City London, Ohio Branding Boom 106.3 Frequency 106.3 MHz | Broadcast area Columbus, Ohio Slogan Throwback Hip Hop | |
First air date January 24, 1992 (as WCKX) | ||
WBMO (106.3 FM, "Boom 106.3") is a radio station broadcasting a classic hip hop format. Licensed to the suburb of London, Ohio, it serves the Columbus, Ohio metropolitan area. It first began broadcasting in 1992 under the call sign WCKX. The station is currently owned by Radio One. Its studios are located just north of downtown, and the transmitter is in London.
History
The station was first licensed on January 24, 1992 as WCKX. When WCKX moved from 106.3 in London to 107.5 in Columbus on December 26, 1997, the call letters were changed to WMXG. The station became WCZZ on October 2, 1998. When 106.3 was known as WCKX, it was the Columbus area's only R&B and Hip Hop station, yet suffered from poor ratings because of its tower location in London, since the primary signal coverage can only reach the western fringes of Franklin County while it puts in a secondary coverage in the Columbus Metropolitan area. The former WJZA at 107.5 became huge competition for "Power 106.3" in the late 90s and was eventually bought by Radio One and transferred to the 107.5 signal where they have enjoyed great success. In July 2000, the station flipped to urban gospel, branded as "Joy 106.3" with the WJYD calls adopted on July 31st of that year. On September 16, 2011, the station became the new home of WXMG's Urban AC format, and rebranded as "Magic 106.3." On September 23rd, WJYD changed their call letters to WXMG.
On November 13, 2015, WXMG began simulcasting on WZOH-FM after Radio One purchased it and WHOK-FM from Wilks Broadcasting, as Radio One announced they would be moving the "Magic" format to the new frequency. After simulcasting for 3 days, WXMG flipped to classic hip hop, branded as "Boom 106.3", on November 16 at Noon. The station changed its call sign to the current WBMO on November 23, 2015.
The station currently broadcasts the syndicated "The Ed Lover Show" with Ed Lover and Monie Love on weekday mornings.