WODZ-FM (96.1
MHz), branded as "The Eagle", is a
radio station broadcasting a
classic hits format
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. Licensed to
Rome, New York, United States, the station serves the
Utica-Rome market. The station is owned by
Townsquare Media as part of a cluster with news-talk station
WIBX, classic rock-formatted
WOUR, hot AC-formatted
WLZW (Lite 98.7), and country-formatted
WFRG (Big Frog 104).
History
WODZ-FM signed on in August 1968
as WKAL-FM, owned by Maurer Broadcasting Corporation and operating at 95.9 FM. The station originally simulcast its AM sister station,
WKAL (1450 AM).
In 1977, WKAL-FM dropped the simulcast in favor of
beautiful music.
Maurer Broadcasting Corporation sold WKAL AM-FM to Wooster Republican Publishing Company of
Wooster, Ohio in 1980.
In July 1984, WKAL-FM changed its call letters to WTCO,
and became a
country music station, "Top Country." The following year, the station, along with WKAL, was acquired by Howard Green and Donald Simmons, owner of
WENY AM-
TV and
WLEZ in
Elmira and
WOND and
WMGM FM-
TV in
Atlantic City, New Jersey
Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020, the city had a population of 38,497. .
The new owners reverted the station's call letters to WKAL-FM on February 10, 1986,
and implemented a
soft adult contemporary format.
Target Communications bought WKAL AM-FM from Green and Simmons in 1987;
soon after taking over, on February 1, 1988, the call sign was changed to WFRG-FM,
and the station returned to country music, this time branded "
96 Frog".
The new format was simulcast on 1450 AM, which also took the WFRG call letters
[ (save for a short time in the early 1990s when the AM station broke away to become oldies station WZLB);][ Forever renamed the stations WODZ and launched an oldies format, with the country format and WFRG-FM call letters moving to 104.3 FM.]
References
External links
*
{{Townsquare Media
ODZ-FM
Classic hits radio stations in the United States
Radio stations established in 1968
Rome, New York
Townsquare Media radio stations