WXZO
WXZO (96.7 FM; "MeTV FM") is a radio station licensed to Willsboro, New York. Owned by Vox AM/FM, it primarily serves the Champlain Valley. Its studios are located in Colchester, Vermont. The station broadcasts a soft oldies format.
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City | Willsboro, New York |
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Broadcast area | Burlington–Plattsburgh |
Frequency | 96.7 MHz |
Branding | 96.7 MeTV FM |
Slogan | Timeless, Memorable Music |
Programming | |
Format | Soft oldies |
Affiliations | MeTV FM |
Ownership | |
Owner | Vox AM/FM, LLC |
WEZF, WCPV, WEAV, WVTK, WXXX, WVMT | |
History | |
First air date | July 1996 |
Former call signs | WWGT (1992–1996) WXPS (1996–2001) |
Call sign meaning | W X ZOne (former format) |
Technical information | |
Facility ID | 36422 |
Class | A |
ERP | 1,000 watts |
HAAT | 243 meters (797 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 44.403°N 73.433°W |
Links | |
Webcast | Listen Live |
Website | 967me |
History
WXZO signed on in July 1996 with a modern rock format;[1] although the station conducted intermittent test operations in late June with this format under the call letters WWGT,[2][3] the station ultimately went with the call letters WXPS on July 5, upon formally beginning operations;[4] the callsign reflected its "Pulse" branding.[2] Initially licensed to Vergennes, Vermont, WXPS's signal had trouble reaching Burlington,[3] forcing the station to apply for a translator on 97.3 FM in late 1996;[5] after only a year, however, the station decided to drop the format, and following a brief silent period WXPS switched to sports talk.[6][7] Soon afterward, WXPS leased out WEAV (960 AM) as a simulcast.[8]
Capstar Broadcasting purchased WXPS in 1998.[9] On December 14, the sports talk format, which by then also incorporated some hot talk programs, was abandoned in favor of country music as "Kix 96.7"; around the same time, WXPS moved its city of license and transmitter to Willsboro.[10] This move improved the station's Burlington signal,[10] and the plans for the 97.3 translator were abandoned and the construction permit canceled two months earlier.[11] The following April, WEAV left the simulcast and implemented a separate talk format.[12] A year later, WXPS itself changed formats again, this time to smooth jazz.[13]
In April 2001, Clear Channel Communications, who acquired the station after a series of mergers, migrated the smooth jazz format to sister station WLCQ (92.1 FM; now WVTK); upon the completion of this move, WXPS resumed simulcasting with WEAV, this time airing its talk format under the "Zone" branding and the current WXZO call letters.[14][15]
![](../I/WXZO_former_logo.png.webp)
Clear Channel announced on November 16, 2006 that it would sell its Champlain Valley stations after being bought by private equity firms,[16] resulting in a sale to Vox Communications in 2008.[17] On September 17, Vox again dissolved the simulcast with WEAV (except for First Light and Imus in the Morning), and WXZO adopted an oldies format, branding itself "96.7 DOT-FM" in reference to former local top 40 station WDOT (1390 AM; now WCAT); much of the station's on-air staff under this format had once worked for WDOT. (Despite this branding, the call letters were not changed, as a relay of The Point uses the WDOT call letters.) The oldies format was previously heard on WVTK.[18]
The oldies format was replaced with a contemporary hit radio format, branded "Planet 96.7", on September 17, 2010;[19] at that time, the remaining simulcasts with WEAV ceased. WXZO competed against WXXX (95.5 FM) and adult top 40 rival WYZY (106.3 FM, now WNBZ-FM). On August 25, 2017, WXZO flipped to rhythmic contemporary as "The New Hot 96.7".[20]
In January 2019, following Vox's acquisition of WXXX, the station began stunting with a promotional loop of oldies music, along with liners read in the first-person that emphasize the word "Me". The last song on WXZO as Hot 96.7 was "Love Lies" by Khalid.[21] On January 11, 2019, WXZO ended stunting and launched a soft oldies format, branded as "96.7 MeTV FM,"[22] playing a "variety of classic hits, deep tracks and softer sounds from the '60s, 70s, '80s, and beyond." [23]
References
- Fybush, Scott (July 31, 1996). "WXTK On the Move..." New England RadioWatch. Retrieved January 30, 2010.
- Fybush, Scott (June 27, 1996). "KF2XBF Solved, etc". New England RadioWatch. Retrieved January 30, 2010.
- Fybush, Scott (July 5, 1996). "WRKO Fun, and San Juan too!". New England RadioWatch. Retrieved January 30, 2010.
- "Call Sign History". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved January 30, 2010.
- Fybush, Scott (December 9, 1996). "New England RadioWatch". Retrieved January 30, 2010.
- Fybush, Scott (July 10, 1997). "On and Off the Air". North East RadioWatch. Retrieved January 30, 2010.
- Fybush, Scott (July 17, 1997). "Another Nail in Radio News' Coffin". North East RadioWatch. Retrieved January 31, 2010.
- Fybush, Scott (July 24, 1997). "Remembering Walt Dibble". North East RadioWatch. Retrieved January 31, 2010.
- Fybush, Scott (April 2, 1998). "The Big Get...Smaller". North East RadioWatch. Retrieved February 1, 2010.
- Fybush, Scott (December 18, 1998). "Vermont Heats Up". North East RadioWatch. Retrieved February 1, 2010.
- "Station Search Details (DW247AG)". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved February 1, 2010.
- Fybush, Scott (April 23, 1999). "WABY Goes All-News". North East RadioWatch. Retrieved February 1, 2010.
- Fybush, Scott (April 7, 2000). ""Quick," What's On 93.5/93.9?". North East RadioWatch. Retrieved February 1, 2010.
- Fybush, Scott (April 4, 2001). "Take Me Out to the Ban Game". North East RadioWatch. Archived from the original on June 20, 2010. Retrieved February 2, 2010.
- Fybush, Scott (April 9, 2001). "WWZN Stole the Celtics!". North East RadioWatch. Retrieved February 2, 2010.
- Fybush, Scott (November 20, 2006). "Dark Days All Around". NorthEast Radio Watch. Retrieved February 2, 2010.
- Fybush, Scott (January 7, 2008). "Entercom/Nassau WEEI Deal is Dead". NorthEast Radio Watch. Retrieved February 2, 2010.
- Fybush, Scott (September 22, 2008). "Lobel's Radio Days". NorthEast Radio Watch. Retrieved February 2, 2010.
- Fybush, Scott (September 20, 2010). ""Radio 92.1" Comes to Scranton". NorthEast Radio Watch. Retrieved January 13, 2019.
- "Burlington's Planet Gets Hot". RadioInsight. 2017-08-25. Retrieved 2019-01-10.
- Hot 96.7 on air playlist, https://onlineradiobox.com/us/wxzo/playlist/5?cs=us.wxzo
- "96.7 MeTV-FM Debuts In Burlington/Plattsburgh". RadioInsight. January 13, 2019. Retrieved January 13, 2019.
- "WXZO (Hot 96.7)/Burlington-Plattsburgh, VT Turns On MeTV FM". All Access. Retrieved 2019-01-18.
External links
- Official website
- WXZO in the FCC's FM station database
- WXZO on Radio-Locator
- WXZO in Nielsen Audio's FM station database