Cumulus Media selling WDRQ-FM (nee WJBK-FM) to Family Life Radio for $10 Million Dollars. Family Life Radio, will in turn; convert the license of WDRQ-FM from a Commercial to a Religious license, and Family Life Radio will also change the format of WDRQ-FM to having a Religious format.
WDRQ-FM was put on the air by Storer Broadcasting, and was originally WJBK-FM, simulcasting 1500 WJBK-AM, Storer then changed the Call Letters of their AM and FM Radio Stations in Detroit to WDEE-AM-FM in 1969, Storer sold off WDEE-AM in 1970 while remaining for another year at Storer’s then brand-new Radio and Television Studios dubbed “Storer Place” located at 16550 West Nine Mile Road in the Detroit suburb of Southfield, Michigan; Storer sold off WDEE-FM in 1971 to Bartell Broadcasting, Bartell changed the Call Letters of WDEE-FM to WDRQ-FM, Bartell, in the beginning; had installed a Talk Radio format at WDRQ-FM before changing the format to Top 40/Current Hit Radio patterned after Bartell’s other Top 40-formatted Stations KCBQ-AM in San Diego and WOKY-AM in Milwaukee; that had seriously challenged CKLW-AM, and was able to fabricate Playlists and Programming that were not saddled with Canadian Content Regulations; for a year from 1979-1980, had an All-Disco format, had returned to the Mainstream Top 40 format a year later in 1980, had switched to an Urban Contemporary format in 1982 in response to increasing competition from WLLZ-FM, WJLB-FM, and WJR-FM having recently changed its Call Letters to WHYT-FM and its format to Mike Joseph’s “Hot Hits” Top 40 format, Bartell had sold WDRQ-FM to the Amaturo Radio Group in early 1985, Amaturo had changed the Call Letters to WLTI-FM and the format to Transtar Satellite Network’s ‘Format 41′ Easy Listening format (aimed at audiences who were born in the 1930’s and early 1940’s, who were in their 40’s and early 50’s at this time); ABC in 1995 (by this time, had merged with Capital Cities Communications, would soon be bought out by the Walt Disney Company, and had already sold off ABC’s heritage Radio Stations WXYZ-AM/WXYT-AM and WXYZ-FM/WRIF-FM by this time), would move its studios into the Fisher Building near the older General Motors Headquarters Building in the Detroit city proper, and would join Capital Cities’ Radio Stations that ABC had inherited upon the merger between the two companies; WJR-AM and WJR-FM (by this time, WPLT-FM), ABC Radio would change the Call Letters back to WDRQ-FM in August, 1996; and in the interim, change the format to a Dance Music format.
By January, 1997; what is again WDRQ-FM slowly began to segue to a Mainstream Top 40 format, and by April, 1999; the transition to the Mainstream Top 40 format was complete.
In April, 2005; WDRQ-FM (nee WJBK-FM) changed to what was in the 2000’s, the hottest Radio format, and what many FM Radio Stations felt compelled to change their formats to, the format dubbed “We Play Anything” (Male Given Name) format, particularly a hybrid Adult Hits-Classic Rock-Hot Adult Contemporary format. In this case, WDRQ-FM (nee WJBK-FM) had adopted the moniker “93.1 Doug FM” when it took this hybrid Adult Hits-Classic Rock-Hot Adult Contemporary format in April, 2005.
Bob Iger, CEO of the Walt Disney Company and ABC; and who was a Television man, and not a Radio man, did not view Radio as having much of a lucrative future by the time he assumed the position of CEO as both the Walt Disney Company and ABC in 2005. As a result, ABC sold its non-Radio Disney and non-ESPN Radio properties to Citadel Broadcasting in 2007.
Citadel had merged with Cumulus Media in September, 2011; resulting in many of the former ABC/Capital Cities Radio Stations falling into the ownership of Cumulus Media.
In November, 2013; WDRQ-FM had returned to the Country format for the first time since the early 1970’s, this time around; transmitting locally Cumulus’s prepackaged Satellite-based “Nash FM” Country music format.
As of the time of writing this post, WJBK-FM/WDRQ-FM will soon be changing to a Religious format.
From its sign on in 1948, up until some time during the 1980’s, WJBK-FM/WDRQ-FM had transmitted its signal from whichever same Transmitter Site WJBK-TV had transmitted its signal from, beginning at the Transmitter Site located at 8009 Lyndon Street in the Detroit city proper (this Transmitter Site would later be taken over by WBFG-FM/WLLZ-FM/WDZH-FM in
Followed by an earlier Transmitter Site on the property where Storer Place now stands, that went into service in circa 1952-1953:
Followed by the newer Transmitter Site that was built at the same time Storer Place was built during the years 1969-1970:
Followed by the current Transmitter Site shared by WJR-FM/WDVD-FM and WCHD-FM/WJZZ-FM/WDMK-FM on 10 Mile and Greenfield Roads beginning sometime in the 1980’s:
Shortly before Storer Broadcasting (then the Fort Industry Company) had purchased the WJBK Radio Stations in 1948 from the Detroit Broadcasting Company, WJBK-FM/WDRQ-FM had originally planned on using the Transmitter Site located at 15551 Woodrow Wilson Street in the Detroit city proper. The Tower/Mast that was originally slated for use by WJBK-FM is still standing (as of the time of writing this post).
https://news.radio-online.com/articles/b17474/Family-Life-to-Acquire-WDRQ-(New-Country-931)-Detroit
News Article from the website of WXYZ-TV regarding the sale of WJBK-FM/WDRQ-FM to Family Life Radio:
https://www.wxyz.com/news/cumulus-media-sells-93-1-wdrq-to-family-life-radio
Matthew Parij 
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