WCNZ (1660 AM) is a

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 ...

broadcasting a Catholic talk format as an affiliate of

Relevant Radio Relevant Radio (corporate name Relevant Radio, Inc.) is a radio network in the United States, mainly broadcasting talk radio and religious programming involving the Catholic Church. It is the largest Catholic radio network by owned station base. R ...

. Licensed to

Marco Island, Florida Marco Island is a small sea island, or barrier island, on the Gulf Coast of the United States located 20 miles (32 km) south of Naples in Collier County, Florida. Marco Island is an affluent beach and boating resort island with a small-town ...

, United States, it serves the

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

area. The station is owned by Relevant Radio, Inc.

History

WCNZ originated as the expanded band "twin" of an existing station on the standard AM band. On March 17, 1997 the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced that eighty-eight stations had been given permission to move to newly available " Expanded Band" transmitting frequencies, ranging from 1610 to 1700 kHz, with WODX in Marco Island authorized to move from 1480 to 1660 kHz."FCC Public Notice: Mass Media Bureau Announces Revised AM Expanded Band Allotment Plan and Filing Window for Eligible Stations"
(FCC DA 97-537), March 17, 1997. In this notice WODX is listed under its earlier call sign of WMIB. The FCC's initial policy was that both the original station and its expanded band counterpart could operate simultaneously for up to five years, after which owners would have to turn in one of the two licenses, depending on whether they preferred the new assignment or elected to remain on the original frequency. However, this deadline was extended multiple times, and both stations continued to be authorized until AM 1480, now

WVOI WVOI (1480 AM) was a radio station that broadcast a Catholic music and talk format. Licensed to serve Marco Island, Florida, United States, the station was last owned by Relevant Radio, Inc. It broadcast between 1975 and 2020 and was the first ...

, was deleted on June 3, 2021. The new station on 1660 AM went on the air as WMIB on May 21, 1999. On January 18, 2002, the station changed its call sign to WCNZ. In February 2009 WCNZ and its simulcast sister,

WMYR WMYR (1410 AM) is a commercial radio station broadcasting a Catholic music/talk format, under the name ''Relevant Radio''. Licensed to Fort Myers, Florida, United States, it serves the Lee County area. The station is owned by Relevant Radio, ...

1410 AM in

Fort Myers Fort Myers (or Ft. Myers) is a city in southwestern Florida and the county seat and commercial center of Lee County, Florida, United States. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated that the city's population was 92,245 in 20 ...

, changed from

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

programming to

Scott Shannon Michael Scott Shannon (born July 25, 1947) is an American radio disc jockey who hosted the morning show for WCBS-FM in New York City from 2014 to 2022 as well as ''Scott Shannon Presents America's Greatest Hits'' which is syndicated nationally wi ...

The True Oldies Channel Scott Shannon's True Oldies Channel (also known more recently as ''The True Oldies Channel: Greatest Hits'') is a radio network begun in the spring of 2004. Originally distributed by ABC Radio Networks via satellite, the service plays a hybrid ol ...

. In the fall of that same year, WMYR/WCNZ changed to a "Timeless Cool" format branded as "The Avenue." On April 1, 2013, WCNZ flipped its format to emphasize the call letters of the station it was simulcasting, WMYR, branding itself "Original Classic Country 1410". Its Web site mentioned it was "The First station to bring ELVIS to town, before he was a superstar. We are proud to bring back the great music of Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, Dolly Parton and Reba McEntire....along with new classic country artists like Alan Jackson, Toby Keith, Kenny Chesney and Tim McGraw." The

Florida Everblades The Florida Everblades are a professional minor league ice hockey team based in Estero, Florida, in the Cape Coral-Fort Myers metropolitan area. They play in the ECHL and are affiliated with the Florida Panthers of the National Hockey League (N ...

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

team signed a deal with The Avenue to carry the team's games for the 2010–2011 season. On April 1, 2013 WCNZ and WMYR changed their format to classic country. WCNZ switched to a religious format in April 2014.https://www.facebook.com/ardienteradio In November 2016, the station was observed identifying as "Relevant Radio". The website of Ardiente Radio does not mention any AM frequency.

References

External links

Official website
{{Fort Myers Radio CNZ Radio stations established in 1998 Relevant Radio stations 1998 establishments in Florida