WIZZ

{{Infobox radio station

| name = WIZZ

| above =

| logo = WIZZ Pure Oldies 1520 100.5 logo.png

| city = Greenfield, Massachusetts

| country = US

| area =

| branding = Pure Oldies 1520 AM & 100.5 FM

| airdate = {{Start date and age|1980|8|26}}

| frequency = 1520 kHz

| translator = {{Radio Relay|100.5|W263DE|Greenfield}}

| format = Oldies

| power = {{ubl|1,000 watts day|160 watts night}}

| class = D

| facility_id = 54779

| licensing_authority = FCC

| coordinates = {{coord|42|35|20.31|N|72|37|3.33|W|region:US-MA_type:landmark|display=inline,title}}

| callsign_meaning =

| former_callsigns = {{ubl|WPOE (1980–1987)|WGAM (1987–2003)}}

| affiliations =

| owner = Saga Communications

| licensee = Saga Communications of New England, LLC

| sister_stations = {{hlist|WAQY|WHAI|WHMP|WLZX-FM|WPVQ-FM|WRSI}}

| webcast = {{listenlive|https://player.amperwave.net/11787}}

| website = {{url|https://pureoldiesgreenfield.com}}

}}

WIZZ (1520 AM) is a radio station licensed to Greenfield, Massachusetts. It is owned by Saga Communications and operates as part of its Western Mass Radio Group. It broadcasts an oldies radio format, switching to Christmas music in the weeks leading up to Christmas.

By day, WIZZ transmits with 1,000 watts. As 1520 AM is a clear channel frequency, WIZZ reduces power at night to 160 watts to protect other stations from interference. Programming is also heard on FM translator W263DE at 100.5 MHz in Greenfield.

History

The station signed on the air on August 26, 1980.[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KpGy3Ic_hyQ Youtube silent film of WPOE signing on the air on August 26, 1980. Retrieved February 24, 2014.] The original call sign was WPOE, standing for Poet's Seat Broadcasting. It had a middle of the road (MOR) format. In its early years, the station was a daytimer, required to go off the air at night.[https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC-YB/1984/B-Radio-All-BC-YB-1984.pdf Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 1984 page B-122. Retrieved Dec. 14, 2024.] In 1987, the call letters changed to WGAM, with a format of big band music and adult standards.

The station was assigned the WIZZ call letters by the Federal Communications Commission on February 1, 2003.{{cite web |title=Call Sign History |url=http://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/pubacc/prod/call_hist.pl?Facility_id=54779&Callsign=WIZZ |work=FCC Media Bureau CDBS Public Access Database}} WIZZ previously aired a locally programmed adult standards format.{{cite web |title=About WIZZ |url=http://www.wizzradio.com/about.php}}

It carried the national AP Radio newscast on the hour and half-hour. The station verified signal reports by QSL card. At the top of the hour, WIZZ used the same "V for Victory" time tone as WTIC in Hartford.

WIZZ's former owner and disc jockey, Phil D (Phillip Drumheller), was inducted into the Massachusetts Broadcasters Hall of Fame in 2010, and was active in broadcasting for 60 years. He was the first inductee into the MBHOF to have had his career outside the Boston radio market.{{cite web |title=Phillip G. Drumheller |work = Massachusetts Broadcasters Hall of Fame |url=http://www.massbroadcastershof.org/hof_phil_drumheller.htm}}

On April 6, 2022, Saga Communications acquired WIZZ and flipped it from adult standards to oldies. Programming is simulcast on the HD3 digital subchannel of 99.3 WLZX-FM in Northampton.{{Cite web |title=WIZZ Joins Pure Oldies Simulcast |url=https://radioinsight.com/headlines/223304/wizz-joins-pure-oldies-simulcast/ |access-date=April 7, 2022 |website=RadioInsight |language=en-US}} It is also heard on an FM translator at 100.5 MHz.