WLZL (107.9 FM, "El Zol 107.9 FM") is a commercial FM

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 serve

College Park, Maryland College Park is a city in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States, and is approximately four miles (6.4 km) from the northeast border of Washington, D.C. The population was 34,740 at the 2020 United States Census. It is best known ...

. The station is owned by Audacy, Inc. through licensee Audacy License, LLC and broadcasts a Spanish

tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...

format. Studios are located in Washington, D.C. while the station's broadcast tower is located east of Crofton, Maryland at (). WLZL 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 ...

History

The station signed on for the first time in 1960 with the WFSI call sign. WFSI was owned by

Family Radio Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Ideal ...

and aired a

Christian radio Christian radio is a Christian media radio format that focus on programming with a Christian message. Many such broadcasters play contemporary Christian music, though many programs include sermons, radio dramas, as well as news and talk program ...

format. On November 16, 2011, CBS Radio announced plans to acquire WFSI from

, with the intention of moving WLZL's Spanish Tropical format and ''El Zol'' branding from 99.1 to 107.9, with a new all-news format to be launched on 99.1. The format change occurred on December 1, when both stations began simulcasting El Zol programming. WFSI also swapped call signs with WBGR, a Family Radio-owned AM station in Baltimore, the same day. The 99.1/107.9 simulcast ended on December 12, 2011, with the WLZL call sign moving from 99.1 to 107.9 and the new

WNEW-FM WNEW-FM (102.7 FM, ''NEW 102.7'') is a hot adult contemporary formatted radio station, licensed to New York, New York and owned by Audacy, Inc. The station's studios are located at the Audacy facility in the Hudson Square neighborhood of Ma ...

call sign debuting on 99.1. On February 19, 2013, the FCC granted CBS Radio a construction permit for WLZL to lower its ERP from 50,000 watts to 49,000 watts and to lower its HAAT from to . These changes brought WLZL into compliance with current FCC rules regarding maximum ERP and HAAT for a Class B station. WLZL had been operating using facilities that exceeded these parameters as a "grandfathered" facility. On May 7, 2014, the FCC granted a request by CBS Radio to change the community of license for the station from

Annapolis, Maryland Annapolis ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Maryland and the county seat of, and only incorporated city in, Anne Arundel County. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east ...

to College Park, Maryland, as a modification of the construction permit. The reason given was to provide College Park with its first local transmission service. 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.

References

External links

* * {{Entercom LZL LZL Tropical music radio stations Radio stations established in 1960 1960 establishments in Maryland Audacy, Inc. radio stations