| Broadcast area | Myrtle Beach, South Carolina |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 93.5MHz |
| Branding | El Patron 93.5 |
| Programming | |
| Format | Regional Mexican |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| WGTR,WRXZ,WWXM,WYNA | |
| History | |
First air date | 1999 (as WDZD) |
Former call signs | WDZD (1997–2005) WLQB (2005–2019) WLLZ (2019) WDTW-FM (2019) |
Call sign meaning | WLaQueBuena (former branding) |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 3122 |
| Class | A |
| ERP | 6,000watts |
| HAAT | 100 meters (330 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 33°55′37″N78°23′48″W / 33.92694°N 78.39667°W /33.92694; -78.39667 |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | elpatron935 |
WLQB (93.5FM, "El Patron 93.5"; translation: The Boss, or Master) is aradio station broadcasting aregional Mexican format. Licensed toOcean Isle Beach, North Carolina, United States, the station is owned byiHeartMedia, Inc., through licensee iHM Licenses, LLC.[2][3] Its studios are located on theU.S. 17 Bypass inMyrtle Beach, and its transmitter is inShallotte, North Carolina.
The call lettersWDZD were formerly used by WLTT (nowWILT) when that station was at 93.5 FM.[4]
In January 1999, "hyperactive rock" radio station "93.5 Asylum" signed on inMyrtle Beach, South Carolina. Darren Taylor, assistant program director and afternoon DJ, said that in addition toMetallica,Black Sabbath,Judas Priest andIron Maiden, the station would play bands that received little radio airplay, such asStatic-X,Rage Against the Machine,Godsmack, andKid Rock.[5] Other artists on WDZD includedRob Zombie,Collective Soul,Lenny Kravitz,Hole,The Black Crowes,silverchair,Korn,Marilyn Manson,Stone Temple Pilots,Soundgarden,Beastie Boys,Smashing Pumpkins,AC/DC,Nirvana,Pearl Jam,Creed,Faith No More,Placebo,The Offspring, andJonny Lang. DJs who joined the station on February 8 were Freaky Chick, Art, Monkey Boy fromWWSK, and Pork Chop ofKUFO inPortland, Oregon. Booger ofWWXM was music director. Scrap Jackson, operations manager for Root Communications in Myrtle Beach, said the target audience was males in their 20s, and "93-5 is truly analternative station asWebster defined it."[4]
Because the signal could not be heard throughout the Myrtle Beach market (thoughWilmington listeners could hear it), the station did not perform well. WDZD was changed toMemories fromABC Radio Networks, a softoldies satellite format, in 2000, and the name became "Lite 2000".[6]
Several years later, WDZD began airing thecountry music heard onWGTR, but the stations went their separate ways in 2005. WDZD became "La Que Buena 93.5, La Estación De Las Estrellas", with aRegional Mexican format and the call signWLQB.
In 2013, WLQB becameadult contemporary B93.5,[7] with "Ocean Isle andCalabash's Best of the '80s, '90s, and Today!"
On May 15, 2014, Qantum Communications announced that it would sell its 29 stations, including WLQB, to Clear Channel Communications (now iHeartMedia), in a transaction connected to Clear Channel's sale ofWALK AM-FM inPatchogue, New York toConnoisseur Media via Qantum.[8] The transaction was consummated on September 9, 2014.
On May 5, 2017, WLQB returned to Regional Mexican as "El Patron".[7] On February 28, 2019, the station changed the call sign to WLLZ. One week later, the call letters were swapped withWDTW-FM in Detroit. That station had changed formats on March 1 to one that used "WLLZ" in its branding (WLLZ was a set of heritage calls in the Detroit market which iHeartMedia was able to reserve and claim in order to facilitate the format switch). On March 15, 2019, the call sign was changed back to WLQB.