After having a construction permit with the call sign WAAR, the station changed their call sign to WMMA in June 1993, and would sign on in January 1994 with an oldies format. The station then flipped to classic rock as WYLX, "Alex 97.3", in November 1997.
WAQZ
The WAQZ call sign and Alternative rock format abandoned by owner of 107.1 FM was re-introduced by Infinity Broadcasting on 97.3 FM as "Channel Z" on April 3, 2000. On March 4, 2003, WAQZ was rebranded "New Rock 97.3" with a shift to more current modern rock artists. WAQZ was rebranded again on December 16, 2005 as ''97.3 Everything Alternative." On August 21, 2006, Entercom Communications bought WAQZ, along with several other stations, from CBS Radio. On October 30, 2006, Entercom abruptly fired the entire on-air staff, signaling the end of WAQZ.
"97.3 The Wolf" WYGY
On November 9, 2006, at Noon, after playing "The Only Difference Between Martyrdom And Suicide Is Press Coverage" by Panic! at the Disco, Entercom moved WYGY's Country format to 97.3 FM and relaunched it as "The Wolf", this time as a top 40-styled country format, in order to appeal to a younger demographic than its other country station, WUBE-FM. At the same time as the flip, Entercom relaunched the alternative rock format on 94.9 FM as "The Sound". The WAQZ call letters remained on 97.3 for a month until the WYGY calls were finally in place on November 29. On January 18, 2007, Entercom announced plans to swap its entire Cincinnati radio cluster, including WSWD, together with three of its radio stations in Seattle, Washington, to Bonneville International in exchange for all three of Bonneville's FM stations in San Francisco, California and $1 million cash. In May 2007, Bonneville officially took over control of the Cincinnati stations through a time brokerage agreement. On March 14, 2008, Bonneville officially closed on the stations.
"97.3 The Sound" WSWD
On November 7, 2008, at 11:00 a.m., WSWD and WYGY switched frequencies, returning an alternative rock format to the 97.3 FM frequency, while the country format would move back to 94.9 FM.
"97.3 The Wolf" Returns
On May 21, 2009, at 5 p.m., Bonneville discontinued the "Sound" format altogether, with 97.3 FM re-adopting the country format and the "Wolf" moniker. The last song on "The Sound" was No You Girls by Franz Ferdinand. Many believe the Sound's demise was based on Cumulus' WFTK flipping to alternative rock earlier that year. The Sound is available on 94.9-HD2 and on the internet at www.thesoundcincinnati.com. On January 19, 2011, it was announced that Bonneville International will sell WYGY and several other stations to Hubbard Broadcasting for $505 million. The sale was completed on April 29, 2011. On December 6, 2018 Hubbard eliminated all the DJs on the station and will run jockless.
