WSCZ (93.9

MHz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose expression in terms of SI base units is s−1, meaning that one he ...

) is a commercial FM

radio station Radio broadcasting is transmission 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 radio ...

licensed A license (or licence) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit). A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another party (licensee) as an element of an agreeme ...

Winnsboro, South Carolina Winnsboro is a town in Fairfield County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 3,550 at the 2010 census. The population was 3,215 at the 2020 census. A population decrease of approximately 9.5% for the same 10 year period. It is the c ...

. It is owned by

Alpha Media LLC Alpha (uppercase , lowercase ; grc, ἄλφα, ''álpha'', or ell, άλφα, álfa) is the first letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of one. Alpha is derived from the Phoenician letter aleph , whic ...

and it

simulcast Simulcast (a portmanteau of simultaneous broadcast) is the broadcasting of programmes/programs or events across more than one resolution, bitrate or medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at exactly the same time (that is, simultane ...

WHXT WHXT (103.9 FM broadcasting, FM) is a mainstream urban radio station licensed to Orangeburg, South Carolina and serves the Columbia, South Carolina market. The Alpha Media outlet is licensed by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to broadc ...

103.9 in

Orangeburg, South Carolina Orangeburg, also known as ''The Garden City'', is the principal city in and the county seat of Orangeburg County, South Carolina, United States. The population of the city was 13,964 according to the 2010 United States Census and declined to 12 ...

. Together both stations cover most of the Columbia Metropolitan Area, with WSCZ based to the north and WHXT based to the south. The stations air an

Urban contemporary Urban contemporary music, also known as urban music, hip hop, urban pop, or just simply urban, is a music radio format. The term was coined by New York radio DJ Frankie Crocker in the early to mid-1970s as a synonym for Black music. Urban contem ...

radio format A radio format or programming format (not to be confused with broadcast programming) describes the overall content broadcast on a radio station. The radio format emerged mainly in the United States in the 1950s, at a time when Radio broadcasting, ...

. The studios are on Pineview Road in Columbia and WSCZ's

transmitter In electronics and telecommunications, a radio transmitter or just transmitter is an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna (radio), antenna. The transmitter itself generates a radio frequency alternating current, which i ...

is off Flint Hill Road in Winnsboro.

Station history

WQKI-FM first

signed on Signing may refer to: * Using sign language * Signature A signature (; from la, signare, "to sign") is a handwritten (and often stylized) depiction of someone's name, nickname, or even a simple "X" or other mark that a person writes on do ...

in 1990 as the FM

sister station In broadcasting, sister stations or sister channels are radio or television stations operated by the same company, either by direct ownership or through a management agreement. Radio sister stations will often have different formats, and somet ...

of WQKI-AM. WQKI-FM featured an

urban contemporary Urban contemporary music, also known as urban music, hip hop, urban pop, or just simply urban, is a music radio format. The term was coined by New York radio DJ Frankie Crocker in the early to mid-1970s as a synonym for Black music. Urban contem ...

music format under the "Quikie 93.9" moniker. In 2003, Miller Communications acquired

WQKI-FM WQKI-FM (95.7 MHz) is a commercial radio station licensed to Orangeburg, South Carolina. It airs a classic hip hop radio format and is owned by Community Broadcasters, LLC. WQKI-FM has a construction permit issued by the Federal Communications ...

and swapped its

call letters In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign (also known as a call name or call letters—and historically as a call signal—or abbreviated as a call) is a unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be formally assigne ...

with WIGL 102.9. It got a construction permit to upgrade its signal to cover parts of Columbia. In that year, Miller flipped 93.9 to

Hot AC Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quiet s ...

as Mix 93.9 with the nationally syndicated program "

The Bob and Sheri Show ''Bob and Sheri'' is a syndicated U.S. radio program hosted by Bob Lacey and Sheri Lynch. It is heard in morning drive time. Its flagship station is WKQC-FM "K104.7" in Charlotte, North Carolina. For 29 years, the originating station had been ...

" in the morning. Two years later, WIGL flipped to

Classic Hits Classic hits is a radio format which generally includes songs from the top 40 music charts from the late 1960s to the early 2000s, with music from the 1980s serving as the core of the format. Music that was popularized by MTV in the early 1980s ...

as Bad Dog 93-9 with Rick & Bubba in the morning. The station shared the same programming with sister WICI-FM 94.7 in

Sumter Sumter may refer to: People Given name * Sumter S. Arnim (1904–1990), American dentist * Sumter de Leon Lowry Jr. (1893–1985), United States Army general Surname * Rowendy Sumter (born 1988), Curaçaoan footballer * Shavonda E. Sumter ( ...

. On March 30, 2007, after a year that saw little audience growth, WIGL was LMA'ed to Peregon Broadcasting, the operators of WQVA 1170 in Lexington and temporary operator of WHZQ 94.1 in Cross Hill (WHZQ was dropped several weeks after Peregon acquired control of WIGL). Peregon flipped WIGL to Spanish Contemporary as "Radio Ritmo" (Spanish for "rhythm"), making it the first

Spanish language Spanish ( or , Castilian) is a Romance languages, Romance language of the Indo-European language family that evolved from colloquial Latin spoken on the Iberian peninsula. Today, it is a world language, global language with more than 500 millio ...

FM in the Columbia radio market. Programming included contemporary music and

salsa Salsa most often refers to: * Salsa (Mexican cuisine), a variety of sauces used as condiments * Salsa music, a popular style of Latin American music * Salsa (dance), a Latin dance associated with Salsa music Salsa or SALSA may also refer to: A ...

as well as community affairs. The state's

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

population had increased by 45 percent in five years, fourth in the country. Miller Communications' Harold Miller said, "The response has been excellent." In July 2008, WIGL went dark and the Ritmo format was relegated to the 1170 AM signal. The LMA with Peregon fell through. On Thursday, July 8, 2010, WIGL's call letters were changed to WSCZ-FM. On Friday, July 16, 2010, WSCZ-FM signed on with

mainstream rock Mainstream rock (also known as heritage rock) is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations in the United States and Canada. Format background Mainstream rock stations represent the middle ground between classic rock and active rock ...

as "Z 93-9" with the slogan "Everything That Rocks." Then, in November 2010, WSCZ became "Cat

Country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...

93.9", "Columbia's New Station For Today's Country & Your All Time Favorites". On September 9, 2014, WSCZ began simulcasting WHXT "Hot 103.9". Effective November 30, 2015, Miller Communications sold WSCZ to

for $900,000.

References

External links

* SCZ Radio stations established in 1992 Urban contemporary radio stations in the United States 1992 establishments in South Carolina Alpha Media radio stations {{SouthCarolina-radio-station-stub