 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "WZPW" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(September 2014) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
 Studio in downtown Peoria | |
| Broadcast area | Peoria, Illinois |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 92.3MHz |
| Branding | Z92.3 |
| Programming | |
| Format | Rhythmic contemporary |
| Affiliations | Compass Media Networks |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| WFYR,WGLO,WIXO,WVEL | |
| History | |
First air date | November 1992; 33 years ago (1992-11) |
Former call signs | WBGE (1990–2000) |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 3464 |
| Class | B1 |
| ERP | 19,200 watts |
| HAAT | 114 meters (374 ft) |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | z923peoria.com |
WZPW (92.3FM, "Z92.3") is a radio station inCentral Illinois with arhythmic top 40 music format, licensed toPeoria, Illinois and broadcasting with aneffective radiated power (ERP) of 19,200 watts. The station is owned byCumulus Media, which purchased the station fromTownsquare Media.[2]
WZPW, whose first owners were awarded an FCC license on October 17, 1990, originally signed on the air in November 1992 asurban contemporary WBGE ("B92"), but by the end of the decade, they would start incorporatingRhythmic pop, shifting the station's format direction.[3][4] WBGE was sold in early 2000 to become what was the first of two radio stations for AAA Entertainment in the Peoria market (AAA also ownedWWKX inProvidence, Rhode Island, who would later become WZPW's sister station). On January 20, 1999, WBGE flipped torhythmic oldies as "Jammin' Oldies 92.3",[5] but would flip back to Rhythmic CHR in October 2000 as "POWER 92" after a backlash from listeners and local groups (among them theNAACP).[6] The call letters were changed to WZPW.
In 2001, WZPW began expanding its format into the Bloomington area, where it was heard onWRPW. In early 2002, WZPW upgraded its signal to 19,200 watts and moved to a new tower nearKickapoo, Illinois.[7] By 2006, WZPW and WRPW stopped simulcasting after AAA sold WZPW to Regent Broadcasting (the predecessor to Townsquare Media). AAA kept WRPW, however, it later sold it and its sister properties inBloomington to Great Plains Media. The station's branding was also changed toPower 92.3. On August 30, 2007, the Rhythmic format on WRPW ceased to exist as Great Plains Media relaunched the radio station with an FM Talk format as "Cities 92-9," leaving WZPW as the only surviving part of the previously-successful simulcast (Bloomington-Normal would pick up a Rhythmic again in 2018, courtesy ofWWHX).[8]
The station in recent years has faced competition from WZPW's former sister stationWPIA, but remains the top rated Top-40 station in Peoria. Another competitor,WKZF, has since changed formats to Classic Hip-Hop and later, Rhythmic Classic Hits.[9]
On January 1, 2015, WZPW rebranded as "Peoria's 92.3".[10] This would last until February 24, 2020, when WZPW rebranded again as "Z92.3", but retained its Rhythmic Top 40 format.[11]
40°47′10″N89°47′01″W / 40.7861°N 89.7837°W /40.7861; -89.7837