In the early 1970s, it carried religious programming in the daytime and rock music in the evening. 1970 through 1978, WCOL-FM was known as ''"Stereo Rock 92"'' and offered programming as an eclectic album-oriented rock (AOR) station, and was moderately popular. The on-air mix included Jazz, soul, country and spoken word recordings and focused on local and regionally recorded music. The programming had the support of management but even after dropping the religious programming and going 24 hour AOR, it was difficult for the station's sales staff to understand, and thus to monetize. Where the station had modest financial success, the cultural impact has been proven over the decades. And from 1978 and throughout the 1980s, the station used the WXGT call letters and relaunched as ''"The All New 92X FM, WXGT"''. When 92X was launched it went to a Top 40/CHR format. During this period then locally famous Suzy Waud hosted evenings; in the latter part of the mid-to-late 1980s, 92X went into a Rock/40 format. 92X launched the careers of several major market disc jockeys during the 1980s, including the late great Joseph "Smokin' Joe" Dawson (later at B96 in Chicago), Gary Spears (also later at B96 and then at
KIIS-FM KIIS-FM (102.7 FM broadcasting, FM, "102.7 KIIS FM") is a commercial radio station licensed to Los Angeles, California, United States, and broadcasts to the Greater Los Angeles area. The station airs a contemporary hit radio format. Owned by i ...
in Los Angeles), Baltazar (who went to
WQHT WQHT (97.1 FM broadcasting, FM, ''Hot 97'') is a commercial radio station, licensed to New York, New York, which broadcasts an urban contemporary music format. The station is owned by Mediaco Holding, a subsidiary of the Standard General hedge ...
a.k.a. Hot 97 in New York after that, and then he went to WJMN, & now he's on WBQT both in Boston), and Douglas Ritterling, whose on-air name was Doug Ritter (who later went to
KITS KITS (105.3 FM broadcasting, FM, "Live 105") is a commercial radio, commercial radio station in San Francisco, San Francisco, California. Owned by Audacy, Inc., it broadcasts an alternative rock radio format known as "Live 105". The studios ...
a.k.a. Live 105 in San Francisco) and Jonny Zellner who went on to run programming at Sirius XM and later at iHeartMedia formerly known as Clear Channel Communications. WXGT dominated the CHR/ AOR a.k.a. the Rock/40 hybrid format in Columbus, Ohio during most of the decade. On November 5, 1990, WXGT changed to
oldies Oldies is a term for musical genres such as pop music, rock and roll, doo-wop, surf music from the second half of the 20th century, specifically from around the mid-1950s to the 1980s, as well as for a radio format playing this music. Since 2 ...
as "Cool 92" under the WCOL-FM call letters.92X Going, Going Gold
Radio & Records, Issue 864, November 2, 1990, p. 26 When the country format was ushered in on February 14, 1994, the station stunted over the course of several days by broadcasting a computerized numeric countdown. The WCOL call sign had also been used on an
AM band Medium wave (MW) is a part of the medium frequency (MF) radio band used mainly for AM broadcasting, AM radio broadcasting. The spectrum provides about 120 channels with more limited sound quality than FM stations on the FM broadcast band. Duri ...
station, which was the area's primary Top 40 station in the 1960s and early 1970s and was branded as ''"The New WCOL"'' and ''"Super 'COL"'' It briefly returned to its Top 40 roots in the early 1990s simulcasting ''"Cool 92"'' and in automated form as ''"Real Oldies 1230 AM WCOL"'' from 2003 to 2004. That station is now known as
WYTS WYTS (1230 AM) is a commercial black-oriented news radio station licensed to Columbus, Ohio. Owned by iHeartMedia, the station serves the Columbus metro area. Besides a standard analog transmission, the station is available online via iHear ...
and is an affiliate of the Fox Sports Radio network. WCOL-FM is one of two country music outlets in Columbus metro as it faces competition with WCLT-FM for country music listenership in Columbus. However, WCOL-FM is the only country station in Columbus that covers the entire metropolitan area with a full-powered signal.


References


External links

* * ( Guide to reading History Cards) {{IHeartMedia 1948 establishments in Ohio Country radio stations in the United States Nationwide Communications Radio stations established in 1948 COL-FM IHeartMedia radio stations