WMAL-FM

WMAL-FM (105.9 MHz) – branded 105.9 FM WMAL – is a radio station licensed to Woodbridge, Virginia, serving the Washington, D.C. Metro area.

[2] The station's studios are located at 4400 Jenifer Street NW in Washington, two blocks from the city's border with Maryland, and the transmitter site is in Falls Church, Virginia, off Lee Highway.

[9] The classic rock format, which was just beginning to take hold in 1986, was considered experimental and debuted to high interest and ratings before eventually falling to more normal levels.

Viacom elected to keep the format but fired the station's entire air staff, with company officially taking control on November 1, 1993.

At 3:00 p.m. on February 29, 2008, after a brief statement was read thanking the staff and listeners of "Smooth Jazz 105.9", Citadel Broadcasting changed the format of WJZW to oldies.

Initially, no local live on-air talent was utilized, with the station instead relying on a satellite delivered service, Scott Shannon's The True Oldies Channel.

[21] The mainly automated format which featured little to no flow with the mainly political Imus show quickly made it non-viable to most area listeners.

[26] With a media market as concerned with news and politics as Washington, management believed the AM station's news/talk format would be strengthened by simulcasting on the powerful FM signal of 105.9.

Additionally, simulcasting on FM filled in a significant gap in the AM station's nighttime coverage; WMAL must power down to 2,700 watts at sundown.

[29][30] In April 2020, WMAL took the #1 spot in the ratings for the first time since the fall of 1986, beating competitors WAMU and WTOP-FM, while achieving a 10% audience share.