WXXQ (98.5 FM, "Q98.5") is a

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 ...

serving the

Rockford, Illinois Rockford is a city in Winnebago County, Illinois, located in the far northern part of the state. Situated on the banks of the Rock River, Rockford is the county seat of Winnebago County (a small portion of the city is located in Ogle County). ...

, United States, area with a

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

format. (Prior to country, the station ran a

Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or " con ...

format for a time). WXXQ broadcasts on FM frequency 98.5 MHz and is under ownership of

Townsquare Media Townsquare Media, Inc. (formerly Regent Communications until 2010) is an American radio network and media company based in Purchase, New York. The company started in radio and expanded into digital media toward the end of the 2000s, starting wi ...

. WXXQ was originally WFRL-FM, with sister station

WFRL WFRL (1570 AM; is a radio station licensed to Freeport, Illinois. WFRL airs a classic country format and is owned by Big Radio. Its studios and transmitter are at 834 North Tower Road, northeast of Freeport. The station features local news, plu ...

-AM, sharing studios that were located in Freeport, Illinois. On August 30, 2013, a deal was announced in which Townsquare would acquire 53

Cumulus Media Cumulus Media, Inc. is an American broadcasting company and is the third largest owner and operator of AM and FM radio stations in the United States behind Audacy and iHeartMedia. As of June 2019, Cumulus lists ownership of 428 stations in 87 ...

stations, including WXXQ, for $238 million. The deal was part of Cumulus' acquisition of

Dial Global Westwood One is an American radio network owned by Cumulus Media. The company syndicates talk, music, and sports programming. The company takes its name from an earlier network also named Westwood One, a company founded in 1978. The company w ...

; Townsquare and Dial Global were both controlled by

Oaktree Capital Management Oaktree Capital Management is an American global asset management firm specializing in alternative investment strategies. As of March 31, 2022, the company managed $164 billion for its clientele. The firm was co-founded in 1995 by a group that ...

. The Cumulus transaction was consummated effective November 14, 2013. Their current weekday lineup is as follows: 6 a.m.-10 a.m.: Lil Zim & JB Love “In The Morning” 10 a.m.-3 p.m.: Jess “on the pretzel” 3 p.m.-7 p.m.: Buddy Logan 7 p.m.-12 a.m.: Taste of Country Nights 12 a.m.-6 a.m.: Brett Alan

References

External links

*
Q98.5 - Official Website
Country radio stations in the United States XXQ Townsquare Media radio stations Radio stations established in 1965 1965 establishments in Illinois {{Illinois-radio-station-stub