WHQT

WHQT
City Coral Gables, Florida
Broadcast area South Florida
Branding Hot 105
Slogan Today's R&B and Old School
Frequency 105.1 MHz (also on HD Radio)
First air date November 15, 1958 (as WVCG-FM)
Format Urban Adult Contemporary
HD2: Classic Soul
ERP 100,000 watts
HAAT 307 meters
Class C0
Facility ID 72982
Callsign meaning W HQT (Play on the word "Hot")
Former callsigns WVCG-FM (1958-1968)
WYOR (1968-1983)
WEZI (1983-1985)
Owner Cox Media Group
(Cox Radio, Inc.)
Sister stations WEDR, WFLC, WFEZ
Webcast Listen Live
Website www.hot105fm.com

WHQT, Hot 105 FM, is an Urban Adult Contemporary-formatted radio station owned by Cox Media Group that serves the South Florida region. WHQT is licensed to Coral Gables, but its studios are located in Hollywood along with its sister stations WEDR, WFLC, and WFEZ. It broadcasts on the class C0 105.1 MHz frequency with an ERP of 100,000 watts (100 kilowatts) from a transmitter site in Miami Gardens, as well as ten other FM radio stations and several TV stations.

Early history

105.1 FM signed on the air on November 15, 1958 as WVCG-FM and simulcasted soft instrumental music with sister station, WVCG(AM), the "Voice of Coral Gables". Then, as WYOR, "YOuR beautiful music station", had a foreground music format. For many years they enjoyed a grandfathered license which allowed them to transmit with an effective radiated power of 160,000 watts but with an antenna center of radiation under sixty meters (200 feet) height above average terrain. This ended when they relocated the transmitter to a more advantageous location in downtown Miami in the early 1970s. As WYOR, the station promoted themselves with an updated FM radio dial card each year.

Hot 105

On January 10, 1985 at 6 a.m., low-rated AC station, WEZI ("E-Z 105") changed format and calls to urban contemporary WHQT ("Hot 105 FM"). It started out as a Top 40 CHR with Nolan Thomas' "Yo Little Brother" as the first song. The station's initial musical slant was described as "triethnic", playing a heavy dose of Urban Contemporary, Hispanic targeted dance, and some Mainstream Top 40 hits targeted at the varied Miami young audience. By 1987, WHQT had evolved towards Mainstream Top 40, playing a larger dose of Mainstream Pop from artists popular at the time such as Rick Astley, Madonna and even rocker Def Leppard. A notable feature of the station during this era was a complete DJ-less music-intensive daypart from 9am to 5pm, predating the current trend in automated "jockless" radio. However, with fierce competition from Y-100 and Power 96, and facing a market with an inherently large ethnic slant, Hot 105 dropped Top 40 in favor of urban in late 1988 as "The Fresh New Sound Of Hot 105". Its main competitor was future sister station, "WEDR, 99 Jamz", and the two stations competed over the 18-49 African American demographic until 1992, when WHQT evolved to Urban Adult Contemporary. Around that time Cox purchased both stations which led to the end of their competition. Hot 105 is one of the original affiliates of the nationally syndicated Tom Joyner Morning Show when it debuted in 1994. For some time it was the only R&B/Soul station in the market until October 2006 when it gained competition from Clear Channel's WMIB, an Urban/Hip Hop-turned-AC station. Prior to WMIB's flip to urban AC, WHQT still had WMIB as a competitor, even though it also competed up against Clear Channel's other radio station, WLVE (formerly smooth jazz and now rhythmic AC as WMIA-FM). WMIB has since expanded back to Urban Contemporary as of late 2008. With WMIB flipping to Spanish on May 14, 2010, WHQT competes solely up against Clear Channel's WMIA-FM. WHQT is a power house and such a strong brand in the community for over 31 years. In 2014, WHQT won the prestigious Marconi award for "Urban Station of the year" under the leadership of current programmer Phil Michaels-Trueba who's been associated with this Super brand on and off since 1991 when he started as an intern and rose thru the ranks thru 1999. He returned as Program Director in March 2006 to present.

Former program directors

Jeff Tyson

Bob McKay

Bill Tanner

Keith Isley

Hector Hannibal

Tony Kidd

Derrick Brown

Tony Fields

Duff Lindsey

Digital radio

The station uses HD Radio technology and offers a traditional (1950s and 1960s) rhythm and blues program, branded "classic soul" on their HD2 channel. Jerry Rushin is the v/o imaging voice.

Coordinates: 25°58′05″N 80°12′32″W / 25.968°N 80.209°W / 25.968; -80.209

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