WGZB-FM (96.5

MHz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose expression in terms of SI base units is s−1, meaning that one he ...

, "B96.5") is a

mainstream urban Mainstream may refer to: Film * ''Mainstream'' (film), a 2020 American film Literature * ''Mainstream'' (fanzine), a science fiction fanzine * Mainstream Publishing, a Scottish publisher * ''Mainstream'', a 1943 book by Hamilton Basso Mu ...

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 ...

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

. Its

city of license In American, Canadian, and Mexican broadcasting, a city of license or community of license is the community that a radio station or television station is officially licensed to serve by that country's broadcast regulator. In North American broa ...

Lanesville, Indiana Lanesville is a town in Franklin Township, Harrison County, Indiana, United States. The population was 564 at the 2010 census. History The first permanent settlement was made at Lanesville about 1800. Lanesville was platted in 1817, and named ...

, and its

radio tower Radio masts and towers are typically tall structures designed to support antennas for telecommunications and broadcasting, including television. There are two main types: guyed and self-supporting structures. They are among the tallest human-made ...

is located near

Elizabeth, Indiana Elizabeth is a town in Posey Township, Harrison County, Indiana, United States. The population was 162 at the 2010 census. History The original plat of the town of Elizabeth was recorded on April 17, 1812. It was witnessed by Sheriff John Ti ...

near the

Ohio River The Ohio River is a long river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing southwesterly from western Pennsylvania to its mouth on the Mississippi River at the southern tip of Illino ...

, while its studios are located in

downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business distric ...

Louisville Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...

. The station is owned by

Alpha Media Alpha (uppercase , lowercase ; grc, ἄλφα, ''álpha'', or ell, άλφα, álfa) is the first letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of one. Alpha is derived from the Phoenician letter aleph , which ...

Station history

WGZB-FM signed on April 15, 1990, with its present Urban Contemporary format under the "B-96.5" name, with offices and studios in the Cosmopolitan Building at Third and Kentucky. The original general manager was Managing Partner Rodney Burbridge. In its first few years on the air, the station was licensed to

Corydon, Indiana Corydon is a town in Harrison Township, Harrison County, Indiana. Located north of the Ohio River in the extreme southern part of the U.S. state of Indiana, it is the seat of government for Harrison County. Corydon was founded in 1808 and served ...

and was handicapped with a signal that covered only half of Louisville's metro. Nevertheless, WGZB soon became the choice for Louisville's

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

population (with approx. 200,000 African-Americans in the radio market as of Fall 2013) and was the final nail in the coffin for 1350 AM

WLOU WLOU (1350 AM) is a radio station broadcasting an urban oldies music format. Licensed to Louisville, Kentucky, United States, the station serves the Louisville, KY-IN market area. Its studios are located west of downtown and the transmitter is ...

's long-running Urban format (1951-1995). Earlier attempts at Urban Contemporary/Urban Adult programming in the market include "rimshot" FM Urban WJYL (1984–89) and WDGS (1985–87). WGZB was notable in that it tied WLOU for top Louisville Urban radio station after only six weeks on the air, according to the Spring 1990 Arbitron radio ratings. In 1994, WGZB added Urban Adult Contemporary WLSY-FM (now WMJM) to its group of stations, giving the combination broader demographic reach by targeting the age 30+ audience, while WGZB targeted the age 12-35 group. Both stations enjoy large "crossover" (Black+White+Hispanic+Asian+Native) audiences, along with their Hot Contemporary Hit Radio ("top 40") sister station, WDJX-FM. In 2004, WGZB's license was changed from Corydon to Lanesville so that the tower could be moved closer to Louisville and raised taller, eliminating much of the signal problems that the station had due to the low ERP. WGZB carries the syndicated ''

Russ Parr Russ Parr (born 1959 in California) is an American radio DJ, film director, writer, actor and television personality known for such television shows as ''Rock 'N' America''. Career Parr began as a Production Services Director at ABC TV. Russ wa ...

Morning Show'', though it did at one time carry

Doug Banks Calvin Douglas Banks Jr. (June 9, 1958 – April 11, 2016) was an American radio personality and host of The Doug Banks Radio Show. Career highlights The Philadelphia-born, Detroit-raised Banks began his radio career broadcasting on his high sc ...

until the station was purchased by Radio One. In 2007, Main Line Broadcasting purchased Radio One's Louisville properties, which included WGZB-FM. In one of the Fall 2013 monthly Arbitron (now NielsenAudio) ratings reports, WGZB ranked #1 in the Louisville radio market, with sisters WDJX and WMJM as #4 and #5 respectfully (out of 32 stations in the Louisville market, listeners age 10+).

References

External links

WGZB's official station website
*
WGZB-FM1's FCC entry
GZB GZB-FM Mainstream urban radio stations in the United States Alpha Media radio stations Radio stations established in 1990 {{Indiana-radio-station-stub