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Radio station in Wisconsin, United States From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
WHQG (102.9 FM, "102.9 The Hog") is a commercial radio station in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It airs a mainstream rock radio format and is owned by Saga Communications, operating as part of its Milwaukee Radio Group.
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| Broadcast area | Greater Milwaukee |
| Frequency | 102.9 MHz (HD Radio) |
| Branding | 102.9 The Hog |
| Programming | |
| Format | Mainstream rock |
| Subchannels | HD2: WJOI simulcast (Brokered Christian) |
| Affiliations | |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
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| WJMR-FM, WJOI, WKLH, WRXS | |
| History | |
First air date | April 22, 1962 |
Former call signs |
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Call sign meaning | "Hog" |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 36372 |
| Class | B |
| ERP | 50,000 watts |
| HAAT | 130 meters (430 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 43.047°N 87.981°W |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen live |
| Website | www |
WHQG is a Class B FM station, with an effective radiated power (ERP) of 50,000 watts, the maximum for most Milwaukee-area stations. The studios, which are shared with WHQG's four sister stations, along with the transmitter tower, are on West McKinley Avenue, on the city's west side.[2]
The station signed on the air on April 22, 1962, as WRIT-FM, co-owned with WRIT 1340 AM (now WJOI). The stations simulcast a Top 40 format.
In 1971, 102.9 split from the simulcast, becoming WFWO-FM ("For Women Only").[3] It played soft adult contemporary music, which only lasted a year.
The station flipped to country music on October 1, 1972. The call sign was changed to WBCS.[4] WBCS found success with the format, as the only country station in the market at the time. Rival country outlet WMIL-FM (95.7) had switched to Top 40 as WZUU the year before. In 1983, WMIL-FM (106.1) launched a country format, putting WMIL and WBCS in competition for Milwaukee country music fans.
On February 16, 1987, WBCS's country format ended. FM 102.9 became "Lazer 103" WLZR with a mainstream rock format.[5][6] Lazer 103 dominated the album-oriented rock market. Competing station 93.3 WQFM switched to smooth jazz in 1996.
WLZR's longtime morning show of Bob and Brian debuted in July 1987. The station ran a simulcast on sister station 1340 AM beginning in the WBCS era, sporadically until 1997, when 1340 AM became Christian radio WJYI.
During Lazer 103's last few years, the aging audience of Bob and Brian's show was at odds with the station's younger-skewing active rock format the rest of the day. Also in 2004, WLTQ replaced its soft adult contemporary format with 1980s classic rock as "97.3 The Brew". That gave Milwaukee three stations battling for the rock audience: Lazer 103, 97.3 The Brew, and 96.5 WKLH (a sister station to WLZR). Management decided to rebuild WLZR around the demographic of the popular Bob and Brian morning show.
On August 15, 2005, WLZR started stunting with wide-ranging music and teasers. The station even played songs with the word "Jack" in them (in reference to the rapidly growing Jack FM format). The next day, just after 10 a.m., Bob and Brian ended their morning show by signing on a new radio station: WHQG, known as "102-9 The Hog". The station re-imaged itself, dropped much of the younger-skewing rock music from bands like Slipknot, Mudvayne and Linkin Park. It added more rock from the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, and widely expanded the playlist.
The new slogan was "Everything That Rocks". The station served as a harder rocking counterpart to its classic rock sister, WKLH. Another slogan used to help change the station's image was "Not Just the 80's, Everything That Rocks". The results of the image and playlist changes were immediate. "The Hog" soon eclipsed "The Brew" in the local ratings, eventually hastening the 97.3 FM May 2010 conversion to Top 40 as WRNW.
The Hog's mascot hog was named "Dr. Squealgood" as takeoff of a popular Mötley Crüe song: "Dr. Feelgood". The Hog's success led to Evansville, Wisconsin, station WWHG changing its branding to mirror WHQG's.
In recent years, WHQG's format shifted back towards active rock, similar to the former WLZR.
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