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WXZO

Summary

WXZO (96.7 MHz "MeTV FM") is a commercial FM radio station licensed to Willsboro, New York. Owned by Vox AM/FM, it primarily serves the Champlain Valley, including Burlington, Vermont, and Plattsburgh, New York. Its studios are located in Colchester, Vermont. The station broadcasts a soft oldies radio format using the syndicated music service known as "MeTV FM." In morning drive time, the station carries Intelligence for Your Life with John Tesh.

WXZO
Broadcast areaBurlington - Plattsburgh - Champlain Valley
Frequency96.7 MHz
Branding96.7 MeTV FM
Programming
FormatSoft oldies
AffiliationsMeTV FM
Ownership
OwnerVox AM/FM, LLC
WCPV, WEAV, WEZF, WVMT, WVTK, WXXX
History
First air date
July 1996; 27 years ago (1996-07)
Former call signs
WWGT (1992–1996)
WXPS (1996–2001)
Call sign meaning
"Zone"
Technical information
Facility ID36422
ClassA
ERP1,000 watts
HAAT243 meters (797 ft)
Transmitter coordinates
44°24′11″N 73°25′59″W / 44.403°N 73.433°W / 44.403; -73.433
Links
WebcastListen Live
Website967me.com

WXZO has an effective radiated power of 1,000 watts. The transmitter is off Empire State Trail (New York State Route 22) in Willisboro.[1]

History edit

Early years edit

The station signed on the air in July 1996. As a construction permit, its call sign was WWGT. Once it began broadcasting, the station changed its call letters to WXPS. The city of license was originally Vergennes, Vermont.[2] WXPS aired an alternative rock format and called itself "The Pulse". Subsequently, it aired a sports radio format along with sister station WEAV (960 AM) in Plattsburgh, New York.

Capstar Broadcasting purchased WXPS in 1998.[3] On December 14, the sports talk format, which by then also incorporated some hot talk programs, was abandoned. The new format was country music and the new moniker was "Kix 96.7".

Around the same time, WXPS moved its city of license and transmitter from Vermont to Willsboro, New York.[4] This move improved the station's signal in Burlington, the largest city in the region.[4] Plans for an FM translator at 97.3 MHz were abandoned and the construction permit canceled two months earlier.[5] The following April, WEAV left the sports talk simulcast and implemented a separate talk format.[6]

Smooth jazz and talk edit

In 1999, WXPS changed formats again, this time to smooth jazz.[7] It played mostly instrumental jazz-flavored tracks with some soft R&B vocals.

In April 2001, Clear Channel Communications, which acquired the station after a series of mergers, migrated the smooth jazz format to sister station WLCQ (92.1 FM; now classic hits WVTK). Upon the completion of this move, WXPS resumed simulcasting with WEAV, this time airing its talk format under the "Zone" branding. It switched its call letters to WXZO.[8][9]

Oldies and Top 40 edit

 
Logo as "96.7 DOT-FM", used from September 17, 2008, until September 17, 2010.

Clear Channel announced on November 16, 2006, that it would sell its Champlain Valley stations after the company was bought by several private equity firms.[10] This prompted a sale to Vox Communications in 2008.[11]

On September 17, Vox again ended the simulcast with WEAV (except for First Light and Imus in the Morning). WXZO adopted an oldies format, branding itself "96.7 DOT-FM" in reference to former local Top 40 station WDOT (1390 AM; later 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. The oldies format was previously heard on WVTK.[12]

On September 17, 2010, the oldies format was replaced with a contemporary hit radio format, branded "Planet 96.7".[13] 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".[14]

Me-TV edit

In early January 2019, following Vox's acquisition of rival Top 40 station WXXX, WXZO began stunting with a promotional loop of oldies music. It also aired liners, read in the first-person, that emphasized the word "Me". The last song on WXZO as Hot 96.7 was "Love Lies" by Khalid.[15]

On January 11, 2019, WXZO ended stunting and launched a Soft Oldies format, branded as "96.7 MeTV FM."[16] The station said it would play a "variety of classic hits, deep tracks and softer sounds from the '60s, 70s, '80s, and beyond."[17] The name "MeTV FM" refers to the popular Me-TV diginet television service that runs classic TV shows. Its music service also plays softer songs from the same era.

References edit

  1. ^ Radio-Locator.com/WXZO
  2. ^ Broadcasting Yearbook 2000 page D-463, Broadcasting & Cable
  3. ^ Fybush, Scott (April 2, 1998). "The Big Get...Smaller". North East RadioWatch. Retrieved February 1, 2010.
  4. ^ a b Fybush, Scott (December 18, 1998). "Vermont Heats Up". North East RadioWatch. Retrieved February 1, 2010.
  5. ^ "Station Search Details (DW247AG)". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved February 1, 2010.
  6. ^ Fybush, Scott (April 23, 1999). "WABY Goes All-News". North East RadioWatch. Retrieved February 1, 2010.
  7. ^ Fybush, Scott (April 7, 2000). ""Quick," What's On 93.5/93.9?". North East RadioWatch. Retrieved February 1, 2010.
  8. ^ 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.
  9. ^ Fybush, Scott (April 9, 2001). "WWZN Stole the Celtics!". North East RadioWatch. Retrieved February 2, 2010.
  10. ^ Fybush, Scott (November 20, 2006). "Dark Days All Around". NorthEast Radio Watch. Retrieved February 2, 2010.
  11. ^ Fybush, Scott (January 7, 2008). "Entercom/Nassau WEEI Deal is Dead". NorthEast Radio Watch. Retrieved February 2, 2010.
  12. ^ Fybush, Scott (September 22, 2008). "Lobel's Radio Days". NorthEast Radio Watch. Retrieved February 2, 2010.
  13. ^ Fybush, Scott (September 20, 2010). ""Radio 92.1" Comes to Scranton". NorthEast Radio Watch. Retrieved January 13, 2019.
  14. ^ "Burlington's Planet Gets Hot". RadioInsight. 2017-08-25. Retrieved 2019-01-10.
  15. ^ Hot 96.7 on air playlist, https://onlineradiobox.com/us/wxzo/playlist/5?cs=us.wxzo
  16. ^ "96.7 MeTV-FM Debuts In Burlington/Plattsburgh". RadioInsight. January 13, 2019. Retrieved January 13, 2019.
  17. ^ "WXZO (Hot 96.7)/Burlington-Plattsburgh, VT Turns On MeTV FM". All Access. Retrieved 2019-01-18.

External links edit

  • Official website
  • WXZO in the FCC FM station database
  • WXZO in Nielsen Audio's FM station database

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