WZBQ
Encyclopedia
WZBQ is a Top 40 (CHR)
music formatted radio station
licensed to Carrollton, Alabama
, with studios located in Tuscaloosa
. The station is owned by Clear Channel Communications
.
WZBQ serves west-central Alabama
and most of east-central Mississippi
with an ERP of 98,000 Watts, broadcasting at 94.1 MHz. The station was formerly the Tuscaloosa FM affiliate of the Alabama Crimson Tide football network. Cities in WZBQ's primary coverage area include Tuscaloosa, Carrollton, Aliceville
and Fayette
in Alabama and Columbus
and Starkville
in Mississippi.
station WRAG. During the 1970s, the station changed call letters to WAQT, then in 1990 to WCKO. The station took the oldies
format and call letters of Z-102
(102.5 FM) in Jasper when that station began targeting the Birmingham
market in 1995. In 1996, the station switched formats and adopted its current Top 40 programming.
Contemporary hit radio
Contemporary hit radio is a radio format that is common in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by the Top 40 music charts...
music formatted radio station
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
licensed to Carrollton, Alabama
Carrollton, Alabama
Carrollton is a town in Pickens County, Alabama, United States. At the 2000 census the population was 987. The city is the county seat of Pickens County....
, with studios located in Tuscaloosa
Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Tuscaloosa is a city in and the seat of Tuscaloosa County in west central Alabama . Located on the Black Warrior River, it is the fifth-largest city in Alabama, with a population of 90,468 in 2010...
. The station is owned by Clear Channel Communications
Clear Channel Communications
Clear Channel Communications, Inc. is an American media conglomerate company headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It was founded in 1972 by Lowry Mays and Red McCombs, and was taken private by Bain Capital LLC and Thomas H. Lee Partners LP in a leveraged buyout in 2008...
.
WZBQ serves west-central Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
and most of east-central Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
with an ERP of 98,000 Watts, broadcasting at 94.1 MHz. The station was formerly the Tuscaloosa FM affiliate of the Alabama Crimson Tide football network. Cities in WZBQ's primary coverage area include Tuscaloosa, Carrollton, Aliceville
Aliceville, Alabama
Aliceville is a city in Pickens County, Alabama, United States. At the 2000 census the population was 2,567. According to the 2005 U.S. Census estimates, the city had a population of 2,465. -Geography:...
and Fayette
Fayette, Alabama
Fayette is a city in Fayette County, Alabama, United States. The 2000 census lists the population as 4,922. The city is the county seat of Fayette County.-Geography:Fayette is located at .According to the U.S...
in Alabama and Columbus
Columbus, Mississippi
Columbus is a city in Lowndes County, Mississippi, United States that lies above the Tombigbee River. It is approximately northeast of Jackson, north of Meridian, south of Tupelo, northwest of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and west of Birmingham, Alabama. The population was 25,944 at the 2000 census...
and Starkville
Starkville, Mississippi
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 21,869 people, 9,462 households, and 4,721 families residing in the city. The population density was 851.4 people per square mile . There were 10,191 housing units at an average density of 396.7 per square mile...
in Mississippi.
History
The station signed on in the 1950s as country musicCountry music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
station WRAG. During the 1970s, the station changed call letters to WAQT, then in 1990 to WCKO. The station took the oldies
Oldies
Oldies is a term commonly used to describe a radio format that concentrates on music from a period of about 15 to 55 years before the present day....
format and call letters of Z-102
WDXB
WDXB is a Clear Channel Communications-owned country music formatted radio station licensed to Pelham, Alabama, that serves Birmingham and north-central Alabama.-Programming:...
(102.5 FM) in Jasper when that station began targeting the Birmingham
Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...
market in 1995. In 1996, the station switched formats and adopted its current Top 40 programming.