WZCB (106.7
FM) – branded 106.7 The Beat – is a commercial
mainstream urban
Mainstream may refer to:
Film
* ''Mainstream'' (film), a 2020 American film
Literature
* ''Mainstream'' (fanzine), a science fiction fanzine
* Mainstream Publishing, a Scottish publisher
* ''Mainstream'', a 1943 book by Hamilton Basso
* ' ...
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
Dublin
Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
,
Ohio
Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...
, 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 WZCB studios are located in
Downtown Columbus, while its transmitter resides near
Columbus' northeast side. 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 ...
, WZCB broadcasts over two
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 ...
channels, 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
As a Marion station (1953–2007)
WMRN-FM had gone on the air on 106.9 MHz in
Marion, Ohio
Marion is a city in Marion County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is located in north-central Ohio, approximately north of Columbus, Ohio, Columbus. The population was 35,999 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, down slig ...
, in April 1953, more than seven years after receiving its original construction permit.
In the 1970s, it was a beautiful music station; later, it became country "Buckeye Country 107".
Moving to the Columbus market (2007)
On December 1, 2007, the station was relicensed to
Dublin, Ohio
Dublin is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. A suburb of Columbus, Ohio, Columbus, it falls within the jurisdictions of Franklin County, Ohio, Franklin, Delaware County, Ohio, Delaware, Union County, Ohio, Union, and Madison County, Ohio, Madison ...
and began targeting the
Columbus radio market; the station frequency also had moved to 106.7
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 ...
. Prior to the announced launch,
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 ...
(then known as Clear Channel Communications) registered a large number of web domains with various formats and brandings to throw off competitors from switching to null the impact of their launch.
Stunting on-air consisted of television theme songs as "TV 106.7". The former country format moved to Marion's other station, 94.3 WDIF-FM, which became the new
WMRN-FM in January 2008.
Modern rock (2007–2010)

On December 13, 2007 at noon, the new WRXS officially unveiled its true format, modern rock, as "Radio 106-7". The first song played on Radio 106.7 was "
Radio, Radio" by
Elvis Costello
Declan Patrick MacManus (born 25 August 1954), known professionally as Elvis Costello, is an English singer, songwriter, record producer, author and television host. According to ''Rolling Stone'', Costello "reinvigorated the literate, lyrical ...
and
the Attractions.
When Radio 106-7 first started in 2007, presentation heavily centered on modern rock music from the 1990s, as well as featuring selected songs from the mid-1970s through the end of the 1980s as well as current product. Overall, the station came across as "lighter" than typical Modern Rock radio stations. This type of presentation is highly similar to those at several other Clear Channel operations in
Philadelphia
Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
,
Grand Rapids, MI
Grand Rapids is the largest city and county seat of Kent County, Michigan, United States. With a population of 198,917 at the 2020 census and estimated at 200,117 in 2024, Grand Rapids is the second-most populous city in Michigan. The Gran ...
, and
Hartford, CT. On May 2, 2009, the station tweaked its format by dropping the lighter alternative music and adding more hard rock to its rotation to compete with independent
WWCD. On January 7, 2010 the station added ''
Rover's Morning Glory
''Rover's Morning Glory'' is a nationally syndicated hot talk morning drive time radio show originating from Cleveland rock station WMMS (100.7 FM). Hosted by radio personality Rover (Shane French), the show first began at cross-tow ...
'' to its morning lineup.
'90s hits (2010–2011)
On June 28, 2010, the station switched to a '90s pop/rock centered format as Gen-X Radio", and changed their call letters to WCGX; ''Rover's Morning Glory'' was removed from the schedule. The first song played in the new format was "
Get Ready For This" by
2 Unlimited.
Modern adult contemporary (2011)
As of October 2011, WCGX shifted from '90s hits to a
modern AC direction, phasing out all rhythmic product. The alternative product remained, and it has increased the amount of currents from the genre.
Modern rock (2011–2014)
On December 19, 2011, at 6 PM, WCGX officially dropped the "Gen" from their name, calling themselves "X106-7" and officially shifted to
modern rock
Modern rock is an umbrella term used to describe rock music that is found on college and commercial rock radio stations. Some radio stations use this term to distinguish themselves from classic rock, which is based in 1960s–1980s rock music.
...
. X106-7 positioned as "Columbus' Alternative Station." This put them in competition with not only WWCD, but
WRKZ. As a result, ratings were in the middle of the pack for most of X's tenure. The "X" format moved to
WBWR-HD2, and eventually to the main signal
105.7 FM itself that December.
Urban (2014–present)
On September 19, 2014, at Noon, after playing "
Closing Time" by
Semisonic, WCGX switched to an urban format as "106.7 The Beat". The first song on "The Beat" was "
Studio
A studio is a space set aside for creative work of any kind, including art, dance, music and theater.
The word ''studio'' is derived from the , from , from ''studere'', meaning to study or zeal.
Types Art
The studio of any artist, esp ...
" by
Schoolboy Q
Quincy Matthew Hanley (born October 26, 1986), better known by his stage name Schoolboy Q (stylized as ScHoolboy Q), is an American rapper. He began recording in 2007, and released his first two mixtapes, ''ScHoolboy Turned Hustla'' (2008) and '' ...
featuring
BJ the Chicago Kid
Bryan James Sledge (born November 23, 1984), better known by his stage name BJ the Chicago Kid (or simply BJ), is an American singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, Sledge is best known for frequently collaborating with Top ...
.
The station picked up ''
The Breakfast Club'' morning show, and currently competes with
Radio One's
WCKX. On September 26, 2014, WCGX changed call letters to WZCB to match the "Beat" branding.
References
External links
*
* (
Guide to reading History Cards)
{{iHeartMedia
ZCB
Radio stations established in 1979
Dublin, Ohio
1979 establishments in Ohio
Mainstream urban radio stations in the United States
IHeartMedia radio stations