WFZX
{{short description|Radio station in Anniston, Alabama}}
{{for|the Searsport, Maine radio station that held the call sign WFZX at 101.7 FM from 2001 to 2009|WKVV}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox radio station
| name = WFZX
| logo = WFZX 99.1 99.3theVibe logo.png
| logo_size = 180px
| city = Anniston, Alabama
| area = Anniston-Oxford Metropolitan Area
| branding = 99.1 & 99.3 The Vibe
| frequency = 1490 kHz
| translator = 99.1 W256BH (Oxford)
99.3 W257CT (Gadsden)
| airdate = {{Start date and age|1954|p=fy}} (as WANA)
| format = Urban contemporary
| power = 1,000 watts (unlimited)
| class = C
| facility_id = 2311
| coordinates = {{coord|33|41|15|N|85|49|49|W|region:US-AL_type:landmark}}
| callsign_meaning =
| former_callsigns = WANA (1954–2008)
WSYA (2008–2011)
WGBZ (2011–2012)
| affiliations =
| owner = Jeff Beck
| licensee = The Jeff Beck Broadcasting Group, LLC
| sister_stations = WTDR-FM, WTDR, WGAD, WWGC
| webcast = [http://radio.securenetsystems.net/v5/WFZX Listen Live]
| website =
| licensing_authority= FCC
}}
WFZX (1490 AM) is a radio station broadcasting an urban contemporary music format.{{cite web |url=http://www.arbitron.com |title=Station Information Profile |work=Arbitron}} Licensed to Anniston, Alabama, United States, the station serves the Anniston-Oxford Metropolitan Area. The station is currently owned by Jeff Beck, through licensee The Jeff Beck Broadcasting Group, LLC.{{cite web |url=http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/amq?call=WFZX |title=WFZX Facility Record |work=United States Federal Communications Commission, audio division}} The station is branded as "99.1 & 99.3 The Vibe", referring to its two translators in Oxford and Gadsden.
History
Owned by Cary L. Graham and Edwin Estes, the Anniston Radio Company opened WANA in 1954, taking over the 1490-kHz 250-watt FCC assignment previously used by Anniston station WOOB.Butler, Harry D.; Alabama's First Radio Stations 1920-1960: A History of Radio Broadcasting in Alabama; Alabama Broadcasters Association, 2006 Within a short time, Graham gained full ownership.
Joe A. Burney was an early employee of WANA, working his way up to become station manager. When Graham died, his will decreed that Bundy would receive the property. On August 4, 1987, the FCC approved the license to be transferred to Joe A. Burney and Ann H. Burney.{{cite web |publisher=FCC Media Bureau |title=Application Search Details (BAL-19870617ED) |url=http://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/pubacc/prod/app_det.pl?Application_id=102272 |date=August 4, 1987}}
In June 2000, Anniston Radio Company reached an agreement to sell this station to Dewey D. Lankford for a reported sale price of $175,000.{{cite news |date=2000-07-10 |url=http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA19022.html |work=Broadcasting & Cable |title=Changing Hands - 7/10/2000}} At the time of the sale, WANA broadcast a Southern Gospel music format. The deal was approved by the FCC on July 10, 2000, and the transaction was consummated on July 17, 2000.{{cite web |publisher=FCC Media Bureau |title=Application Search Details (BAL-20000522AAQ) |url=http://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/pubacc/prod/app_det.pl?Application_id=499118 |date=July 17, 2000}}
In January 2006, Jacobs Broadcast Group Inc. reached an agreement to purchase WANA from Dewey D. Lankford.{{cite web |title=Application Search Details (BAL-20060111ACB) |publisher=FCC Media Bureau |date=May 1, 2006 |url=http://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/pubacc/prod/app_det.pl?Application_id=1107051}} The station sold for a reported $330,000.{{cite news |date=February 13, 2006 |url=http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6306791.html?q=WANA |work=Broadcasting & Cable |title=Deals - 2/13/2006}} At the time of the sale, WANA broadcast a mixed Urban Christian Contemporary/Gospel music format. The deal was approved by the FCC on March 3, 2006, and the transaction was consummated on May 1, 2006.
Under the new ownership, until May 2008 the station had been sports radio formatted WANA, known on-air as "Sports Radio 1490 The Ticket."
In May 2008, the station announced it would change its call letters to WSYA and that by the end of May it would be broadcasting a Soft Adult Contemporary music format, simulcast on an FM translator in Anniston. The station was assigned the WSYA call letters by the Federal Communications Commission on May 23, 2008.{{cite web |title=Call Sign History |url=http://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/pubacc/prod/call_hist.pl?Facility_id=2311&Callsign=WGBZ |work=FCC Media Bureau CDBS Public Access Database |access-date=July 4, 2011}} WSYA began broadcasting on 104.3 FM (Anniston, AL) and on 99.1 FM (Oxford, AL) on April 20, 2009. The station featured the syndicated The Bob and Sheri Show until early 2011; then, it began featuring the syndicated Rick and Bubba in the morning, as well as Delilah in the evening, until it changed formats. The station's call letters and branding were previously used by WMXS in Montgomery, Alabama, which used the WSYA call letters and was known as "Sunny 103" from 1987 to 1994.
The station changed call signs to WGBZ on April 6, 2011.{{cite news |first=Cameron |last=Steele |work=The Anniston Star |title=Locally based FM hip-hop has a home at WGBZ-The Beat |url=http://www.annistonstar.com/view/full_story/12523872/article-Locally-based-FM-hip-hop-has-a-home-at-WGBZ-The-Beat?instance=home_news |date=March 28, 2011 |access-date=August 2, 2011}} The station again changed call signs on March 29, 2012 to WFZX.
On May 28, 2012 WFZX changed their format to classic hits, branded as "The Fox".
On September 5, 2012, WFZX, along with its sister station WTDR-FM, were sold to Jeff Beck, owner of The Jeff Beck Broadcasting Group, LLC.{{cite web | url=http://www.allaccess.com/net-news/archive/story/110136/alabama-stations-change-hands | title=Alabama Stations Change Hands }} The sale of the two stations to Beck was consummated on January 3, 2013, at a purchase price of $745,000.
On September 3, 2017 WFZX changed their format from classic hits to urban contemporary, branded as "99.1 & 99.3 The Vibe". (info taken from stationintel.com)
Translators
{{RadioTranslators
| callsign = WFZX
| call1 = W256BH
| freq1 = 99.1
| watts1 = 58
| class1 = D
| city1 = Oxford, Alabama
| call2 = W257CT
| freq2 = 99.3
| watts2 = 250
| class2 = D
| city2 = Gadsden, Alabama
|| fid1 = 139979
| fid2 = 142703
}}
Previous Logo
References
{{Reflist|2}}
External links
- [https://www.facebook.com/VibeAlabama/ WFZX 99.1 - 99.3 Facebook]
{{AM station data|2311|WFZX}}
{{Anniston Radio}}
{{Urban Radio Stations in Alabama}}
Category:Urban contemporary radio stations in the United States
Category:Mass media in Calhoun County, Alabama