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WCPZ

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WCPZ
Broadcast areaSandusky/Port Clinton
Lake Erie Islands
Frequency102.7MHz
BrandingMix 102.7
Programming
Language(s)English
FormatHot adult contemporary
AffiliationsWestwood One
Ownership
Owner
  • BAS Broadcasting, Inc.
  • (BAS Broadcasting, Inc.)
History
First air date
August 15, 1959;65 years ago(1959-08-15)
Former call signs
WLEC-FM (1959–80)
WCPZ (1980–98)
WMTX (1998–99)
WMJK (1999)
Call signmeaning
CedarPointZ
Technical information[1]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID19706
ClassB
ERP50,000watts
HAAT135 meters (443 ft)
Transmitter coordinates
41°19′51″N82°35′57″W/ 41.33083°N 82.59917°W/41.33083; -82.59917
Links
Public license information
WebcastListen live
Websitewww.mix1027

WCPZ(102.7FM) – brandedMix 102.7– is a commercialhot adult contemporaryradio stationlicensed toSandusky, Ohio,serving Ohio'sVacationland region(Sandusky,Port Clinton,and theLake Erie Islands).

The station is owned by BAS Broadcasting based in nearbyFremont, Ohio,and in addition to a standardanalog transmission,the station is available online.

History

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The station began as WLEC-FM on August 15, 1959 and was the FM sister to AM stationWLECand was owned by the Cleveland Broadcasting Company. Owned by former Cleveland MayorRay T. Miller's Cleveland Broadcasting Incorporated;[2]which also owned 1300 WERE nowWJMOand 98.5 WERE nowWNCXinClevelandalong with 1330 KFAC nowKWKWand 92.3 KFAC nowKRRLinLos Angeles.[3]After Ray T. Miller's death in 1966,[4]Cleveland Broadcasting Incorporated was acquired by Atlantic States Industries (ASI) for a combined $9 million in May 1968.[5]Due to ASI already owning five AM stations and one FM station, and because of an interim policy/proposed rule by theFederal Communications Commission(FCC) that prohibited the purchase of an AM and FM station in the same market—the "one-to-a-customer" policy—the FCC ordered the divestiture of WERE-FM, along with WLEC and WLEC-FM, to a third party. WhileGeneral Cinema Corporationpurchased WERE-FM after a prior divestiture attempt failed,[6]WLEC and WLEC-FM were initially sold toRadiOhiothat December,[7][8]but that sale was also dismissed.[9]Both WLEC and WLEC-FM were ultimately retained by the sellers and spun off to a limited partnership, Lake Erie Broadcasting.[10][11]Cleveland Broadcasting president Richard H. Miller became WLEC's general manager, then purchased both stations outright in August 1971, under the Miller Broadcasting name.

The station was purchased by Miller Broadcasting in 1972 and would become WCPZ on May 19, 1980, featuring anAlbum Oriented Rockformat during the early and mid-1980s. Bob Bedi was the station's program director during the AOR era. In 1986 Miller Broadcasting sold both WLEC and WCPZ to Erie Broadcasting and WCPZ dropped AOR for a CHR/adult contemporary hybrid which would soon become known as Hot Adult Contemporary, which has been the station's format since. Erie Broadcasting was Headed by Cleveland's Jim Embrescia. In 1987, both WLEC and WCPZ were sold to Signal One Communications who also owned 1050 WADC nowWLYQand 99.1 WMGP nowWGGEinParkersburgfor $6 Million. After three years, in May 1990, bothWLECand WCPZ were purchased by Erie Broadcasting II, Inc. for $1.5 Million. Embrescia owned several radio stations including 1520WINWinCanton,850 WRMRWKNRand 102.1WDOKinCleveland.In 1997, Embrescia attempted to sell both WLEC and WCPZ to Allur of Ohio operated by Regina Henry, but the sale was never completed and on April 30, 1997, it was announced that Jacor Communications agreed to buy both stations for $7.65 million.[12]The sale was approved and the license transferred on June 25. In May 1999, Clear Channel Communications completed its $6.5 billion purchase of Jacor and its 454 stations, including WLEC.

Following the sale of the station to Jacor Communications in September 1997, WCPZ eventually took the "Mix" banner used by Jacor's other Hot AC stations in the region, notably the now-defunctWVMXin Cincinnati andWMVXin Cleveland. As a result, the call letters changed to WMTX on April 24, 1998, with the WCPZ calls moving to the 100.9 facility in Clyde (todayWMJK). The station regained the WCPZ calls on September 9, 1999, but kept use of the "Mix" banner on all other times.WMJK-FM, licensed to Clyde, Ohio as classic rocker "100.9 The Coast" (now country station "100.9 Coast Country" ) along withWLEC-AM and WCPZ-FM, made upClear Channel's Vacationland cluster, having succeeded Jacor in 1999.

On November 16, 2006, WCPZ, WLEC and WMJK were announced for sale as part of Clear Channel's divestiture of almost 450 small and middle-market radio properties in the U.S. The cluster was sold on January 15, 2008 to Fremont-based BAS Broadcasting, and BAS took over all three stations on February 1. WCPZ was expected to drop the "Mix" name following the sale, as the "Mix" moniker is used on many Clear Channel stations; however, it did not. BAS Broadcasting did, however, replace most local programming with the "AC Active"format fromWaitt Radio Networks(nowDial GlobalLocal). The morning show – hosted by longtime local radio personality Randy Hugg – remains live and local.[13][failed verification]

References

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  1. ^"Facility Technical Data for WCPZ".Licensing and Management System.Federal Communications Commission.
  2. ^"Changing hands: ANNOUNCED"(PDF).Broadcasting.January 25, 1960. p. 56.RetrievedDecember 18,2019.
  3. ^http:// americanradiohistory /hd2/Archive-BC-YB-IDX/70s-OCR-YB/1973-YB/1973-BC-YB-OCR-Page-0333.pdf[dead link]
  4. ^"Ray T. Miller Sr. Is Dead at 73".The Plain Dealer.July 14, 1966. pp. 1, 8.
  5. ^"Closed Circuit: Group transfer"(PDF).Broadcasting.May 27, 2019. p. 5.RetrievedDecember 18,2019.
  6. ^"WERE -FM being spun off to General Cinema arm"(PDF).Broadcasting.May 11, 1970.RetrievedDecember 18,2019.
  7. ^"Action in the trading market: $13-million worth of properties sold; biggest is Tucson AM-TV to 'Detroit News'"(PDF).Broadcasting.December 2, 1968. p. 40.RetrievedDecember 18,2019.
  8. ^"ASI adds a Calif. UHF, awaits OK of radio buy"(PDF).Broadcasting.September 15, 1969. p. 82.RetrievedDecember 18,2019.
  9. ^FCC History Cards for WLEC
  10. ^"For the Record: Ownership Transfers, Final Actions"(PDF).Broadcasting.November 10, 1969. p. 96.RetrievedDecember 18,2019.
  11. ^"A tax break on WERE-FM sale"(PDF).Broadcasting.December 14, 1970. p. 71.RetrievedDecember 18,2019.
  12. ^"Jacor buys two more Ohio stations".Cincinnati Business Courier.April 30, 1997.Retrieved2019-12-17.
  13. ^About Us - Mix 1027
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