WZPL
{{short description|Radio station in Greenfield–Indianapolis, Indiana}}
{{Use American English|date=February 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2024}}
{{Infobox radio station
| name = WZPL
| logo = 99-5 WZPL INDY.png
| logo_size = 200px
| city = Greenfield, Indiana
| area = Indianapolis, Indiana
| branding = 99-5 ZPL
| frequency = 99.5 MHz {{HD Radio}}
| airdate = {{start date and age|1962|6|1}}
| format = Contemporary hit radio
| subchannels = HD2: Sports radio (WXNT simulcast)
| erp = 19,000 watts
| haat = {{convert|236|m|ft|sp=us}}
| coordinates = {{coord|39.760|N|86.006|W|type:landmark_region:US-IN_source:FCC|display=inline,title}}
| class = B
| licensing_authority = FCC
| facility_id = 47144
| callsign_meaning = Indianapolis or the Tagline "Indy's new ApPLe" and/or it's nickname "Z-PeeL"
| former_callsigns = {{ubl|WSMJ (1962–1979)|WIKS-FM (1979–1983)}}
| affiliations =
| owner = Cumulus Media
| licensee = Radio License Holding SRC LLC
| operator =
| sister_stations = WFMS, WJJK, WNTR, WXNT, WNDX
| webcast = {{Listen live|https://player.listenlive.co/21671}}
| website = {{url|https://www.wzpl.com/}}
}}
WZPL (99.5 FM) is a radio station licensed to Greenfield, Indiana, and serving the Indianapolis metropolitan area. The station airs a contemporary hit radio format. WZPL is owned by Cumulus Media. Its studios are located on North Shadeland Avenue on the city's east side,{{cite web|url=https://www.indystar.com/story/entertainment/music/concerts/2020/03/26/wzpls-smiley-morning-show-moves-new-studio/5000663002/ |title=When your morning radio show moves across town in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic |first=David |last=Lindquist |website=IndyStar.com}} with its transmitter north of the Indianapolis World Sports Park on the east side of Indianapolis.
History
The station signed on as WSMJ on June 1, 1962, and remained as such until the spring of 1979 when WSMJ was sold to Heftel Broadcasting. They changed to a disco music format and adopted the call sign WIKS-FM, "Rock Kiss 99 FM", on April 14, 1979. Later, a contemporary hit radio format was adopted which, aside from a brief experiment playing classic rock in 1989, has continued to this day. The station was added to both Mediabase and Nielsen BDS Top 40/CHR reporting panels in November 2012.
The station is anchored by The Smiley Morning Show, hosted by Dave Smiley.
In the early 2000s, the station was known as "Z 99-5."
On February 13, 2019, Cumulus Media and Entercom announced an agreement in which WZPL, WNTR, and WXNT would be swapped to Cumulus in exchange for WNSH (now WXBK) in New York City and WHLL and WMAS-FM in Springfield, Massachusetts. Under the terms of the deal, Cumulus began operating WZPL under a local marketing agreement on March 1, 2019.{{Cite web|url=https://radioinsight.com/headlines/174511/cumulus-sells-six-to-emf-swaps-with-entercom-in-new-york-indianapolis/|title=Cumulus Sells Six To EMF & Swaps With Entercom In New York & Indianapolis|date=February 13, 2019|website=RadioInsight|language=en-US|access-date=February 13, 2019}} The swap was completed on May 9, 2019.{{cite news |title=Cumulus, Entercom Close Six-Station Swap. |url=http://www.insideradio.com/free/cumulus-entercom-close-six-station-swap/article_15ba7c62-75c3-11e9-b6ac-6b5d9421f738.html |access-date=May 16, 2019 |work=Inside Radio |language=en}}
HD radio
In 2005, WZPL became one of the first Indianapolis-area radio stations to broadcast their signal in HD Radio. In 2006, they introduced a stream of All Comedy Radio, a 24-hour comedy station, also known as "The Laugh Button," on their alternate HD 2 digital channel,{{cite web|url=http://www.wzpl.com/pages/235377.php|title=WZPL-HD2 All Comedy Radio|publisher=WZPL|access-date=February 21, 2008|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080121074353/http://wzpl.com/pages/235377.php|archive-date=January 21, 2008}} and HD 3 as a simulcast of WXNT 1430 AM, CBS Sports Radio.{{cite web |url=http://www.hdradio.com/station_guides/widget.php?id=41 |title=HD Radio station guide for Indianapolis, IN |access-date=November 1, 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160917081414/http://hdradio.com/station_guides/widget.php?id=41 |archive-date=September 17, 2016 }} HD Radio Guide for Indianapolis Following the sale of Radio Disney affiliate WRDZ-FM (now hip-hop formatted WZRL) to iHeartMedia (after the network started shuttering FM affiliates in the mid 2010s), WZPL had picked up the Radio Disney format for a year on the HD2 channel, until Entercom's affiliation with Disney expired.{{cite news |url=https://www.radioworld.com/tech-and-gear/entercom-to-carry-radio-disney-on-some-hd2-stations |title=Entercom to Carry Radio Disney on Some HD2 Stations |work=RadioWorld |date=March 9, 2017 |first=Randy J. |last=Stine}}
References
{{Reflist|2}}
External links
- {{Official website|https://www.wzpl.com/}}
- {{FM station data|47144|WZPL}}
{{Indianapolis Radio}}
{{Contemporary Hit Radio Stations in Indiana}}
{{Cumulus Media}}
Category:1962 establishments in Indiana
Category:Contemporary hit radio stations in the United States
Category:Cumulus Media radio stations