WKAZ-FM (107.3

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 ...

, "107.3 KAZ") 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 ...

licensed A license (or licence) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit). A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another party (licensee) as an element of an agreeme ...

Miami, West Virginia Miami is an unincorporated community in Kanawha County, West Virginia, United States. Miami is south of East Bank along Cabin Creek. Miami has a post office with ZIP code 25134. The community was named after the Miami Indians The Miami ...

. Owned by

West Virginia Radio Corporation WVRC Media is a media corporation comprising radio stations and two radio networks based in the state of West Virginia. The company was known as the West Virginia Radio Corporation prior to a December 2021 rebranding. The company is controlle ...

, it broadcasts a

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

format serving the Charleston area.

History

When the station was initially launched, it was known as “Country Heaven 107“, broadcasting from Miami (Cabin Creek) West Virginia. Its call letters were WVCM, which stood for “West Virginia’s Country Music“. In 1987, after it and WXIT-AM were acquired by Empire Broadcasting, the format was changed to a “light pop“ format, and the station was known as “Lite 107“. The call letters were subsequently changed to WLZT to signify the “lite“ element of the station. In early 1989, the station would switch to an oldies format, keeping the WLZT call sign, and the tag became “Z–107“.

Bristol Broadcasting Company "Bristol Broadcasting Company" is a radio station chain operating 29 stations in four Southern United States markets: the Tri-Cities area of upper-east Tennessee and southwest Virginia (receiving its name from the twin cities of Bristol, Virginia ...

acquired the station circa 1992, and briefly changed the format to the

CD Country CD Country was a 24-hour music format produced by Jones Radio Networks. Its playlist is composed of mostly modern country music from artists such as Tim McGraw, Gretchen Wilson, Keith Urban, Brooks & Dunn, and Rascal Flatts. Unlike other country ...

satellite feed format. They retagged the station as “QBE2“, designating it as a high sound quality, continuous music companion to Bristol’s main country station in the market, WQBE. After approximately a year, the station reverted back to oldies and adopted the dormant WKAZ callsign. Original WKAZAM – 95 personality Frank George hosted an all request hour at noon on weekdays. The

purchased WKAZ-FM and WSWW-AM in 1995. It initially had an all-70s format until Spring 1997. Around that time, sister station 580 WCHS would move its oldies format to WKAZ-FM in favor of a news and talk radio format. In 2006, WKAZ flipped from

Oldies Oldies is a term for musical genres such as pop music, rock and roll, doo-wop, surf music (broadly characterized as classic rock and pop rock) from the second half of the 20th century, specifically from around the mid-1950s to the 1980s, as we ...

to Adult Hits under the "

Jack FM Jack FM is a radio network brand, licensed by Sparknet Communications, with the exception of the European Union where it is licensed by Oxis Media. It plays an adult hits radio format, format, in most cases not using disc jockey, DJs. Format c ...

" branding, using the ABC Radio satellite feed. In March 2007, after the Jack FM format was not well received by listeners in the area, WKAZ-FM restored the previous oldies format using

Tom Kent Tom Kent (born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina), is an American radio personality and author. As the head of the ''Tom Kent Radio Network (TKRN)'', Tom hosts and produces syndicated daily, weekend and 24/7 programming each week on approximately ...

's " Classic Top 40" branding. It positioned itself as "107.3 WKAZ-FM, Classic Top 40". On April 25, 2012, WKAZ-FM changed its format to classic rock, branded as "107.3 K-Rock". On August 8, 2014, after stunting for a day with patriotic-themed songs, WKAZ-FM flipped to an

eclectic Eclectic may refer to: Music * ''Eclectic'' (Eric Johnson and Mike Stern album), 2014 * ''Eclectic'' (Big Country album), 1996 * Eclectic Method, name of an audio-visual remix act * Eclecticism in music, the conscious use of styles alien to th ...

format as ''Tailgate 107.3.'' Positioned as a "no rules" format featuring "Party Songs for Party People", the station played a broad mix of current pop and country music, as well as classic hits spanning as far back as the 1970's. On April 1, 2020, the station flipped to

as ''107.3 KAZ'', flanking sister station

classic country Classic country is a music radio format that specializes in playing mainstream country and western music hits from past decades. Repertoire The radio format specializes in hits from the 1950s through the early 1980s, and focus primarily on innov ...

WKWS WKWS (96.1 FM) is a broadcast radio station licensed to Charleston, West Virginia, and owned and operated by WVRC Media History Origination In 1969, WBES – FM 96.1 was launched by Rollins Telecasting (later acquired by Heritage Media) a ...

References

External links

107-3 KAZ Online
* {{West Virginia Radio Corporation KAZ-FM HD Radio stations Radio stations established in 1983 KAZ-FM