WMMQ

WMMQ

City	East Lansing, Michigan
Broadcast area	Lansing, Michigan
Branding	Classic Rock 94.9
Slogan	Lansing's Classic Rock
Frequency	94.9 MHz
First air date	1963 (as WVIC)
Format	Classic rock
ERP	50,000 watts
HAAT	150 meters
Class	B
Facility ID	24641
Transmitter coordinates	42°38′45″N 84°33′38″W / 42.64583°N 84.56056°W / 42.64583; -84.56056
Former callsigns	WVIC-FM (9/11/83-6/1/97) WVIC (6/8/83-9/11/83) WVIC-FM (5/6/81-6/8/83) WVIC (1963-5/6/81)
Owner	Townsquare Media (Townsquare Media Lansing License, LLC)
Sister stations	WFMK, WITL-FM, WJIM, WJIM-FM, WVFN
Webcast	Listen Live
Website	wmmq.com

WMMQ is an American classic rock radio station at 94.9 FM, licensed to East Lansing, Michigan. The station is owned by Townsquare Media.

History

WCER-FM 92.7

The original WMMQ (92.7 FM) began life as WCER-FM in Charlotte, Michigan, in 1963. The station was co-owned with WCER-AM 1390 (now Christian-formatted WLCM). On July 1, 1979, WCER-FM changed its calls to WMMQ, and on September 1 of that year, WMMQ separated programming from its AM sister and aired an adult contemporary/sports format as Q92.

WMMQ-FM 92.7

By the mid-1980s, WMMQ was struggling in the ratings and losing to its Lansing-based A/C competitors, and the station's owners quietly prepared a format change. On April 15, 1985, WMMQ changed to a then brand-new format called Classic rock, making it one of the first FM stations in the United States with such a format. The station was consulted by Fred Jacobs, revered as the "father" of the Classic Rock format, and quickly became one of the most popular stations in mid-Michigan, and Jacobs' first Classic Rock success story.

WMMQ-FM 94.9

On June 1, 1997, WVIC 94.9 FM and WMMQ 92.7 FM switched programming and call signs. WMMQ's Classic rock format moved to the higher powered signal at 94.9. Prior to that, the station was a simulcast of WVIC-AM 730 (now sports formatted WVFN), with an MOR and then a Top 40 format.

In the mid-1970s, WVIC-FM simulcast the AM's Top 40 programming during the day and then aired progressive rock at night. In the 1980s, the roles were reversed, as WVIC-FM became the dominant station with its CHR format and WVIC-AM became the simulcast. WVIC-AM dropped out of the simulcast and became sports-talk WVFN in June 1992. WVIC-FM's period as Lansing's top CHR station came to an end on March 1, 1995, when the station became "Wild Country 94-9 The Cat" in an attempt to take on longtime country music station and market leader WITL-FM. "The Cat" lasted only a few months before the station was acquired by the owners of WITL-FM. Under new ownership by Liggett Communications , WVIC-FM decided to take on longtime album rocker WJXQ with an active rock format as "Buzz 95." The longtime WJXQ morning show team of Tim (Barron) and Deb (Hart) moved to 94.9 in 1997 and the station adjusted its format to a more mainstream rock approach.

The former morning show on WMMQ consisted of Rich Michaels, formerly of sister station WJIM-FM 97.5 (arriving to that station after its format change from Oldies to CHR on September 15, 2005). Joining Michaels is Deb Hart. Ironically, Rich Michaels was also the morning show host on 94.9 during the heyday of the original WVIC in the 1980s and early 1990s. Michaels was suspended from on air activities on Wednesday August 14, 2008 for on air comments about a building project in Lansing. In 2010, Rich Michaels was let go.

Other call sign and frequency uses

The original 92.7 Charlotte-based WMMQ signal (now Classic Hits WLMI) moved to 92.9 in late October 2006 and is now licensed to the community of Grand Ledge. WLMI is owned by Midwest Communications. The legendary WVIC call sign remained in the hands of Midwest and was used for a time on what is now WQTX and WWDK.

Today

Programming

A long-standing fixture on WMMQ, dating back to its earliest days in 1985 on 92.7, is the "All-Request Saturday Night". The show's origins are traced back to then AOR formatted 101 WILS-FM. It was hosted for 25+ years by Larry "Allen" Estlack until his passing in December, 2013. Estlack, who went by Larry "Allen" on the air, was the engineer for WILS and later WMMQ. The show, now hosted by Wally Londo, runs from 7pm to midnight and usually has a featured artist or theme each week, and consists of a playlist entirely supplied by listener phone and e-mail requests.^[1]

WMMQ continues to be consistently rated in Lansing's top 10 - and was ranked in the top three in local adult 25-54 market ratings in the fall of 2006.

WMMQ currently streams its programming 24/7 using the Windows Media format through a link on its website listed below.

Ownership

In 2000, Liggett Communications sold WMMQ, WVFN, WITL, WJIM-FM, WJIM, and WFMK to Citadel Broadcasting.

In 2011, Citadel was absorbed into Cumulus Media.

On August 30, 2013, a deal was announced in which Townsquare Media would acquire 53 Cumulus Media stations, including WMMQ, for $238 million. The deal is part of Cumulus' acquisition of Dial Global; Townsquare and Dial Global are both controlled by Oaktree Capital Management.^[2][3] The sale to Townsquare was completed on November 14, 2013.^[4]

Technical

WMMQ broadcasts with an Effective Radiated Power of 50,000 watts from a site near Holt, Michigan in Ingham County. The transmitter site is located off of Gun Lake Road and is shared by WMMQ and WVFN. This was the original transmitter sit utilized when both stations operated under the WVIC call sign. The WVIC studio was located on Mount Hope Road between Aurelius and Harrison Roads.

Three short towers are aligned on the site which are used by the daytime directional antenna pattern for 730 AM WVFN. In the center of the array is a 500-foot tower used for 94.9 FM. This tower also doubles as WVFN's omni-directional nighttime array.

Notes

References

• Michiguide.com - WMMQ History
• WMMQ Staff Contact Information

External links

• Query the FCC's FM station database for WMMQ
• Radio-Locator information on WMMQ
• Query Nielsen Audio's FM station database for WMMQ