City Lancaster, Ohio Branding Magic 95.5 Frequency 95.5 MHz | Broadcast area Columbus, Ohio Slogan Columbus' Best R&B First air date 1948 (as WHOK-FM) | |
WXMG ("Magic 95.5") is an FM radio station licensed to Lancaster, Ohio, located at 95.5 MHz, it broadcasts an urban adult contemporary format.
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Station history
WZOH-FM had been a country music station for many years in different forms since it first went on the air in 1948 as WHOK-FM, making it Central Ohio's longest-running country station. It was initially known as a mainstream Top 40 country station, using the "K95.5" moniker. From September 7, 2003 to January 8, 2007, WHOK-FM played mainly classic country as "Country Legends K95.5". The relaunch of the station in January 2007 (which saw its moniker changed to "95.5 The Hawk," and a new 50/50 classic and current country balance taking place) coincided with a change in ownership from CBS Radio to Wilks Broadcasting. Accordingly, the station completely revamped its website and as of May 2007, the new WHOK.com was rolled out, offering artist and concert links as well as a streaming audio feature by which users can "listen live" anytime.
Beginning in January 2009, WHOK-FM incorporated more of the classic country back into its playlist, going all the way back to the 1950s with songs by Hank Williams, Sr., some early Johnny Cash and George Jones numbers, and rare gems by Tammy Wynette and Billy "Crash" Craddock, to name a few. However, the station did not present this to listeners as a change in format; the branding of the station was still "95.5 The Hawk" and the website still displayed the same look and feel as before, albeit with more classic country artists. The playlist extended into the 1990s and early 2000s (e.g. Garth Brooks, Alan Jackson, Faith Hill) but no current or recent titles were played outside of certain syndicated shows.
On January 16, 2012, the station reverted to the K95.5 branding, and readopted a mix of newer and classic country with the positioner "New Country and the Legends". The classic component continued to differentiate WHOK-FM from its sister WNKK (Wink 107.1), which exclusively played new country.
On Monday, April 1, 2013, at 6 AM, the station changed to "95.5 The Game", broadcasting a sports format as an affiliate of CBS Sports Radio. K95 and its format moved to the former home of WINK 107.1 as "K95 on 107.1" and blowing up WINK 107.1 and staying with the former K95 branding, only switching frequencies from 95.5 to 107.1. The final song played on K95 on the 95.5 signal as a Country format was "Wide Open Spaces" by The Dixie Chicks. On April 4, 2013, the station changed its call sign to WZOH-FM.
During its stint as a sports format, WZOH-FM was the Columbus affiliate for the Cleveland Browns and Cleveland Cavaliers. It was also the English flagship for Columbus Crew SC for the 2014 season.
The sports format lasted until midnight on November 12, 2015. At that time, WXMG's format moved from 106.3 FM to 95.5 FM. The 95.5 frequency, along with WHOK-FM, had been purchased by Radio One.
Coverage
Due to the poor signal in downtown Columbus, WZOH-FM operated a translator at 94.1 MHz as W272AT until June 25, 2013. The translator aired exactly the same audio as WZOH-FM.