WRQY explained

WRQY
City:Moundsville, West Virginia
Area:Wheeling, West Virginia
St. Clairsville, Ohio
Branding:Rage 96.5
Frequency:96.5 MHz
Airdate:1990 (as WRKP)
Format:Active rock
Erp:2,500 watts
Haat:138 meters
Class:A
Facility Id:56641
Coordinates:40.0358°N -80.7711°W
Callsign Meaning:Sounds like "Rocky" (previous branding and format)
Former Callsigns:WRKP (1988–2007)
WLVW (2007–2011)
WBGI-FM (2011–2012)
WYJK-FM (2012–2014)
Affiliations:Fox News Radio
Owner:Cody Barack
Licensee:Ohio Midland Newsgroup, LLC
Sister Stations:WCDK, WLYV, WOMP, WBGI-FM, WEIR
Webcast:Listen Live
Website:rivernetworkov.com
Licensing Authority:FCC

WRQY (96.5 FM) is an active rock formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Moundsville, West Virginia, serving Wheeling in West Virginia and St. Clairsville in Ohio. WRQY is owned and operated by Cody Barack through licensee Ohio Midland Newsgroup.

History

On December 20, 2011, the then-WBGI-FM dropped the "K-Love" contemporary Christian format and began stunting.[1] On December 27, 2011, WBGI-FM flipped to country, branded as "Biggie 96.5".

On September 10, 2012, WBGI-FM's country format moved to 100.5 FM in Bellaire, Ohio, swapping formats with "Jack FM" WYJK-FM, which moved to the 96.5 FM frequency. On September 18, 2012, the stations swapped call signs, with WBGI-FM changing to WYJK-FM and vice versa.

On September 8, 2014, WYJK-FM flipped to a hybrid sports/active rock format, branded as "Rocky 96.5"; the station also changed call letters to WRQY.[2]

On March 26, 2018, WRQY flipped to classic rock, still under the "Rocky 96.5" branding. The station's format WAs fed via Westwood One's "Classic Rock X" network, which was developed in consultation with Forever Media and debuted on WRQY.[3] [4]

On November 12, 2021, WRQY's Facebook page posted a picture of their logo with the "classic" word crossed out with the text "Monday at 3". On November 15, WRQY shifted back to active rock, branded as "Rage 96.5." The final song played before the switch was "Mysterious Ways" by U2. The first song that was played once the flipped took place was "Darkness Settles In" by Five Finger Death Punch.

Notes and References

  1. http://radioinsight.com/blog/headlines/netgnomes/53785/biggie-coming-to-wheeling/ Biggie Coming to Wheeling
  2. http://radioinsight.com/blog/headlines/90069/sports-rock-comes-to-wheeling/ Sports Rock Comes to Wheeling
  3. News: Westwood One Launches Classic Rock X Format. 2018-04-09. RadioInsight. 2018-06-11. en-US.
  4. News: WRQY Moves To Classic Rock. 2018-03-27. RadioInsight. 2018-06-11. en-US.