WZZO (95.1

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 ...

"95.1 ZZO") is a

commercial Commercial may refer to: * a dose of advertising conveyed through media (such as - for example - radio or television) ** Radio advertisement ** Television advertisement * (adjective for:) commerce, a system of voluntary exchange of products and s ...

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 ...

Bethlehem Bethlehem (; ar, بيت لحم ; he, בֵּית לֶחֶם '' '') is a city in the central West Bank, Palestine, about south of Jerusalem. Its population is approximately 25,000,Amara, 1999p. 18.Brynen, 2000p. 202. and it is the capital ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. It is branded as "WZZO: The Valley's Rock Station". The station broadcasts a

classic rock Classic rock is a US radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the mid 1990s, prim ...

radio format A radio format or programming format (not to be confused with broadcast programming) describes the overall content broadcast on a radio station. The radio format emerged mainly in the United States in the 1950s, at a time when radio was compelle ...

and is owned by

iHeartMedia iHeartMedia, Inc., formerly CC Media Holdings, Inc., is an American mass media corporation headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It is the holding company of iHeartCommunications, Inc. (formerly Clear Channel Communications, Inc.), a company fou ...

. Its studio and offices are in the iHeart Broadcasting Complex in Whitehall Township. WZZO has 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 h ...

(ERP) of 30,000

watt The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named after James ...

s, covering the

Lehigh Valley The Lehigh Valley (), known colloquially as The Valley, is a geographic region formed by the Lehigh River in Lehigh County and Northampton County in eastern Pennsylvania. It is a component valley of the Great Appalachian Valley bound to the no ...

metropolitan region of

and

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delawa ...

. The

transmitter In electronics and telecommunications, a radio transmitter or just transmitter is an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna. The transmitter itself generates a radio frequency alternating current, which is applied to the ...

is located off Severn Lane, near

Interstate 78 Interstate 78 (I-78) is an east–west Interstate Highway in the Northeastern United States, running from I-81 northeast of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, through Allentown to western and northern New Jersey and terminating at the Holland T ...

in Lower Saucon Township. In addition to a standard

analog transmission Analog transmission is a transmission method of conveying information using a continuous signal which varies in amplitude, phase, or some other property in proportion to that information. It could be the transfer of an analog signal, using an an ...

, WZZO broadcasts using

HD Radio HD Radio (HDR) is a trademark for an in-band on-channel (IBOC) digital radio broadcast technology. It generally simulcasts an existing analog radio station in digital format with less noise and with additional text information. HD Radio is used ...

technology and is available online through iHeartRadio. The HD2

digital subchannel In broadcasting, digital subchannels are a method of transmitting more than one independent program stream simultaneously from the same digital radio or television station on the same radio frequency channel. This is done by using data compres ...

carries a

soft 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 sto ...

format from

iHeartRadio iHeartRadio (often shortened to just "iHeart") is an American freemium broadcast, podcast and radio streaming platform owned by iHeartMedia. It was founded in August 2008. , iHeartRadio was functioning as the national umbrella brand for iHe ...

known as "The Breeze." WZZO carries '' Rover's Morning Glory'' syndicated from

WMMS WMMS (100.7 FM) – branded ''100.7 WMMS: The Buzzard'' – is a commercial radio station licensed to Cleveland, Ohio, serving Greater Cleveland and much of surrounding Northeast Ohio. Widely regarded as one of the most influential rock s ...

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the United States, U.S. U.S. state, state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along ...

during morning

drive time Drive time is the daypart in which radio broadcasters can reach the most people who listen to car radios while driving, usually to and from work, or on public transportation. Drive-time periods are when the number of radio listeners in this cl ...

. The station regularly sponsors live music and nightclub events in the Lehigh Valley area.

History

WZZO first

signed on Signing may refer to: * Using sign language * Signature, placing one's name on a document * Signature (disambiguation) * Manual communication, signing as a form of communication using the hands in place of the voice * Digital signature A digi ...

the air on February 16, 1946 as WGPA-FM, owned and operated by '' The Globe-Times''. The broadcast was

simulcast Simulcast (a portmanteau of simultaneous broadcast) is the broadcasting of programmes/programs or events across more than one resolution, bitrate or medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at exactly the same time (that is, simul ...

during daylight hours with

sister station In broadcasting, sister stations or sister channels are radio or television stations operated by the same company, either by direct ownership or through a management agreement. Radio sister stations will often have different formats, and somet ...

WGPA WGPA (1100 kHz) is a Class D daytimer radio station, licensed to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, serving the Lehigh Valley. Owned by CC Broadcasting, LLC, airing a radio format called Ameripolitan, including rockabilly, 1950s and 60s oldies, classic co ...

. The

AM 1100 The following radio stations broadcast on AM frequency 1100 kHz: 1100 AM is a United States clear-channel frequency. WTAM in Cleveland, Ohio is the dominant Class A station on 1100 AM. Argentina * Estilo in Longchamps, Buenos Aires * Mitre ...

station is authorized by the

Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdicti ...

to broadcast only from sunrise to sunset, so programming continued on FM station until 11 PM. At that time WGPA-FM used a sub-carrier to broadcast instrumental

beautiful music Beautiful music (sometimes abbreviated as BM, B/EZ or BM/EZ for "beautiful music/easy listening") is a mostly instrumental music format that was prominent in North American radio from the late 1950s through the 1980s. Easy listening, elevator mu ...

from reel-to-reel tapes for playing over paging systems inside retail businesses. Eventually, that same beautiful music sound was airing on WGPA-FM. In 1973, when WGPA-AM and FM were sold by '', The Globe-Times'' to Holt Broadcasting, the new owners changed the FM

call sign In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign (also known as a call name or call letters—and historically as a call signal—or abbreviated as a call) is a unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be formally ass ...

to WEZV to reflect the FM's

easy listening Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to 1970s. It is related to middle-of-the-road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit songs, ...

with the EZ in the call letters standing for "Easy" and the V representing "Valley" as in Lehigh Valley. In 1978, WGPA and WEZV were sold to different owners, and WEZV's call letters changed to WZZO and the format switched to

album-oriented rock Album-oriented rock (AOR, originally called album-oriented radio) is an FM radio format created in the United States in the 1970s that focuses on the full repertoire of rock albums and is currently associated with classic rock. Album-orien ...

, which continues to this day. The broadcast tower remains at its original location off Applebutter Road in Lower Saucon Township and can be spotted from

I-78 Interstate 78 (I-78) is an east–west Interstate Highway in the Northeastern United States, running from I-81 northeast of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, through Allentown to western and northern New Jersey and terminating at the Holland T ...

between the exits for Route 412 and Route 33. The original broadcast studios were at 428 Brodhead Avenue, which now serves as a

Lehigh University Lehigh University (LU) is a private research university in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. The university was established in 1865 by businessman Asa Packer and was originally affiliated with the Epi ...

building in Bethlehem. Before moving to Whitehall Township, the WZZO broadcast studios were located in the Westgate Mall in

. On February 24, 2019, WZZO's Facebook page announced that morning host "The Bearman" had passed away unexpectedly.

HD Radio

WZZO's HD2 station carries "The Breeze", a

music format from

. Previously, it ran an

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 mainstream or commercial ...

format called "The Alternative Project" and prior to that, a

format.

Programming

WZZO programming from Monday through Friday includes '' Rover's Morning Glory'' from

in morning drive time (6am to 10am) followed by Maria Milito (10am to 3pm), Joe Bonadonna in evening drive time (3pm to 7pm), Big Rig (7pm to midnight), and BMAN (midnight to 6am). In 2008, the

Lehigh Valley IronPigs The Lehigh Valley IronPigs are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. They are located in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and are named in reference to pig iron, used in the ...

minor league baseball team began broadcasting their games on WZZO.

Competition

WZZO's primary rock station competitors include Philadelphia's WMMR,

WMGK WMGK (102.9 FM, "102.9 MGK") is a commercial FM radio station licensed to serve Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The station is owned by Beasley Broadcast Group and broadcasts a classic rock radio format. The broadcast tower used by the station ...

, and

WRFF WRFF (104.5 FM, "ALT 104.5") is a commercial FM radio station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The station is owned by iHeartMedia, and broadcasts an alternative rock radio format. The studios are in Bala Cynwyd. WRFF has an effective radiated ...

, and the Lehigh Valley's

WODE-FM WODE-FM (99.9 FM, "99.9 The Hawk") is a commercial FM radio station licensed to serve Easton, Pennsylvania. The station's service contour covers the Lehigh Valley area of Pennsylvania and New Jersey. The station is owned by Cumulus Media, th ...

Streaming audio

WZZO streams its live audio through both its website
WZZO
and over

iHeart iHeartRadio (often shortened to just "iHeart") is an American freemium broadcast, podcast and radio streaming platform owned by iHeartMedia. It was founded in August 2008. , iHeartRadio was functioning as the national umbrella brand for iHear ...

WZZO at iHeart
.

References

External links

* {{IHeartMedia Classic rock radio stations in the United States ZZO Radio stations established in 1946 1946 establishments in Pennsylvania IHeartMedia radio stations