Wikipedia

WWIZ

For the former radio station in Lorain, Ohio, see WWIZ (Lorain, Ohio).

WWIZ
Broadcast areaYoungstown metropolitan area
Frequency103.9 MHz
Branding
  • Z104
Programming
Format
AffiliationsHits & Favorites
Cleveland Cavaliers Radio Network
Ownership
Owner
WBBW, WHOT-FM, WLLF, WPIC, WQXK, WRQX, WYFM
History
First air date
October 1972; 53 years ago (1972-10)
Call sign meaning
"Z 104"
Technical information[1]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID23437
ClassA
ERP6,000 watts
HAAT88.9 meters (292 ft)
Transmitter coordinates
41°12′18″N 80°21′47″W / 41.205°N 80.363°W / 41.205; -80.363
Links
Public license information
WebcastListen live
Websitewww.z104youngstown.com

WWIZ (103.9 FM) is a commercial radio station licensed to West Middlesex, Pennsylvania, serving the Mahoning Valley including Youngstown, Ohio. It airs an adult contemporary format, using the branding "Z 104" and carring the Westwood One "Hits & Favorites" network. It is one of seven radio stations in the Youngstown radio market owned by Cumulus Media with studios in "The Radio Center" in Youngstown.

WWIZ operates with an effective radiated power (ERP) of 6,000 watts, making it a Class A station.[2] The transmitter is on Greenfield Road in Hermitage, Pennsylvania.[3]

History

[edit]

Rock and Oldies

[edit]

WWIZ first signed on the air in October 1972, playing album rock. The station carried an active rock format for several decades, branded as "Rock 104".

On March 31, 2017, WWIZ dropped its active rock format and began stunting. It played a continuous loop of The Moody Blues' “Nights in White Satin” and The Royal Guardsmen's “Snoopy vs. the Red Baron”, with just a station identification between the songs. The following day at noon, the station flipped to oldies as "Z104" using Westwood One's "Good Time Oldies" satellite feed.[4]

Logo during Oldies format (2017-2025)
Logo during Oldies format (2017-2025)

On April 17, 2025, WWIZ changed its format from oldies to adult contemporary music (AC), still under the "Z104" branding. It switched to the Westwood One Hits & Favorites network. This left the Youngstown market without a full-time classic hits or oldies station. WWIZ had been effectively forced to change formats because of Westwood One's plan to shut down the "Good Time Oldies" network that month.[5]

Christmas music

[edit]
Logo of "Christmas 104"
Logo of "Christmas 104"

Between 2019 and 2022, WWIZ temporarily displaced its oldies format in favor of Christmas music during the holiday season and became known as "Christmas 104".

The change first occurred on October 25, 2019, when WWIZ dropped its oldies format and began carrying Christmas music. It was the first U.S. station that year to flip to Christmas music for the holiday season and initially appeared to be a stunt.[6] However, on January 1, 2020, WWIZ ended the Christmas music and returned to its previous oldies format, branded as "Z104".[7]

On September 25, 2020, at 12:25 p.m., WWIZ again flipped to Christmas music. It made this unusually early change due to the stress of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is the earliest known flip to Christmas music for an FCC-licensed station; the earliest stations, including stunting stations, typically flip to the format in mid-October.[8]

On October 1, 2021, at 12:25 p.m., WWIZ again flipped to Christmas music, branded as "Christmas 104". This year, it was not the first station to change, as WXMS made the flip a few hours earlier.[9]

In 2022, WWIZ opted not to repeat the excessively early flips of the previous years, and by October 31 of that year, the station was still playing its regular format. On November 1, 2022, at 12:25 p.m., WWIZ finally switched to its Christmas music format, becoming Christmas 104, and continued the format through New Year's Day.

In 2023 and 2024, WWIZ decided not to run an all-Christmas music format. Starting in late November, the station mixed in a few Christmas songs into its regular oldies format and retained the "Z 104" branding, as opposed to switching to "Christmas 104".

On November 1, 2025, WWIZ opted to bring back the all-Christmas format after a two-year break of not doing so. The station re-adopted the "Christmas 104" branding used from 2019-2022.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Facility Technical Data for WWIZ". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  2. ^ "WWIZ-FM 103.9 MHz - West Middlesex, PA". radio-locator.com. Retrieved November 29, 2023.
  3. ^ Radio-Locator.com/WWIZ
  4. ^ "Rock 104" Youngstown Flips to Oldies Radioinsight - April 1, 2017
  5. ^ WWIZ Moves From Oldies to AC Radioisnight - April 18, 2025
  6. ^ Christmas Music Season Starts in Youngstown Radioinsight - October 25, 2019
  7. ^ WWIZ Returns to Oldies Radioinsight - January 1, 2020
  8. ^ WWIZ Youngstown Begins Christmas Music Season Radioinsight - September 25, 2020
  9. ^ WWIZ Makes Its Annual Early Christmas Move Radioinsight - October 1, 2021
[edit]