WEZN-FM

WEZN-FM
Bridgeport, Connecticut; United States;
Broadcast area	Southern Connecticut
Frequency	99.9MHz(HD Radio)
Branding	Star 99.9
Programming
Format	Hot adult contemporary
Affiliations	Compass Media Networks
Ownership
Owner	Connoisseur Media; (Connoisseur Media Licenses, LLC);
Sister stations	WEBE,WFOX,WICC,WPLR,WYBC-FM
History
First air date	October 24, 1960;64 years ago
Former call signs	WJZZ (1960–1973); WEZN (1973–1998);
Call signmeaning	"Easy" (refers to previouseasy listeningformat)
Technical information
Licensing authority	FCC
Facility ID	48721
Class	B
ERP	27,500watts
HAAT	204 meters (669 ft)
Transmitter coordinates	41°16′44″N73°11′8″W/ 41.27889°N 73.18556°W
Links
Public license information	Public file; LMS;
Webcast	Listen live(viaTuneIn)
Website	www.star999.com

WEZN-FM(99.9MHz,"Star 99.9" ) is a commercialradio station,licensed toBridgeport, Connecticut,and servingSouthern Connecticut.The station is owned byConnoisseur Mediaand it airs ahot adult contemporary radio format.The WEZNstudiosare located on Wheelers Farms Road inMilford,and itstransmitteris on Green Haven Road inTrumbull.^[3]

History

On October 24, 1960, the station first signed on the air as WJZZ, the FMsister stationofWICC.^[4]As thecall lettersimply, the station started out as ajazzoutlet. It was the first station to be assigned the WJZZ call sign followed by 105.9 FM inDetroit, Michigan(nowWDMK), and 107.5 FM inAtlanta, Georgia(nowWAMJ).^[5]There were few FM radios in the 1960s and the all-jazz format was not financially viable. For a time, WICCsimulcastthe programming from AM 600 on FM 99.9. WICC sold the station after several years.

The station was later bought by Williams Broadcasting, carrying abeautiful musicformat and changing its call sign to WEZN to reflect itseasy listeningsound. While WEZN was a popular and profitable station, the audience wanting to hear mostly orchestras and instrumental music was aging. So in the 1990s, WEZN gradually added moresoft adult contemporaryvocals until it made the switch to full-timeadult contemporary.At the same time,107.9 WDJFin nearbyWestport, Connecticut,also moved to an adult contemporary format, so WEZN went a step further, implementing a hot adult contemporary format.

Despite the format changes, the station has kept its WEZN call sign; however, outside of hourlystation identifications,it rarely says those call letters on the air, preferring the handle "Star 99.9".

The station was purchased fromCox RadiobyConnoisseur Mediaalong with sister stationsWFOXandWPLR,at a purchase price of $40 million. Connoisseur Media took ownership on May 10, 2013.^[6]