The station is owned by iHeartMedia through licensee iHM Licenses, LLC, and broadcasts an alternative rock radio format.

WWDC serves as the flagship station for the syndicated radio show Elliot in the Morning and as the local affiliate for Skratch 'N Sniff.

[5] On October 5, 1945, Cowles Broadcasting Company applied to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for a construction permit for a new FM station on 97.5 MHz.

[7][1] In the late 1960s and early 1970s, it simulcasted the programming of its middle of the road (MOR) AM sister station on weekdays, and played oldies at night and on weekends.

Early on, pop-oriented acts including Elton John, Billy Joel, Fleetwood Mac, Hall & Oates and Rod Stewart were core artists.

One of the premier album rock stations in the country, the disc jockey staff featured Greaseman in the morning, Dusty Scott in midday, Steveski in afternoons and Kirk McEwen in the evening.

Other DJs ("Boss Jocks") during the 1980s included Adam "Smash" Smasher, Ernie D'Kaye, Cerphe, Sandy Edwards, Buddy Rizer, Rich Levinson, Tim Shamble, YDB (Young Dave Brown), Sean Donohue (Rusty Brainpan), and Vinnie Brewster.

In the 90s and early aughts, WWDC's playlist was typically current hard rock, playing acts like Foo Fighters and Metallica.

During the 1990s, the station began adding more modern and alternative rock acts including Smashing Pumpkins and Stone Temple Pilots to compete with its chief rival, WHFS-FM.

In February 1998, parent company Capitol Broadcasting sold WWDC-FM and its AM sister station, WWDC (now WQOF), for $72 million to Texas-based Chancellor Media, which later was renamed AMFM.

By 2011, WWDC added Aerosmith, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Jimi Hendrix and Pink Floyd back on the playlist, although they were played sparingly and the station was still not considered active rock.

When Stern left the station on June 29, 1982, it was rumored that he was fired because of his on-air prank of pretending to call Air Florida airlines to book a flight to the 14th Street Bridge.

In the first of the two broadcasts on May 7, 2002, a pair of sixteen-year-old students of Bishop Denis J. O'Connell High School had phoned the show to participate in a contest, whose winners would receive a chance to become cage dancers at an upcoming Kid Rock concert.

On weekends, the subchannel and translator carried the co-owned Black Information Network (BIN), which also airs on sister station WUST (1120 AM).

[20] The two stations also added Baltimore Ravens coverage for the 2017 season, replacing WBIG-FM (100.3 FM) as the team's Washington outlet.

[23] On July 10, 2023, W284CQ changed its programming source to the HD2 channel of co-owned WMZQ-FM (98.7), which launched a conservative talk format branded as "Freedom 104.7".