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WZCB (106.7 FM) – branded 106.7 The Beat – is a commercial
mainstream urban Mainstream may refer to: Film * ''Mainstream'' (film), a 2020 American film Literature * ''Mainstream'' (fanzine), a science fiction fanzine * Mainstream Publishing, a Scottish publisher * ''Mainstream'', a 1943 book by Hamilton Basso Mu ...
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 to
Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...
,
Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
, serving the Columbus metro area. Owned by
iHeartMedia iHeartMedia, Inc., formerly CC Media Holdings, Inc., is an American mass media corporation headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It is the holding company of iHeartCommunications, Inc. (formerly Clear Channel Communications, Inc.), a company fou ...
, the WZCB studios are located in Downtown Columbus, while its transmitter resides near
Columbus Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio Columbus may also refer to: Places ...
' northeast side. In addition to a standard
analog transmission Analog transmission is a transmission method of conveying information using a continuous signal which varies in amplitude, phase, or some other property in proportion to that information. It could be the transfer of an analog signal, using an ana ...
, WZCB broadcasts over two
HD Radio HD Radio (HDR) is a trademark for an in-band on-channel (IBOC) digital radio broadcast technology. It generally simulcasts an existing analog radio station in digital format with less noise and with additional text information. HD Radio is used ...
channels, and streams online via
iHeartRadio iHeartRadio (often shortened to just "iHeart") is an American freemium broadcast, podcast and radio streaming Computing platform, platform owned by iHeartMedia. It was founded in August 2008. , iHeartRadio was functioning as the national umbr ...
.


History


As a Marion station (1953-2007)

WMRN-FM had gone on the air on 106.9 MHz in
Marion, Ohio Marion is a city in and the county seat of Marion County, Ohio, Marion County, Ohio, United States. The municipality is located in north-central Ohio, approximately north of Columbus, Ohio, Columbus. The population was 35,999 at the 2020 United S ...
, in April 1953, more than seven years after receiving its original construction permit. In the 1970s, it was a beautiful music station; later, it became country "Buckeye Country 107".


Moving to the Columbus market (2007)

On December 1, 2007, the station was relicensed to
Dublin, Ohio Dublin is a city in Franklin, Delaware and Union counties in the U.S. state of Ohio. The population was 49,328 in the 2020 census with a census estimate of 49,037 in 2019. Dublin is a suburb of Columbus. The city of Dublin hosts the yearly Mem ...
and began targeting the
Columbus Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio Columbus may also refer to: Places ...
radio market; the station frequency also had moved to 106.7 
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 ...
. Prior to the announced launch,
iHeartMedia iHeartMedia, Inc., formerly CC Media Holdings, Inc., is an American mass media corporation headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It is the holding company of iHeartCommunications, Inc. (formerly Clear Channel Communications, Inc.), a company fou ...
(then known as Clear Channel Communications) registered a large number of web domains with various formats and brandings to throw off competitors from switching to null the impact of their launch. Stunting on-air consisted of television theme songs as "TV 106.7". The former country format moved to Marion's other station, 94.3 WDIF-FM, which became the new
WMRN-FM WMRN-FM is a country music radio station in Marion, Ohio, currently owned by iHeartMedia. Station history The previous WMRN-FM had served the nearby Marion, Ohio area at 106.9 MHz with a country music format under the on-air monikers “FM-1 ...
in January 2008.


Modern rock (2007-2010)

On December 13, 2007 at noon, the new WRXS officially unveiled its true format, modern rock, as "Radio 106-7". The first song played on Radio 106.7 was "
Radio, Radio "Radio Radio" is a song written by Elvis Costello and performed by Elvis Costello and the Attractions. The song originated as a Bruce Springsteen-inspired song called "Radio Soul" that Costello had written in 1974. In 1977, Costello reworked ...
" by
Elvis Costello Declan Patrick MacManus Order of the British Empire, OBE (born 25 August 1954), known professionally as Elvis Costello, is an English singer-songwriter and record producer. He has won multiple awards in his career, including a Grammy Award in ...
and
the Attractions The Attractions were an English backing band for the English new wave musician Elvis Costello between 1977 and 1986, and again from 1994 to 1996. They consisted of Steve Nieve (keyboards and ukulele), Bruce Thomas (bass guitar), and Pete Tho ...
. When Radio 106-7 first started in 2007, presentation heavily centered on modern rock music from the 1990s, as well as featuring selected songs from the mid-1970s through the end of the 1980s as well as current product. Overall, the station came across as "lighter" than typical Modern Rock radio stations. This type of presentation is highly similar to those at several other Clear Channel operations in
Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
,
Grand Rapids, MI Grand Rapids is a city and county seat of Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 198,917 which ranks it as the second most-populated city in the state after Detroit. Grand Rapids is the ...
, and
Hartford, CT Hartford is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded County (United States), county government in 19 ...
. On May 2, 2009, the station tweaked its format by dropping the lighter alternative music and adding more hard rock to its rotation to compete with independent WWCD. On January 7, 2010 the station added ''
Rover's Morning Glory ''Rover's Morning Glory'' is a syndicated hot talk morning radio show originating from Cleveland rock station WMMS (100.7  FM). Hosted by radio personality Rover (Shane French), the show first began at cross-town rival WXTM (92.3 F ...
'' to its morning lineup.


'90s hits (2010-2011)

On June 28, 2010, the station switched to a '90s pop/rock centered format as Gen-X Radio", and changed their call letters to WCGX; ''Rover's Morning Glory'' was removed from the schedule. The first song played in the new format was "
Get Ready For This "Get Ready for This" is a song recorded by Belgian/Dutch music group 2 Unlimited. It was released in 1991 as the lead single from their debut album, '' Get Ready!'' (1992). Originally, the single was produced as an instrumental, titled the "Orc ...
" by
2 Unlimited 2 Unlimited are a Belgian/Dutch dance music act, founded by Belgian producers/songwriters Jean-Paul De Coster and Phil Wilde in 1991 in Antwerp, Belgium. From 1991 to 1996, Dutch rapper Ray Slijngaard and Dutch vocalist Anita Doth fronted the a ...
.


Modern adult contemporary (2011)

As of October 2011, WCGX shifted from '90s hits to a
modern 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 ...
direction, phasing out all rhythmic product. The alternative product remained, and it has increased the amount of currents from the genre.


Modern rock (2011-2014)

On December 19, 2011, at 6 PM, WCGX officially dropped the "Gen" from their name, calling themselves "X106-7" and officially shifted to
modern rock Modern rock is an umbrella term used to describe rock music that is found on college rock radio stations. Some radio stations use this term to distinguish themselves from classic rock, which is based in 1960s–1980s rock music. Radio format Mod ...
. X106-7 positioned as "Columbus' Alternative Station." This put them in competition with not only WWCD, but
WRKZ WRKZ (99.7 FM), branded 99.7 The Blitz, is a commercial active rock radio station licensed to Columbus, Ohio, and serving the Columbus metro area. It is owned by the North American Broadcasting Company, along with sister stations 920 WMN ...
. As a result, ratings were in the middle of the pack for most of X's tenure. The "X" format moved to WBWR-HD2, and eventually to the main signal 105.7 FM itself that December.


Urban (2014-present)

On September 19, 2014, at Noon, after playing " Closing Time" by
Semisonic Semisonic is an American rock band formed in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1995, consisting of Dan Wilson (lead vocals, guitar, keyboards), John Munson (bass, keyboards, backing vocals, guitar), and Jacob Slichter (drums, percussion, keyboards, ba ...
, WCGX switched to an urban format as "106.7 The Beat". The first song on "The Beat" was "
Studio A studio is an artist or worker's workroom. This can be for the purpose of acting, architecture, painting, pottery (ceramics), sculpture, origami, woodworking, scrapbooking, photography, graphic design, filmmaking, animation, industrial design ...
" by
Schoolboy Q Quincy Matthew Hanley (born October 26, 1986), better known by his stage name Schoolboy Q (stylized as ScHoolboy Q), is an American rapper. In 2009, Hanley signed to Carson-based independent record label Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE) and in late ...
featuring
BJ the Chicago Kid Bryan James Sledge (born November 23, 1984), better known by his stage name BJ the Chicago Kid (or simply BJ), is an American singer and songwriter from Chicago, Illinois. Sledge is best known for frequently collaborating with Top Dawg Entertainm ...
. The station picked up ''
The Breakfast Club ''The Breakfast Club'' is a 1985 American teen coming-of-age comedy-drama film written, produced, and directed by John Hughes. It stars Emilio Estevez, Paul Gleason, Anthony Michael Hall, Judd Nelson, Molly Ringwald, and Ally Sheedy. The film t ...
'' morning show, and currently competes with Radio One's
WCKX WCKX (107.5 FM), known on air as "Power 107.5 & 106.3," is a radio station broadcasting an urban contemporary format with a heavy but hit-driven emphasis on current R&B/Hip-Hop product. The station is licensed to and serves the Columbus, Ohio me ...
. On September 26, 2014, WCGX changed call letters to WZCB to match the "Beat" branding.


References


External links

* * {{iHeartMedia ZCB Radio stations established in 1979 Dublin, Ohio 1979 establishments in Ohio Mainstream urban radio stations in the United States IHeartMedia radio stations