WRQK-FM

WRQK-FM

Canton, Ohio
Broadcast area	Canton metro area Akron metro area
Frequency	106.9MHz
Branding	Rock 106.9
Programming
Language(s)	English
Format	Mainstream rock
Affiliations	iHeartRadio United Stations Radio Networks
Ownership
Owner	iHeartMedia, Inc. (iHM Licenses, LLC)
Sister stations	WHLO WHOF WKDD
History
First air date	March 1, 1961(1961-03-01)
Former call signs	WCNO (1961–67) WNYN-FM (1967–71) WHLQ (1971–79) WOOS-FM (1979–85) WRQK (1985–89)
Call signmeaning	"Rock"
Technical information
Licensing authority	FCC
Facility ID	8550
Class	B
ERP	27,500watts
HAAT	103 meters (338 ft)
Transmitter coordinates	40°49′22.00″N81°25′40.00″W
Links
Public license information	Public file LMS
Webcast	Listen live(viaiHeartRadio)
Website	wrqk.iheart.com

WRQK-FM(106.9MHz) is a commercialradio stationlicensed to serveCanton, Ohio,featuring amainstream rockformat known as "Rock 106.9". Owned byiHeartMedia, Inc.,the station serves both theCantonandAkronmetro areas and is the local affiliate forThe House of Hair with Dee Snider.WRQK-FM's studios are located on Freedom Ave NW inNorth Canton,while the transmitter located off 22nd St NW inCanton.In addition to a standardanalog transmission,WRQK-FM broadcasts inHD Radio,and is available online viaiHeartRadio.

History

WRQK-FM began broadcasting as WCNO on March 1, 1961.The new station was owned by the Greer Group, also owner ofWANDinCanton;the two stations became WNYN and WNYN-FM in 1967. Both stations were purchased in 1965 by Don Keyes, who had made his mark as a national programmer for legendary station ownerGordon McLendon.In 1971, he sold the FM station toSusquehanna Radio Corporation,the owners ofWHLOin Akron, whereupon WNYN-FM became WHLQ.

Susquehanna sold the station in 1978 to the owners ofWINW,who applied to change the FM call letters to WHOF (for the "Hall of Fame" city of Canton) but were rebuffed by the owners of WTOF, another local FM station. (Coincidentally, WRQK-FM now has aniHearMedia, Inc.sister station in the Akron/Canton cluster using theWHOFcall letters.) 106.9 adopted an automated Top 40 format and became WOOS-FM on June 1, 1979.

WOOS-FM changed its call sign to WRQK on August 3, 1985, taking on analbum oriented rockmusic format. For a while, the station called itself Goodrock 107, an apparent play on the name of theGoodyear Tire and Rubber Companyin nearbyAkron.It formally changed from WRQK to WRQK-FM on February 14, 1989, when AM stationWINWchanged its call sign to WRQK. The AM station changed back to WINW six months later, but the FM call sign has remained WRQK-FM.

In 1995, the station was sold by Jim Embrescia's Canton/Akron Radio, Inc. to Sabre Communications. Then In 1997, SabreComm sold to Connoisseur. Connoisseur sold their entire radio group toCumulus Media.Then, on August 8, 2006, it was announced that WRQK-FM would be sold to Clear Channel Communications (nowiHeartMedia, Inc.), pairing WRQK-FM with former sister-stationWHLO,as well asWARF,WKDD,andWHOF.Clear Channel took over operations of WRQK-FM on January 15, 2007, pending FCC approval of its purchase of the station from Cumulus.

In March 2007, WRQK-FM changed its branding from "Rock 107" to "Rock 106.9"; and also changed slogans from "Canton's Rock Station" to "It Just Rocks!", in an effort to also serve the Akron market, in early 2017 the station changed the slogan back to "Canton's Rock Station"

Current programming

WRQK-FM personality and formerMaxwell Showsidekick Dan Stansbury hosts the morning drive programwhile all other programming is provided via iHeartRadio's internalPremium Choicenetwork. WRQK-FM also airsThe House of Hair with Dee Snideron weekends viaUnited Stations Radio Networks.The HD2digital subchannelcarries asoft adult contemporaryformat branded as "The Breeze".

External links

• Official website
• Facility details for Facility ID 8550 (WRQK-FM)in theFCCLicensing and Management System
• WRQK-FMinNielsen Audio's FM station database