WLVQ (96.3 FM) — branded Q-FM 96 — is a commercial

classic rock Classic rock is a US radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the mid 1990s, primar ...

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

Columbus, Ohio Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and t ...

. Owned by the Columbus Radio Group subsidiary of Saga Communications, through its Franklin Communications licensee, the station serves the Columbus metro area. The WLVQ studios are located in Upper Arlington, OH, and the station transmitter is in Columbus on the Twin Rivers Drive tower.

History

The 96.3 MHz frequency was first occupied by WLWF, a station owned by the

Crosley Broadcasting Corporation The Crosley Broadcasting Corporation was a radio and television broadcaster founded by radio manufacturing pioneer Powel Crosley, Jr. It had a major influence in the early years of radio and television broadcasting, and helped the Voice of Amer ...

along with sister station

WLWC WLWC (channel 28) is a television station licensed to New Bedford, Massachusetts, United States, serving the Providence, Rhode Island area as an affiliate of Court TV. Owned by Inyo Broadcast Holdings, the station shares transmitter facilities ...

(now WCMH-TV); WLWF broadcast from 1949–1953. WLVQ itself began on April 1, 1959 as WTVN-FM, owned by

Taft Broadcasting The Taft Broadcasting Company (also known as Taft Television and Radio Company, Incorporated) was an American media conglomerate based in Cincinnati, Ohio. The company was rooted in the Taft family, family of William Howard Taft, the 27th Presid ...

Company along with sister stations and WTVN-TV (now WSYX).http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC-YB-IDX/60s-OCR-YB/1965-YB/1965-BC-YB-for-OCR-Page-0282.pdf In 1966, WTVN-FM changed its callsign to WBUK and format to

adult contemporary 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, quie ...

. The station again switched formats and started playing "Beautiful Music" (

easy listening Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to 1970s. It is related to middle-of-the-road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit songs, n ...

) in 1969. The station reverted to the WTVN-FM call sign in 1974, but continued to play "Beautiful Music." The station adopted the WLVQ call sign on February 14, 1977. The first song played was "

New Kid in Town "New Kid in Town" is a song by the Eagles from their 1976 studio album ''Hotel California''. It was written by Don Henley, Glenn Frey and J.D. Souther. Released as the first single from the album, the song reached number one in the U.S. and number ...

" by the

Eagles Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just ...

. For many years the station's mascot was The Q Kangaroo, a creature selected by a listener in a contest. Q-FM-96 was an early champion of, and outlet for, Columbus's vibrant rock music community, and was particularly notable for its "Hometown Album Project", a series of compilation LPs featuring local artists, which debuted shortly after the station signed on. Another program in the 1980s was the Sunday morning show "Psychedelic Sunday," showcasing 1960s-era rock, much of it relatively obscure, and hosted by British DJ Russell Carey. On November 4, 2015, Saga Communications announced it had agreed to purchase WLVQ from Wilks Broadcast Group. Saga owns and operates Columbus stations

WSNY WSNY (94.7 FM) is a commercial radio station in Columbus, Ohio. It airs an adult contemporary radio format and is owned by the Columbus Radio Group subsidiary of Saga Communications. From mid-November until the Christmas holidays, WSNY switches ...

WVMX WVMX (107.9 FM, "Mix 107.9") is a radio station broadcasting a Hot AC format. Licensed to the suburb of Westerville, Ohio, it serves the Columbus metropolitan area. It first began broadcasting in 1991 under the call sign WCEZ. The station is c ...

WNND WNND (formerly WSWZ) and WNNP are two FM radio stations serving the Columbus, Ohio market. Owned by the Columbus Radio Group subsidiary of Saga Communications, WNND broadcasts on 103.5 MHz from Pickerington, Ohio, and WNNP broadcasts on 104.3 ...

and

WNNP WNND (formerly WSWZ) and WNNP are two FM radio stations serving the Columbus, Ohio market. Owned by the Columbus Radio Group subsidiary of Saga Communications, WNND broadcasts on 103.5 MHz from Pickerington, Ohio, and WNNP broadcasts on 104.3 ...

through its Franklin Communications, Inc. subsidiary. The purchase by Saga was consummated on February 3, 2016 at a price of $13 million.

Current programming

Currently WLVQ/Q-FM-96 airs the Torg & Elliott morning show; Scott Torgerson and Jerry Elliott. Long time morning host Mark "Daddy Wags" Wagner is retired. Jerry Elliott and Kristie Kemper joined The Morning Show in 1990, Torg joined the show in 2013. Jerry was a stand-up comedian, Kristie came from the morning show at WAZU/Dayton, OH, and Torg, former afternoon drive personality on sports WBNS-FM/97.1 The Fan. Kristie Kemper also handles mid-days along with the Iconic Nooner feature. Archie steers the ship through afternoons with features like the 4:20 Haircut & the Joe Show Drive at Five on Fridays. In September 2022 “DaveMan” returned to Qfm96 after 16 years to take over evenings from Doug Risher who accepted a new position on Nantucket Island.

References

External links

QFM96
* {{Saga Communications LVQ Radio stations established in 1959 Classic rock radio stations in the United States Taft Broadcasting