WZMX (93.7
FM "Hot 93.7") is an
urban-leaning rhythmic contemporary
Rhythmic contemporary, also known as Rhythmic Top 40, Rhythmic CHR or rhythmic crossover, is a primarily American music-radio format that includes a mix of EDM, upbeat rhythmic pop, hip hop and upbeat R&B hits. Rhythmic contemporary never uses ...
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
Hartford, Connecticut
Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since the ...
, in the United States. The station is owned by
Audacy, Inc.
Audacy, Inc. is an American broadcasting company based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1968 as Entercom Communications Corporation, it is the second largest radio company in the United States, owning 235 radio stations across 48 media ...
The station's current slogan is "Hartford's #1 for
Hip-Hop and
R&B". Its transmitter is located on
West Peak in
Meriden, Connecticut
Meriden is a city in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States, located halfway between the regional cities of New Haven, Connecticut, New Haven and Hartford, Connecticut, Hartford. In 2020, the population of the city was 60,850.[studio
A studio is an artist or worker's workroom. This can be for the purpose of acting, architecture, painting, pottery (ceramics), sculpture, origami, woodworking, scrapbooking, photography, graphic design, filmmaking, animation, industrial design ...]
s and offices are located on Executive Drive in
Farmington
Farmington may refer to:
Places Canada
*Farmington, British Columbia
* Farmington, Nova Scotia (disambiguation)
United States
*Farmington, Arkansas
*Farmington, California
*Farmington, Connecticut
*Farmington, Delaware
* Farmington, Georgia
* ...
.
History
The 93.7 frequency first signed on in the late 1960s as WLVH, the first Spanish-language radio station in the state of
Connecticut
Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...
. Though the station had a loyal audience, the concept of a Spanish-language FM station in an area with a (then) relatively small
Hispanic
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad.
The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...
population was seen as being ahead of its time. With FM prices rising, WLVH later bought 1550 kHz (today's
WSDK
WSDK (1550 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station licensed to Bloomfield, Connecticut, and serving the Hartford metropolitan area. It is owned by Blount Communications and broadcasts a Christian talk and teaching radio format. National reli ...
), and in 1991, sold 93.7 to
American Radio Systems
American Radio Systems Corporation was a radio company that existed from 1993 until 1998. Its predecessor, Atlantic Ventures, was founded by Steven B. Dodge, Eric Schultz, Joseph Winn, and Michael Milsom. American Radio Systems was formed from ...
, with WLVH moving to AM. With ARS's takeover came the change to a
stunt
A stunt is an unusual and difficult physical feat or an act requiring a special skill, performed for artistic purposes usually on television, theaters, or cinema. Stunts are a feature of many action films. Before computer generated imagery spec ...
with the local
NOAA Weather Radio signal for a week before the launch of the new format:
hot adult contemporary
Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quiet ...
, as WZMX, chosen for the station's "Mix 93.7" format by Program Director Herb Crowe (formerly of
KIIM-FM
KIIM-FM (99.5 MHz) is a commercial FM radio station in Tucson, Arizona. It is owned by Cumulus Media and airs a country music radio format. Studios and offices are located on Oracle Road in North Tucson.
KIIM-FM's effective radiated power (ER ...
in
Tucson
, "(at the) base of the black ill
, nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town"
, image_map =
, mapsize = 260px
, map_caption = Interactive map ...
) and midday personality Ron O. The "Mix" format promised listeners a mix of different varieties of music with little talk or DJ chatter, a directive reflected in the slogan "Four songs in a row - No talk".
Other DJs included
WTIC-FM
WTIC-FM (96.5 MHz) is a commercial radio station in Hartford, Connecticut. It is owned by Audacy, Inc. and broadcasts a hot adult contemporary radio format. The station's studios and offices are located on Executive Drive in Farmington.
WTIC-F ...
alums and husband/wife team Jonathan Monk and Diana Kelly in mornings, Production Coordinator Ron O (and later, Donna Rose) in middays, Neil Jackson in afternoons, Ted Dalaku in evenings, and Danny Wright in overnights.
In spite of being a "new" station for the majority of the market's listeners, the "Mix" format began well, but it then started to flounder. The purchase of rival
WTIC-FM
WTIC-FM (96.5 MHz) is a commercial radio station in Hartford, Connecticut. It is owned by Audacy, Inc. and broadcasts a hot adult contemporary radio format. The station's studios and offices are located on Executive Drive in Farmington.
WTIC-F ...
by ARS in 1994 and its subsequent conversion to a hot AC format led ARS to flip the younger WZMX to an
all-70s hits format in the middle of that year. To boost the station's listenership, WZMX hired popular morning drive host Sebastian away from
WCCC-FM
WCCC (106.9 FM) – branded ''K-Love'' – is a non-commercial contemporary Christian radio station licensed to serve Hartford, Connecticut. Owned by the Educational Media Foundation, WCCC does not broadcast any local programming, function ...
in February 1995, and engaged well-known announcer
Chuck Riley to be the station's voiceover talent. After a downturn in 1996, the station added 1960s and 1980s music and reimaged itself as "
Classic Hits
Classic hits is a radio format which generally includes songs from the top 40 music charts from the late 1960s to the early 2000s, with music from the 1980s serving as the core of the format. Music that was popularized by MTV in the early 1980s ...
93-7".
The "Classic Hits" period produced a lot of creative programming, such as "Saturday specials" which followed a theme (i.e., all
disco
Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...
music, music of the '80s, management staff hosting shows), ran countdowns that at times featured hundreds of songs, and was the Connecticut home of
New England Patriots
The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...
football games and an overflow home of
Hartford Whalers
The Hartford Whalers were a professional ice hockey team based for most of its existence in Hartford, Connecticut. The club played in the World Hockey Association (WHA) from 1972 until 1979, and in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1979 to ...
hockey
Hockey is a term used to denote a family of various types of both summer and winter team sports which originated on either an outdoor field, sheet of ice, or dry floor such as in a gymnasium. While these sports vary in specific rules, numbers o ...
games.
By 1998, "Classic Hits" had run its course, and rumors of a format change circulated. After
CBS Radio
CBS Radio was a radio broadcasting company and radio network operator owned by CBS Corporation and founded in 1928, with consolidated radio station groups owned by CBS and Westinghouse Broadcasting/Group W since the 1920s, and Infinity Broadc ...
took over the ARS stations that spring, WZMX's format evolved into a broad-based, classic-leaning, rock format as "The Point". This format never had any sort of success, and on May 6, 1999, at 10:00 a.m., WZMX flipped to a "
Jammin' Oldies
Rhythmic oldies is a radio format that concentrates on the rhythmic, R&B, disco, or dance genres of music. Playlists can span from the 1960s through the 2000s and, depending on market conditions, may be designed for African-American or Hispanic ...
"-style format as "Dancin' Oldies Z93.7". The first song on "Z" was "
Celebration" by
Kool & the Gang
Kool & the Gang is an American R&B/soul/funk band formed in Jersey City, New Jersey, in 1964 by brothers Robert "Kool" Bell and Ronald Bell, with Dennis "Dee Tee" Thomas, Robert "Spike" Mickens, Charles Smith, George Brown, and Ricky West. T ...
. As with other stations in that format (and as with past formats of 93.7's existence), the format had early success, but soon dropped in the ratings, and was still the lowest-rated station in the
Hartford
Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since the ...
market
Market is a term used to describe concepts such as:
*Market (economics), system in which parties engage in transactions according to supply and demand
*Market economy
*Marketplace, a physical marketplace or public market
Geography
*Märket, an ...
.
On March 16, 2001, at 5:00 p.m., WZMX flipped to an
urban
Urban means "related to a city". In that sense, the term may refer to:
* Urban area, geographical area distinct from rural areas
* Urban culture, the culture of towns and cities
Urban may also refer to:
General
* Urban (name), a list of people ...
-leaning
rhythmic Rhythmic may refer to:
* Related to rhythm
* Rhythmic contemporary, a radio format
* Rhythmic adult contemporary, a radio format
* Rhythmic gymnastics, a form of gymnastics
* Rhythmic (chart)
The Rhythmic chart (also called Rhythmic Airplay, and ...
format as "Hot 93.7", based on that of sister station
WPGC-FM
WPGC-FM (95.5 MHz) is a commercial radio station licensed to Morningside, Maryland and serving the Washington metropolitan area. It is owned by Audacy, Inc., and airs an urban contemporary format.
WPGC-FM has studios in the Navy Yard neighborh ...
in
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
The last song on "Z" was "
Last Dance" by
Donna Summer
LaDonna Adrian Gaines (December 31, 1948May 17, 2012), known professionally as Donna Summer, was an American singer and songwriter. She gained prominence during the disco era of the 1970s and became known as the " Queen of Disco", while her mus ...
, while the first song on "Hot" was "
Stutter
Stuttering, also known as stammering, is a speech disorder in which the flow of speech is disrupted by involuntary repetitions and prolongations of sounds, syllables, words, or phrases as well as involuntary silent pauses or blocks in which the ...
" by
Joe
Joe or JOE may refer to:
Arts
Film and television
* ''Joe'' (1970 film), starring Peter Boyle
* ''Joe'' (2013 film), starring Nicolas Cage
* ''Joe'' (TV series), a British TV series airing from 1966 to 1971
* ''Joe'', a 2002 Canadian animated ...
. The first station playing such a format on FM in the Hartford, New Haven and Springfield markets, WZMX would soon become a regular Top 5 station and often has been the #1 station in the
market
Market is a term used to describe concepts such as:
*Market (economics), system in which parties engage in transactions according to supply and demand
*Market economy
*Marketplace, a physical marketplace or public market
Geography
*Märket, an ...
. Coincidentally, that same format had been proposed as a replacement twice before, but was rejected for fear that it would not work in the Hartford market. The success of "Hot 93.7" led to the launch of rival
WPHH
WPHH (93.5 FM) is an American radio station licensed to serve the community of Hope Hull, Alabama, United States. The station broadcasts to the Montgomery area.
History
The station license and operation was transferred to William C Carn, III ...
("Power 104.1") in 2003, which had a limited effect on WZMX's success. WPHH was the sister station of
Mainstream Top 40
Pop Airplay (also called Mainstream Top 40, Pop Songs, and Top 40/contemporary hit radio, CHR) is a 40-song music chart published weekly by Billboard (magazine), ''Billboard'' Magazine that ranks the most popular songs of pop music being played o ...
-formatted
WKSS
WKSS (95.7 FM) is an American radio station operated by iHeartMedia, Inc. in the Hartford-New Britain-Middletown, Connecticut, radio market. It broadcasts from its original transmitter site in Meriden, and has a rare dual city of license of Hartf ...
, whose once-dominant hold on Hartford's Top 40 scene would take a major beating in the wake of WZMX's arrival, which in turn may have served as one of the reason behind WPHH's debut. WZMX also has competition with WKSS and WPHH's sister station in
New Haven
New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,02 ...
, Top 40-formatted
WKCI-FM
WKCI-FM (101.3 MHz) is a commercial radio station broadcasting a Top 40 (CHR) format. Licensed to the suburb of Hamden, Connecticut, it serves New Haven and Hartford. The station is owned by iHeartMedia.
The studios are in Radio Towers Park o ...
, which has also seen its listener base erode slightly after Hot 93.7's debut.
In August 2006, ''
R&R'' moved WZMX from the Rhythmic Airplay panel to the
Urban Contemporary
Urban contemporary music, also known as urban music, hip hop, urban pop, or just simply urban, is a music radio format. The term was coined by New York radio DJ Frankie Crocker in the early to mid-1970s as a synonym for Black music. Urban contem ...
Airplay panel, but in May 2007, placed the station back on the Rhythmic panel due to a shift in its direction which now favors a more broader Rhythmic playlist. This format redirection was done to protect from excessive competition with then-Urban formatted WPHH, thus giving the market two
Hip Hop/
R&B stations with partially different formats at the time. But even with the shift, WZMX continued to lead the competition in the Hartford
Nielsen Audio
Nielsen Audio (formerly Arbitron) is a consumer research company in the United States that collects listener data on radio broadcasting audiences. It was founded as the American Research Bureau by Jim Seiler in 1949 and became national by mergin ...
rating books. On October 25, 2007, WPHH flipped formats to
Alternative
Alternative or alternate may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media
* Alternative (''Kamen Rider''), a character in the Japanese TV series ''Kamen Rider Ryuki''
* ''The Alternative'' (film), a 1978 Australian television film
* ''The Alternative ...
, thus leaving WZMX as the area's only outlet for Hip-Hop and R&B. The station also competes with an
urban adult contemporary
Urban adult contemporary, often abbreviated as urban AC or UAC, (also known as adult R&B,) is the name for a format of radio music, similar to an urban contemporary format. Radio stations using this format usually would not have hip hop music on ...
-formatted station,
WYBC-FM
WYBC-FM (94.3 MHz) is an urban adult contemporary radio station, licensed to New Haven, Connecticut. The station's studios are located on the campus of Yale University. The station is owned by Yale Broadcasting Company and operated through a loc ...
, from New Haven.
On February 2, 2017, CBS Radio announced it would merge with
Entercom
Audacy, Inc. is an American broadcasting company based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1968 as Entercom Communications Corporation, it is the second largest radio company in the United States, owning 235 radio stations across 48 media ...
. The merger was approved on November 9, 2017, and was consummated on the 17th.
HD radio
* WZMX-HD1
ot 93.7Rhythmic Contemporary
Rhythmic contemporary, also known as Rhythmic Top 40, Rhythmic CHR or rhythmic crossover, is a primarily American music-radio format that includes a mix of EDM, upbeat rhythmic pop, hip hop and upbeat R&B hits. Rhythmic contemporary never uses ...
* WZMX-HD2
Channel Q
Channel Q (stylized as CHANNEL Q) is an LGBT lifestyle talk and EDM top 40 radio network created, owned, and operated by Audacy, Inc. The network airs on the Audacy internet radio service, as well as on Audacy-owned terrestrial radio stations t ...
(
LGBTQ
' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity.
The LGBT term is a ...
Talk
Talk may refer to:
Communication
* Communication, the encoding and decoding of exchanged messages between people
* Conversation, interactive communication between two or more people
* Lecture, an oral presentation intended to inform or instruct
...
/
EDM
EDM or E-DM may refer to:
Music
* Electronic dance music
* Early Day Miners, American band
Science and technology
* Electric dipole moment
* Electrical discharge machining
* Electronic distance measurement
*Entry, Descent, and landing demonstrat ...
)
References
External links
*
*
{{Entercom
ZMX
Rhythmic contemporary radio stations in the United States
Radio stations established in 1959
1959 establishments in Connecticut
Audacy, Inc. radio stations