 | |
| |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Jacksonville metropolitan area |
| Frequency | 96.1MHz (HD Radio) |
| Branding | 96.1 WEJZ |
| Programming | |
| Format | Adult contemporary |
| Affiliations | Premiere Networks |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
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| WGNE-FM | |
| History | |
First air date | 1948 (1948) |
Former call signs |
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| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 55706 |
| Class | C0 |
| ERP | 100,000watts |
| HAAT | 300 meters (984 ft) |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | wejz.com |
WEJZ (96.1FM) is acommercialradio stationlicensed toJacksonville, Florida.[2] It is owned byRenda Media and airs anadult contemporaryradio format, focusing on music from the 80s and 90s. WEJZ is the Jacksonville affiliate for thesyndicatedDelilah show. Between mid-November and December 25 each year, the station switches to all-Christmas music.
WEJZ's studios and offices are located on Atlantic Boulevard in theArlington district of Jacksonville, and ittransmits fromDowntown Jacksonville, via a tower shared with other radio and TV stations.[3] WEJZ is a Class C radio station, broadcasting at 100,000wattseffective radiated power (ERP) from an antenna at nearly 1,000 feet. The signal stretches fromBrunswick, Georgia, toGainesville, Florida.
In 1948, the station firstsigned on as WMBR-FM,sister station to WMBR (nowWQOP).[4] It was owned by the Florida Broadcasting Company, which the following year put WMBR-TV on the air, the second TV station in Florida (nowWJXT). WMBR-FMsimulcast the programming of its AM counterpart.
In the 1950s, theWashington Post bought the TV station, while the radio stations came under the ownership of WMBR, Incorporated.[5] In 1965, 96.1 became WKTZ-FM, when it was bought byJones College, and was paired withWKTZ. The two stations aired abeautiful music format of soft instrumentals, with limited talk and commercials.
On October 1, 1985, 96.1 was bought by the Kravis Company, which already owned WRXJ (nowWFXJ).[6] Thecall sign became WLCS-FM, airing asoft adult contemporary format. Meanwhile, WKTZ-FM, still owned by Jones College, became non-commercial, moving to 90.9 MHz (nowK-Love stationWJKV).
On June 21, 1987, WLCS was bought by WIN Communications.[7] The new owners changed the call letters to the current WEJZ, continuing its Soft AC format and rebranding the station "Lite 96.1."
In June 1990, the station was acquired byRenda Broadcasting. In January 2015, WEJZ dropped the "Lite" in its name, rebranded as96.1 WEJZ, and moved to a more upbeatplaylist of mainstreamadult contemporary songs from the 1980s to current hits.
In 2019, 96.1 rebranded to96.1 EJZ and switched to more modern mainstream playlist. They became known as playing "The most music for your workday" and added popular features that they maintain to this day, such as commercial-free hours of music. However, in 2022, the station reverted to the96.1 WEJZ branding and moved to aSoft rock-based selection of music.
WEJZ first flipped to allChristmas music during the holidays in 2006, and has continued the practice every year since. For most of November and December each year, it calls itself "Jacksonville's Christmas Music Station".[8]
WEJZ begins airing Christmas music in mid-November (generally the week beforeThanksgiving) and continues it throughout the Christmas season, ending on December 26. Each year onChristmas Eve starting at noon and continuing for 36 hours, WEJZ begins airing little to no advertisements.[9] Christmas music generally increases ratings for the station as it hits #1 in the Nielsen Holiday Ratings.[10][11]
In 2023, the station set a new record high for having a 19.8 market share in Jacksonville during the Holiday season. This placed WEJZ as the second-highest listened-to radio station in the country during the 2023 Christmas Season, only behind another Christmas station,KSFI inSalt Lake City, which hit a 20.2 share.[12] WEJZ formerly ran an event called "12 Days of Christmas" where the station would give away prizes to listeners; however, this was discontinued in 2022.
Usually, WEJZ has no rival for Christmas music in Jacksonville. However, there are some cases where WEJZ has to compete for the audience. Such cases were in 2017 and 2024 when 102.9WEZI flipped to all-Christmas music for the holiday season.[13] Other scenarios areChristian Contemporary stations, such asWCRJ andWJKV, flipping to Christmas Music, but with many Christian artists in the mix of music.[14] Generally, these stations do not reach as high in the ratings as WEJZ.
WEJZ has a large on-air staff. Yvonne Velazquez is live weekdays from 5:30 am - 10 am.[15] Jordan Kline covers middays at the station, Matt Basford is on-air in the afternoon, and Brian Jordan covers the weekends. WEJZ also carries thenationally syndicated call-in and dedication show hosted byDelilah, which airs Sunday through Friday 7 pm - 12 am. Overnights areautomated with no liveDJs.
Mornings had been co-hosted by Arthur Crofton and Yvonne Velazquez since 2010. Crofton, who was born in England, had been the host of the WEJZ Morning Show for 34 years, since August 23, 1990. However, he died in September 2024 at the age of 72.[16]
WEJZ bears a resemblance to otherRenda Broadcasting-owned AC stations. The most notable isWSHHPittsburgh, which shares some of the sameDJs as WEJZ, an example being Jordan Kline. Both stations carry the same music genre, and are considered important assets by their parent company. Both stations also have commercial-free hours to begin each workday after morningdrive time.
WEJZ currently has onesister station in Jacksonville,Country music 99.9WGNE-FM. Renda Broadcasting formerly owned 100.7WMUV and 94.1WSOS-FM, before selling those stations to Chesapeake-Portsmouth Broadcasting Corporation in 2014.[17] This left WEJZ and WGNE-FM as the only Renda-owned stations left in Northeast Florida.
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