KEZO-FM (92.3
FM) is a commercial
radio station
Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radio ...
in
Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest cit ...
. It is owned by
SummitMedia. KEZO airs an
active rock
Active rock is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations across the United States and Canada. Active rock stations play a balance of new hard rock songs with valued classic rock favorites, normally with an emphasis on the harder edge o ...
radio format
A radio format or programming format (not to be confused with broadcast programming) describes the overall content broadcast on a radio station. The radio format emerged mainly in the United States in the 1950s, at a time when Radio broadcasting, ...
. KEZO's studios are located on Mercy Road in Omaha's
Aksarben Village
Aksarben Village is a mixed-use development in the central United States, located in Omaha, Nebraska. Measuring over , it is on the land of the former Ak-Sar-Ben coliseum and horse track.
There is over of space for research and business offi ...
, and the station's
transmitter
In electronics and telecommunications, a radio transmitter or just transmitter is an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna (radio), antenna. The transmitter itself generates a radio frequency alternating current, which i ...
is off North 72nd Street and Crown Point at the Omaha master antenna farm.
Todd-n-Tyler
The ''Todd-n-Tyler Radio Empire'' is a morning radio talk show based out of Omaha, Nebraska. It features Mike Tyler and Todd Brandt. The show is syndicated in various cities across Nebraska, Kansas, and Idaho. It is currently the #1 rated radio m ...
(Mike Tyler and Todd Brandt) host the station's morning show, with the program
syndicated to other radio stations. KEZO broadcasts highlights from Todd-n-Tyler on its
HD Radio
HD Radio (HDR) is a trademark for an in-band on-channel (IBOC) digital radio broadcast technology. It generally simulcasts an existing analog radio station in digital format with less noise and with additional text information. HD Radio is used ...
digital audio subchannel.
History
Top 40 (1961-197?)
On May 15, 1961, the station
signed on
Signing may refer to:
* Using sign language
* Signature
A signature (; from la, signare, "to sign") is a handwritten (and often stylized) depiction of someone's name, nickname, or even a simple "X" or other mark that a person writes on do ...
as WOW-FM, a sister station to 590 WOW (now KXSP).
[ Broadcasting Yearbook 1977 page C-137]
Beautiful music (197?-197?)
After initially
simulcast
Simulcast (a portmanteau of simultaneous broadcast) is the broadcasting of programmes/programs or events across more than one resolution, bitrate or medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at exactly the same time (that is, simultane ...
ing the
AM station, it switched to broadcasting
beautiful music
Beautiful music (sometimes abbreviated as BM, B/EZ or BM/EZ for "beautiful music/easy listening") is a mostly instrumental music format that was prominent in North American radio from the late 1950s through the 1980s. Easy listening, elevator musi ...
.
Top 40 (197?-197?)
It became a
Top 40
In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or " con ...
station for a short time in the early 1970s under the call letters KFMX.
Easy listening (197?-1978)
Then it switched back to
easy listening
Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to 1970s. It is related to middle-of-the-road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit songs, n ...
music, and, in 1973, changed its
call letters
In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign (also known as a call name or call letters—and historically as a call signal—or abbreviated as a call) is a unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be formally assigne ...
to KEZO, standing for EaZy Omaha.
Rock (1978-present)
The station flipped to rock music at 9 a.m. on September 6, 1978, still keeping its KEZO call letters but using the identification Z-92.
Notable former Z-92 announcers includ
Otis XIIof the group
Ogden Edsl and his long-time partner Diver Dan Doomey. A popular long-running feature of their morning show wa
Space Commander Wack produced by Ralph Caldwell who was also the voice of announcer Yerzik Narge. Other recurring characters included the Mean Farmer and Lance Stallion, Radio Detective. Some notable DJs include Chuck Yates, Joe Blood, Rick Setchell, and Tim Bourke.
Journal Communications
Journal Media Group (formerly Journal Communications) was a Milwaukee, Wisconsin-based newspaper publishing company. The company's roots were first established in 1882 as the owner of its namesake, the ''Milwaukee Journal'', and expanded into br ...
and the
E. W. Scripps Company
The E. W. Scripps Company is an American broadcasting company founded in 1878 as a chain of daily newspapers by Edward Willis "E. W." Scripps and his sister, Ellen Browning Scripps. It was also formerly a media conglomerate. The company is he ...
announced on July 30, 2014 that the two companies would merge to create a new media company under the E.W. Scripps Company name that would own the two companies' broadcast properties, including KEZO-FM. The transaction was completed in 2015.
Scripps exited radio in 2018; the Omaha stations went to
SummitMedia in a four-market, $47 million deal completed on November 1, 2018.
References
External links
Z92(official website)
Todd-n-Tyler(official site)
Todd and Tyler Unauthorized
{{Omaha Radio
EZO-FM
Active rock radio stations in the United States
Radio stations established in 1961
1961 establishments in Nebraska