Frequency 1120 kHz | Branding 1120 ESPN Radio First air date December 1987 | |
Power 1,000 watts (daytime only) | ||
WKQW (1120 AM) is a radio station broadcasting a sports talk format. It previously had an oldies format until July 13, 2012 and before that, a classic country format until August 15, 2008. Licensed to Oil City, Pennsylvania, USA, the station is currently owned by Clarion County Broadcasting Corporation. WKQW remains Venango County's only locally operated, programmed, and managed full-service radio station.
History
WKQW was founded in 1982 by local broadcaster and engineer Stephen M. Olszowka, but would not go on the air until December 1987. For most of its early years, WKQW operated out of an office at 234 Elm Street in Oil City. The station moved 222 Seneca Street in 1993 when WKQW-FM went on the air.
Olszowka died suddenly on February 14, 2004 at age 54 and ownership of the station passed to his mother Helen Gesing Olszowka. She sold the station less than a year later to William Hearst's Clarion County Broadcasting for $540,000.
Hearst is also the owner of WWCH and WCCR-FM, both of which are also licensed to Clarion County Broadcasting. Though controlled from its Clarion County base, WKQW is still a very separate operation, maintaining its studio and office presence and its own independent staff at 806 Grandview Boulevard in Oil City.