WHHZ (100.5
FM), branded as "100.5 The Buzz", 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 ...
licensed to
Newberry, Florida
Newberry is a city located in the southwest corner of Alachua County, Florida, United States. The population was 7,342 as of the 2020 Census. Much of the city borders neighboring Gilchrist County, to the west. The current Mayor is Jordan Marlowe ...
, broadcasting to the
Gainesville area. The station is owned by the MARC Radio Group and transmits with an
Effective radiated power
Effective radiated power (ERP), synonymous with equivalent radiated power, is an IEEE standardized definition of directional radio frequency (RF) power, such as that emitted by a radio transmitter. It is the total power in watts that would hav ...
of 44
kw from a tower site 2 miles west of
Trenton.
History
The FCC added 100.5 MHz class A allocation for Newberry to the table of allotments on December 17, 1986. Newberry Broadcasting Corporation applied for and was granted the construction permit on January 10, 1990. During the construction phase, the allotment was upgraded to a class C3. The station first signed on the air on November 18, 1994. Originally, as a
class C3 FM station broadcasting from a tower site west of
High Springs, Florida
High Springs is a city in Alachua County, Florida, United States. It is the fourth-largest city in Alachua County and seventh-largest in North Central Florida. The population was 6,215 at the 2020 census.
History
The present-day area of High S ...
, it never had good penetration into its primary target market of Gainesville.
After several call letter changes and format changes; WBXY in 1998, WRGK in 1999, it was sold to Asterisk Communications who then sold the station to Pamal Broadcasting. The sale was consummated in February 2001. Pamal immediately co-located the station with its other market stations in the
WLUS
WLUS-FM is a Country formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Clarksville, Virginia, serving the Southside Virginia area. WLUS-FM is owned and operated by Thomas Birch's Birch Broadcasting Corporation, through licensee Lakes Media, LLC.
In ...
building on SE 27th Street. The format was changed briefly to
CHR before finally settling on
Alternative Rock
Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...
after stunting with the opening riffs of
We Will Rock You
"We Will Rock You" is a song written by Brian May and recorded by British rock band Queen for their 1977 album ''News of the World''. ''Rolling Stone'' ranked it number 330 of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" in 2004, and it placed at numbe ...
by
Queen
Queen or QUEEN may refer to:
Monarchy
* Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom
** List of queens regnant
* Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king
* Queen dowager, the widow of a king
* Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...
. When University Of Gainesville-owned
WRUF-FM
WRUF-FM (103.7 MHz) is a radio station broadcasting a country music format. Licensed to Gainesville, Florida, United States, the station serves the Gainesville/Ocala area. The station is currently owned by the University of Florida. The station h ...
changed formats in 2010 from Active Rock "Rock 104" to Country (as "103.7 The Gator"), WHHZ adopted an Active Rock format. On April 17, 2014 WHHZ transitioned back to an Alternative Rock format.
In July 2004, the transmitter was relocated to sister station
WKZY
WKZY (92.9 FM broadcasting, FM) is an American radio station, licensed to Chilton, Wisconsin, and transmitting from the Lake Winnebago community of Stockbridge, Wisconsin, Stockbridge to provide a city-grade signal to both Oshkosh, Wisconsin, Osh ...
's tower and the signal was upgraded to a
class C2 FM allocation.
This greatly improved coverage of the Gainesville city metro. Unfortunately, the improved signal never translated to higher ratings or higher revenue for the station. In October 2005 the studios were moved across town to the Sunshine Broadcasting building on 100 NW 76th drive in the Tower Hill Office Park along with Pamal's other Gainesville stations. In July 2011, WHHZ and all of its sister stations were sold by Pamal Broadcasting to the MARC Radio Group, an upstart radio broadcaster based in
Winter Park.
References
External links
100.5 The Buzz Online*
{{Gainesville/Ocala Radio
HHZ
Alternative rock radio stations in the United States
Radio stations established in 1986
1986 establishments in Florida