WPZZ
 | |
| Broadcast area | Southside Virginia Richmond, Virginia Petersburg, Virginia |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 104.7MHz |
| Branding | Praise 104.7 |
| Programming | |
| Format | Urban gospel |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| WCDX,WKJM,WKJS,WTPS,WXGI | |
| History | |
First air date | 1949 |
Former call signs | WSVS-FM (1949–1991) WKIK (1991–1995) WBZU (1995–1996) WVGO (1996–1998) WKJS (1998–2004) |
Call signmeaning | WPraiZeZ |
| Technical information | |
| Facility ID | 321 |
| Class | C1 |
| Power | 100,000Watts |
| HAAT | 299 meters (981 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 37°10′15.0″N77°57′16.0″W/ 37.170833°N 77.954444°W |
| Links | |
| Webcast | WPZZ Webstream |
| Website | WPZZ Online |
WPZZ(104.7FM) is anurban gospel-formattedbroadcastradio stationlicensed toCrewe, Virginia,serving theSouthsideand theRichmond/Petersburgmetro area. WPZZ is owned and operated byRadio One.[1]The station's studios and offices are located just north of Richmond proper on Emerywood Parkway[2]in unincorporatedHenrico County,and itstransmitteris located nearBlackstone, Virginia.[3]
History
[edit]104.7 started in 1948 asWSVS-FM,a complement to itsAMsister WSVS. It broadcast just west of Crewe with 14,000 watts of power. In the late 1970s, the station upgraded to a class C1 station with 100,000 watts of power, which gave it an adequate signal that could be received in most of the Central Virginia area.[4]In 1988, they moved to their current tower location to not only send a better signal into Richmond, but also to make it more desirable to sell. It was at that time WSVS-FM became "Power Country 104.7," with all programming separate from WSVS-AM.[5]In 1991, the station was sold to ABS Communications in Richmond and became "104.7 The Bear," with theWKIKcall letters.[6]The FM studios were moved out of Crewe and co-located in with ABS's Richmond based headquarters. ABS owned the only other country stations in the Richmond market with "K-95"and" The Bear. "" The Bear "was designed to be a classic country format, while" K-95 "was to be the new country format.
At 5 p.m. on August 23, 1995, ABS flipped WKIK tomodern rockasWBZU,"104.7 The Buzz, Richmond's New Rock Alternative."[7]The success of this station caused Richmond'sAAAstation WVGO to lose listeners. ABS later purchasedWVGO(and its sister stationWLEE-FM), changed WVGO's AAA format (and ended the local broadcast of "The Howard Stern Show") and moved" The Buzz "and the WBZU calls to 106.5, while 104.7 became asatellite-fedoldiesstation as "Oldies 104.7" (the WVGO calls were moved to 104.7) in August 1996.[8][9][10]
In February 1998, the station was sold to Fifteen Forty Broadcasting, then owners of adult urbanWSOJ(100.3 FM) and local gospel station WREJ-AM, who began a simulcast of WSOJ on both 100.3 and 104.7 beginning February 10, and rebranded as "104.7 Kiss FM", and adopted theWKJScalls three days later.[11]Radio One later purchased both 104.7 and 100.3 from Fifteen Forty in March 1999.[12]In November 2000, the 104.7/100.3 simulcast ended, and Radio One began simulcasting their then-country station,WJRV( "105.7 The River" ) on 100.3 with new callsWARV.[13]On November 18, 2004, as part of a complex series of moves, Radio One moved theurban gospel-formatted "Praise 99.3" to 104.7, while "Kiss FM" moved to99.3and 105.7 (this causedurban oldiesWJMO to sign off). TheWPZZcalls would be adopted on December 7 of that year.[14]
References
[edit]- ^"WPZZ Facility Record".Federal Communications Commission,audio division.
- ^https://kissrichmond /about/About Us | 99.3–105.7 Kiss FM
- ^Radio-Locator /WPZZ-FM
- ^http:// americanradiohistory /Archive-BC-YB/1987/B2-BC-YB-1987.pdf[dead link]
- ^http:// americanradiohistory /Archive-BC-YB/1989/B-2%20Radio%20Neb%20to%20Terr%201989-5.pdf[dead link]
- ^http:// americanradiohistory /Archive-BC-YB/1992/Radio-NE-Ter-BC-YB-1992-B&W.pdf[dead link]
- ^"WKIK transformed into modern rock WBZU",The Richmond Times-Dispatch,August 24, 1995.
- ^"ABS cuts $14.5 million deal for WVGO, WLEE",The Richmond Times-Dispatch,June 4, 1996.
- ^"Shock jock Stern gets the hook; new owner pulls plug on WVGO, cites decline",The Richmond Times-Dispatch,July 25, 1996.
- ^"104.7 FM set to air 'good time oldies'",The Richmond Times-Dispatch,August 6, 1996.
- ^"WVGO gets new format, call letters to change soon",The Richmond Times-Dispatch,February 13, 1998.
- ^"Radio One will buy four more",The Richmond Times-Dispatch,March 16, 1999.
- ^"Radio One sells 2 FM stations here",The Richmond Times-Dispatch,November 17, 2000.
- ^"Radio One makes changes at local stations",The Richmond Times-Dispatch,November 20, 2004.
External links
[edit]- Praise 104.7 Online
- Facility details for Facility ID 321 (WPZZ)in theFCCLicensing and Management System
- WPZZinNielsen Audio's FM station database