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| Broadcast area | Metro Atlanta |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 99.7MHz (HD Radio) |
| Branding | Q99.7 |
| Programming | |
| Format | Contemporary hit radio |
| Subchannels |
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| Affiliations | Westwood One |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
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| History | |
First air date | November 5, 1963 (61 years ago) (1963-11-05) |
Former call signs |
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Call sign meaning | Chosen to match the "Q" branding |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 73345 |
| Class | C0 |
| ERP | 100,000watts |
| HAAT | 340 meters (1,120 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 33°48′26″N84°20′22″W / 33.80722°N 84.33944°W /33.80722; -84.33944 |
| Translator(s) |
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| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast |
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| Website |
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WWWQ (99.7FM) is a commercial radio station licensed toAtlanta, Georgia, United States, carrying acontemporary hit radio format known as "Q99.7". Owned byCumulus Media, WWWQ serves theAtlanta metropolitan area as the regional affiliate forThe Daly Download withCarson Daly and is theflagship station ofThe Bert Show andElliott & Nina. WWWQ's studios are located in the Atlanta suburb ofSandy Springs, while the station transmitter resides in Atlanta'sDruid Hills neighborhood. In addition to a standardanalog transmission, WWWQ broadcasts over threeHD Radio channels with the second and third subchannelssimulcast over low-power FMtranslators[2][3] and is available online.
The station first signed on the air as WLTA on November 5, 1963.[4] It was owned by Atlanta FM Broadcasters and had aneasy listening format, playing 15 minute sweeps of instrumentalcover versions of popular songs, along withHollywood andBroadway showtunes. In 1974, the station was acquired by theSusquehanna Broadcasting Company.
Oddly, one of its most popular music blocks in the late 1970s wasGolden Sundays, created and hosted by Jim Rich. It was arock & rolloldies specialty show, heard from 8 to 10 p.m., originating live from a restaurant inSandy Springs. To appeal to younger listeners, WLTA began playing several soft vocals each hour. Around 1980, theplaylist was approximately 50% vocals and 50% instrumentals; over time, the station gradually eliminated the instrumentals, switching toSoft Adult Contemporary. During the1979-80 NHL season, WLTA served as theflagship station of theAtlanta Flameshockey team in their final season before being sold and moved toCalgary.
In 1983, afterWSB-FM also changed to Soft AC, WLTA increased its tempo and opened up its announcers' personalities, and would change call letters to WRMM and rebrand as "Warm 100."[5] By 1985, with digital-tuning radios taking over from analog dials, the station began calling itself "Warm 99," since modern radios would show the dial position as 99.7 MHz. That did not sit well with WSB-FM's parent company,Cox Radio, who wouldsue, claiming "copyright infringement."[6] In alandmark case,Cox v. Susquehanna Broadcasting, the judge was handed a digital radio and asked to tune to 100.0 MHz. There was no signal, because it was between channels. To find the nearest station, he pressed the "scan" button, and it stopped onWKHX-FM at 101.5 MHz. Next, he entered 99.0 MHz, which again is between channels and so contained no signal. Scanning from there, the radio hit 99.7.
In hisprecedent-setting decision, the federal district judge stated that on a radio dial "a radio station'sfrequency is itsaddress" and one cannot copyright an address. He ruled in favor of Warm 99. A short time later, WSB-FM became known as "B98.5." WRMM would adjust its call letters slightly around this time, switching to WARM-FM.[7]
At 3 p.m. on March 5, 1986, WARM-FM went head-to-head with dominant localTop 40 stationWZGC, and flipped to the format as "Power 99.7."[8][9][10] The new format launched with "The Power of Love" byHuey Lewis & the News. Z-93 eventually lost its lead, and shifted to a morerhythmic contemporary format as "Hot New Z-93" before flipping toclassic rock in January 1989. WARM-FM changed its call letters to WAPW on February 10, 1988, and would rebrand as the more familiar "Power 99."[11]
By the early 1990s, "Power 99" was considered to be one of the dominant Top 40 stations in theSoutheast.[12][13] However, declining ratings, as well as the success ofNirvana at the end of 1991 and the subsequent rise of "alternative" music, gave station management pause.[14] In early September 1992, Susquehanna brought in Will Pendarvis to host an all-alternative program on weeknights called "Power 99 On the Edge". After receiving a solid amount of positive feedback, the station decided to make the full switch.
On October 26, 1992, at noon, "99X" made its debut, with "Video Killed The Radio Star" byThe Buggles being the first song played.[15][16][17] A month later, on November 27, 1992, the WAPW call letters were replaced with WNNX.
99X became one of the most influentialalternative rock stations in the United States, and played a key role in breaking numerous acts during its early years.Music director Sean Demery's push behindThe Cranberries' "Linger" in 1993 helped earn the band national attention in the U.S. On a trip toAustralia in early 1995,program director Brian Phillips brought back a copy of fledgling bandSilverchair's debutEP, which the station began to spin. The day after the release of the group's debut albumFrogstomp, the band gave its first US performance at the Roxy in Atlanta as a "99X Freeloader Show."
WNNX's personalities during this era includedSteve Barnes,Jimmy Baron,Leslie Fram, Steve Craig, Sean Demery, Will Pendarvis,Fred "Toucher" Toettcher and Rich Shertenlieb; the latter two would later find success in Boston as hosts ofToucher and Rich onWBZ-FM. The station also hosted a weekly live performance series namedLive X.
On May 5, 2006,Cumulus Media acquired Susquehanna Radio and all of its stations, including WNNX and sister station Q100. Over the next 20 months, Cumulus continued to support WNNX's alternative rock format, despite a noticeable decline in theArbitron ratings.[18][19][20]
The current format for WWWQ originated on January 23, 2001, on 100.5 FM, when that frequency was reallocated to the Atlanta radio market fromAnniston, Alabama.[21] On January 11, 2008, Cumulus announced they would move the Top 40/CHR format of "Q100" from 100.5 to 99.7, and move "99X" to the HD2 sub-channel of 99.7 and 99x.com, at 5:30 a.m. on January 25.[22][23] The final song on "99X" at 99.7 was "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)" byGreen Day. The call signs between the two stations would swap on January 29. (The current WNNX would flip to a mainstream rock format as "Rock 100.5", before flipping to a classic alternative format under the "99X" branding in December 2022.)[24][25][26]
Under Cumulus ownership, WWWQ briefly moved to a Hot AC format in 2009, but by 2010, had returned to CHR.
On January 2, 2019, WWWQ rebranded as "Q99.7".[27]
Weekday programming includesThe Bert Show, Yvonne Monet, Jade', andEliott. Weekend programming includesThe Daly Download with Carson Daly.
WNNX signed onHD Radio operations in December 2004, with WNNX-HD2 carrying classic alternative rock branded as "99XS". Along with the format and call sign switches between WNNX and WWWQ on January 25, 2008, WNNX-HD2 (renamed WWWQ-HD2) adopted the former alternative rock format heard on WNNX, retaining the 99X brand.[28][29] WWWQ-HD2 would add a simulcast via low-power translator W250BC (97.9 FM) on April 16, 2009.[30][31] This simulcast would be moved to W258BU (99.1 FM) on June 9, 2011; following a few days of airing on both translators, as well as a period ofstunting, W250BC would flip to a80s/90s hits format branded as "Journey 97.9", this time relaying WWWQ's HD3 subchannel.[32][33] A power increase for W258BU included a frequency change to 98.9 FM on September 15, 2011, using the W255CJ calls.
WWWQ-HD2 dropped the "99X" format for the first time on September 1, 2012, flipping toactive rock as "The Bone".[34][35][36] This format was incorporated into WNNX's format on February 1, 2013, with WWWQ-HD2 flipping tocountry-leaningContemporary Christian as "98.9 The Walk";[37][38] by August 25, 2013, the subchannel and translator switched tooldies (as "Oldies 98.9")[39] and switched again toNash Icon on August 15, 2014.[40][41][42] Astunt withChristmas music under the "Warm 98.9" brand began over WWWQ-HD2 on November 23, 2015,[43][44] and was followed by a week-long stunt withadult contemporary starting on December 26; both the subchannel and translator reverted to alternative rock as "99X" at Midnight on January 1, 2016.[45]
WWWQ-HD2 would temporarily lose its translator simulcast on April 12, 2018, when W255CJ was ordered off-air by the FCC due to interference complaints byWWGA inTallapoosa.[46] Following installation of adirectional antenna to protect WWGA's signal, W255CJ resumed operations on December 21, 2018.[47]
| Call sign | Frequency | City of license | FID | ERP (W) | HAAT | Class | Transmitter coordinates | FCC info |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W255CJ | 98.9 FM | Atlanta | 148550 | 180 | 306 m (1,004 ft) | D | 33°48′26″N84°20′22″W / 33.80722°N 84.33944°W /33.80722; -84.33944 | LMS |
WWWQ-HD3 launched with the debut of "Journey 97.9" on June 9, 2011, promoted as a "journey" through 1980s and 1990s popular music.[48][49][50] This format was dropped on September 4, 2012, in favor of a loop of the then-current Top 20 popular music songs, as well as newer hit music, modeled afterSiriusXM's now-defunctTop 20 on 20 channel. Branded "Q100 20 @ 97.9", this was meant to compete withWWPW, which flipped to CHR the week before.[51][52] On November 25, 2014, WWWQ-HD3 and W250BC flipped toclassic hip hop as "OG 97.9",[53][54] several hours beforeRadio One-ownedWAMJ-HD2 flipped to the same format.[55]
| Call sign | Frequency | City of license | FID | ERP (W) | HAAT | Class | Transmitter coordinates | FCC info |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W250BC | 97.9 FM | Atlanta | 158597 | 250 | 303.3 m (995 ft) | D | 33°48′26″N84°20′22″W / 33.80722°N 84.33944°W /33.80722; -84.33944 | LMS |