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|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Piedmont Triad |
| Frequency | 97.1MHz |
| Branding | 97.1 QMG |
| Programming | |
| Language | English |
| Format | Urban adult contemporary |
| Affiliations | Premiere Networks |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| History | |
First air date | 1962 (1962) |
Call sign meaning | "Where Quality Music Lives in Greensboro" |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 47078 |
| Class | C0 |
| ERP | 100,000 watts |
| HAAT | 327 meters (1,073 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 35°56′42.5″N79°51′44.1″W / 35.945139°N 79.862250°W /35.945139; -79.862250 |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen live (via Audacy) |
| Website | www |
WQMG (97.1FM) is anurban adult contemporarystation licensed toGreensboro, North Carolina and serves thePiedmont Triad region, which also includesHigh Point andWinston-Salem. TheAudacy, Inc. outlet broadcasts with an ERP of 100 kW. The station's studios are located near thePiedmont Triad International Airport, and a transmitter site is in unincorporated southGuilford County.
As of December 2021, WQMG is the highest-rated station in the Greensboro–Winston-Salem–High Point radio market.[2]
The earliest roots of this station date to 1948 and a station with the call lettersWFMY on 97.3 MHz, owned by the Greensboro News Company, publishers of theGreensboro Daily News andDaily Record (now merged as theGreensboro News & Record). One year after its founding as anFM station, its owners constructedWFMY-TV, the first television station in Greensboro and the second in North Carolina. The FM station was taken off the air in 1953 as the company devoted more of its resources totelevision.
A new station signed on under new ownership in 1962 on 97.1 MHz with the call letters WQMG, which stood for "Where Quality Music lives in Greensboro." With its new 20,000 watt facility the station was the first in the southeast to broadcast in stereo. In the early 1970s, WQMG aired anadult contemporary format known as "Stereo Island."
WQMG was very successful in the 1970s and 1980s as anUrban Contemporary format under the name "Power 97 FM". By 1996, they would move to their current format under the "Classic Soul...Smooth R&B" slogan, after becoming the sister station toWJMH and beating that station in the ratings,[3] as well asWTQR with the 18-54 audience.[4] Following the format change of competitorWMKS, WQMG is now the sole Adult R&B station in the market.[citation needed] From March 1997 to 2015, WQMG was the Triad's home of thesyndicatedTom Joyner Morning Show. Shilynne Cole and Busta Brown now host a local morning show, and Renee Vaughn, who was a local host during Joyner's show, moved to middays. TheSteve Harvey Morning Show replaced Tom Joyner on November 9, 2015.[4][5]
In November–December 2021, WQMG achieved a rating of 13.0, the largest share in the history of the station.[6]