WZZO
WZZO, popularly known as "95.1 ZZO", is a commercial mainstream rock radio station licensed to Bethlehem in the Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania, in the United States.
 | |
| City | Bethlehem, Pennsylvania |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Lehigh Valley |
| Frequency | 95.1 MHz (HD Radio) |
| Branding | 95.1 ZZO |
| Slogan | The Valley's Rock Station |
| Programming | |
| Format | Mainstream rock |
| Subchannels | HD2: Alternative rock |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | iHeartMedia, Inc. (iHM Licenses, LLC) |
| WAEB, WAEB-FM, WSAN | |
| History | |
First air date | February 16, 1946 |
Former call signs | WGPA-FM (1946–1973) WEZV (1973–1978) |
| Technical information | |
| Facility ID | 14375 |
| Class | B |
| ERP | 30,000 watts |
| HAAT | 192 meters (630 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 40°37′13″N 75°17′37″W |
| Links | |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | 951zzo |
WZZO broadcasts in stereo at 95.1 MHz. The station's tag line is: "The Valley's Rock Station." WZZO's broadcast is also available globally through online streaming at: WZZO live stream broadcast. The station is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc., along with 790 WAEB, 104.1 WAEB-FM and 1470 WSAN. Studios and offices are in the iHeart Broadcasting Complex in Whitehall Township and its transmitter is off Severn Lane, near Interstate 78 in Lower Saucon Township.[1]
WZZO regularly sponsors live music and nightclub events in the Lehigh Valley and Philadelphia areas.[2]
In addition to a standard analog transmission, WZZO broadcasts over two HD Radio channels, and is available online via iHeartRadio.[3]
History
WZZO first signed on the air on February 16, 1946 as WGPA-FM, owned and operated by the Bethlehem Globe-Times.[4] The broadcast was simulcast during daylight hours with sister station WGPA. The AM 1100 station is authorized by the Federal Communications Commission to broadcast only from sunrise to sunset, so programming continued on FM station until 11 PM. At that time WGPA-FM used a sub-carrier to broadcast instrumental beautiful music from reel-to-reel tapes for playing over paging systems inside retail businesses. Eventually, that same beautiful music sound was airing on WGPA-FM.
In 1973, when WGPA-AM and FM were sold by the Globe-Times to Holt Broadcasting, the new owners changed the FM call sign to WEZV, to reflect the FM's easy listening radio format, with the EZ in the call letters standing for "Easy" and the V representing "Valley" as in Lehigh Valley. In 1978, WGPA and WEZV were sold to different owners, with WEZV's call letters changing to WZZO and the format switching to album-oriented rock. The rock format continues to this day.
The broadcast tower remains to this day off Applebutter Rd. in Lower Saucon Township and can be easily spotted from I-78 between the exits for Route 412 and Route 33. The original broadcast studios were at 428 Brodhead Ave. (now a Lehigh University building) in Bethlehem, just behind what was the Globe-Times Newspaper building. Before moving to Whitehall Township, the WZZO broadcast studios were located in the Westgate Mall in Bethlehem.
WZZO has an HD2 station airing an alternative rock format called "The Alternative Project". Previously, a classic rock format was aired. Z 95 plays strictly classic rock on overnights but the usual mix of rock the rest of the day.
On February 24, 2019, it was announced on WZZO's Facebook page that morning host, The Bearman, had passed away unexpectedly.
On air
Weekdays
Mornings: Rover's Morning Glory
10am-2pm: Theresa
3pm-7pm: Keith Moyer (The Keith Show)
Formerly On Air
Mornings: The Bearman (1988 Until Death in 2019)
Competition
WZZO's primary rock station competitors include Philadelphia's WMMR, WMGK, and WRFF, Reading's WRFY-FM, and the Lehigh Valley's WODE-FM.
See also
References
External links
- WZZO Official Website
- WZZO live streaming audio
- WZZO in the FCC's FM station database
- WZZO on Radio-Locator
- WZZO in Nielsen Audio's FM station database