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|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Atlanta metropolitan area |
| Frequency | 105.7MHz (HD Radio) |
| Branding | Z105.7 |
| Programming | |
| Language | Spanish |
| Format | Contemporary hit radio |
| Subchannels |
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| Affiliations | Premiere Networks |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
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| History | |
First air date | August 1, 1964; 61 years ago (1964-08-01) |
Former call signs |
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Former frequencies | 105.5 MHz (1964–1993) |
Call sign meaning | "Buzz" (moved over from now-WRDG, which formerly used this branding) |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 10698 |
| Class | C2 |
| ERP | 20,000 watts |
| HAAT | 238 meters (781 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 34°03′58.00″N84°27′15.00″W / 34.0661111°N 84.4541667°W /34.0661111; -84.4541667 |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen live (viaiHeartRadio) |
| Website | z1057atlanta |
WBZY (105.7FM) brandedZ105.7 is a commercial radio station licensed toCanton, Georgia, It broadcasting aSpanish-languagecontemporary hit radio format. Owned byiHeartMedia, WBZY serves theAtlanta metropolitan area. The WBZY studios are located in Atlanta, while the station transmitter resides in the nearby suburb ofMarietta. Besides a standardanalog transmission, WBZY broadcasts over twoHD Radio channels, and is available online viaiHeartRadio. WBZY formerlyrepeated over the 32.25digital subchannel of Atlanta television stationWANN-CD (29 UHF, 32 PSIP) and previously did so on a number of occasions with sister stationWBZW, the most recent lasting until November 5, 2021.
The station is also broadcast inHD radio.
From its sign-on in 1964 until 1991, the station wascountry music WCHK-FM on 105.5MHz inCanton, Georgia,sister station toWCHK AM. In 1993, owner Cherokee Broadcasting receivedFCC approval to upgrade toclass C2, with a much stronger signal and relocation of theirtransmitter site from the WTLK-TV 14 (nowWPXA-TV) tower onBear Mountain (nearLake Arrowhead southwest ofWaleska) south-southeastward towardAtlanta. (This largebroadcast tower inHolly Springs is next toInterstate 575 and oldGeorgia 5 at Rabbit Hill Road, and now only hasmobile phone base stations about halfway up on it). This change also required afrequency shift ofone channel to 105.7. Subsequently, this also allowed a later move by WMAX-FM (now sister stationWRDG) on 105.3 fromCarrollton east towards Atlanta, also having changed channels from 105.5. WCHK remained under local management for a little over a year afterward, briefly as "North Metro's K-105" then as "Country 105.7", and finally as "Atlanta's Classic Country 105.7", before owner Chuck McClureleased the station toiHeartMedia (which also owns 105.3), then known as Clear Channel Communications.
Under Clear Channelmanagement, the station became WGST-FM andsimulcastnews/talkWGST, beginning October 1.[2][3][4] In the mid-1990s, it again relocated its transmitter site southward, this time to theSweat Mountainantenna farm in northeasternCobb County (whereseveral other stations are). In 2004, Clear Channel purchased the station and license outright from McClure, and still holds Canton as itscity of license. A new WCHK-FM, located at 100.1 and also owned by McClure, was sold and changed toWNSY FM (oldies "Sunny 100") in 1999, later becoming themarket's thirdhispanic FM station, but covering more towardnorthwest Georgia.
On September 8, 2000, 105.7 broke away from the WGST simulcast, and becamerock AC/classic rock "Mix 105.7" (WMXV), but did not stay that way for long due to laggingArbitronratings, despite adding a simulcast on96.7 FM for the South Metro in October 2001 (which was dropped in April 2002).[5][6][7]
On February 3, 2003, at 5 pm, WMXV beganstunting with all-Beatles music. At 12:10 pm on February 7, WMXV became WLCL "Cool 105.7" (the first song on "Cool" was "You Keep Me Hanging On" byThe Supremes), playing 1960s and 1970soldies music afterCox Radio dropped its 1950s and 1960s, "Fox 97" format from WFOX, which is nowWSRV.[8][9] At the time, WLCL was the only oldies station in Atlanta; however, the format was not as profitable to companies as it was in Fox 97's prime.
On May 2, 2005, the oldies format was ended, and WWVA moved its "Viva" format to the 105.7 frequency. During the flip, "Viva" warned listeners on the old 105.3 frequency to make the change to 105.7 that was played on a format loop. One week later, the station officially became WWVA-FM itself, swapping the WLCL callsign over to 105.3, where "The Buzz" format from 96.7 was put.[10][11][12] Strangely, that left the hard modern rock of "The Buzz" with the WLCL call letters instead of its own WBZY-FM, which was unused for about two weeks. ("The Buzz" later merged into "96 Rock", becoming "Project 9-6-1", but remaining asWKLS).
"Viva 105.7" began simulcasting on 96.7 FM (formerly "The Buzz") on May 17, and that station's callsign was changed to WVWA (ananagram of WWVA, with the two middle letters transposed). Because 105.7 is north of Atlanta, 96.7 gave some coverage to the south. Its far-northeastern simulcast onWHEL (105.1 FM) inHelen, Georgia was sold in 2005, and has since changed formats tohot AC. On December 20, 2006, WVWA flipped formats to94.9's formeradult contemporary format as "96.7 Lite FM" and took its WLTMcallsign as well.[13] (This station would flip about a year later to country musicWWLG FM 96.7 "The Legend", and later returned to simulcast this station).
On October 19, 2009, at 10 am, the station dropped the Spanish format and again began simulcastingWGST AM 640, leading to speculation that it would return to its formernews/talk format. At the same time, its website displayed a large question mark. However, the station would shift to a stunt featuring the possible return ofAC station "The Peach", which was formerly heard on 94.9 FM, and someChristmas music as "Holiday 105.7". At 4 pm the same day, the format wheel would officially land onrhythmic AC as "Groove 105.7".[14][15][16] (The "Viva" format now airs on the HD2 channel of sister station 105.3 "El Patron"). The new station featured a mix of current and gold-basedrhythmic hits targeting ages 25 to 54. Its primary competitors were a variety of Atlanta stations because of its unique approach: ACWSB-FM, rhythmicWSBB-FM, top-40WWWQ andWSTR, urbansWVEE andWHTA, and urban ACsWALR-FM andWUMJ. For its kick-off, WWVA's first songs were "Into The Groove" byMadonna, "Shake Your Groove Thing" byPeaches & Herb, "Groove Is In The Heart" byDeee-Lite and "Let's Groove" byEarth, Wind & Fire. Clear Channel, in turn, merged WWVA's format into WBZY's, giving Atlanta a hybridregional Mexican and Spanish AC outlet at the latter. On January 11, 2010, the nationally syndicated morningdrive-timeElvis Duran and the Morning Show premiered on the station. Duran previously did evenings in Atlanta with sidekick "Hot Henrietta" atZ-93 during the late 1980s.
The station briefly aired "Streetz 102.9" on its HD-2 channel, in order to satisfy alegal fiction so that it could be broadcast onW275BK FM 102.9. Alawsuit regarding the owners of thatbroadcast translator quickly ensued, and W275BK is now assigned toWAMJ. Since the end of March, the station is now alsosimulcast onWANN-CD, alow-powerdigitalTV station on physical (RF)TV channel 29 in Atlanta. The main channel was heard onvirtual channel 32.106, withPride Radio (WWVA's HD2digital subchannel) formerly on 32.105. Clear Channel's other Atlanta stations are also heard viaDTV radio on WANN.
In May, WWVA's music and playlist direction shifted torhythmic Top 40 by adding more current rhythmic pop/R&B/dance tracks. They also added a few mainstream pop songs, but later dropped them from the playlist. It also phased out the heavy amount of rhythmic gold product. This move was expected to benefit WWVA (as evidenced on theirFacebook page at their website) as it stood to pick up listeners and carry the rhythmic Top 40 mantle from WBTS, who exited the rhythmic format after 11 years to become a simulcast ofWSB on August 16.[17] Despite the sudden shift to rhythmic Top 40 and primary signal coverage into Atlanta, there was some criticism over whether WWVA could actually replace WBTS, or fill the void for that matter, in terms of music, personalities, area promotion, and signal presence.[18]
In efforts to fill in a signal shortcoming in southern portions of the market, the station re-added WWLG FM 96.7 as a simulcast on September 6.[19] It also changed its positioner to "Atlanta's Party Station", which was last used at WWLG's predecessor WLDA when it was "Wild 96.7". Another move came from the hiring of former WBTS and WHTA DJ-mixer Mami Chula to The Groove's lineup.[20] On November 14, the station changed its name to "WiLD 105.7 & 96.7", retaining the "Atlanta's Party Station" slogan. (The first song on "WiLD" was "We R Who We R" byKe$ha).[21] WWVA saw an increase in terms of listeners and ratings, mostly among the 18-34 audience and managed to carve its own niche by playing dance-pop and rhythmic tracks that their competitors usually avoid.[22]
On August 29, 2012,sister station WKLS FM ("Project 9-6-1") (nowWWPW) flipped from its long-time rock format to Top 40, branded as "Power 96-1". Because WiLD was under the same ownership of Power, and with nearly identical formats, it was likely the two formats would merge, with 105.7/96.7 flipping to a new format afterLabor Day. A change was also likely due to the station's program director being released days before the change,[23] but on August 30, it was announced that WWVA would retain their rhythmic format, but tweaked its direction towards morehip-hop tracks and less emphasis on dance under its new PD (Rick Vaughn) for both WWVA and WWPW.[24]
However, by March 2013, due to the launch of Power, the move ofElvis Duran and the Morning Show to WWPW, and a lack of promotion, ratings had tumbled from a mid-3 share to a 1.8 share, among the lowest-rated commercial music radio stations in the area. Therefore, on March 28, at 11 am, with little warning, after playing "Rosa Parks" byAtlanta hip hop groupOutKast, WWVA/WWLG went into a stunt loop consisting ofR.E.M.'s "What's the Frequency, Kenneth?" and "Radio Song". One hour later, WWVA/WWLG launched analternative rock format, branded as "Radio 105.7", with the first song being "It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)" by R.E.M. (from nearbyAthens, Georgia).[25][26] This filled the hole left by99X when it flipped toactive rock in September 2012 andadult album alternativeWZGC ("92.9 Dave FM") flipping tosports talk the following month.
The two stations'broadcast callsigns were changed to WRDA and WRDG, respectively, on April 11, and the "Wild" format moved toWWPW FM 96.1 HD2, replacing the "Project 9-6-1" format that was eliminated from analog and HD1 by Wild's near-clone "Power 96-1".
On November 11, 2016, WRDG dropped its simulcast of WRDA and flipped to urban; however, WRDA retained the alternative format.[27] On December 5, 2017, WRDA rebranded as "Alt 105-7", to align itself with other iHeartMedia-owned alternative outlets.[28]
On April 20, 2020, at midnight, after playing "Novocaine" byThe Unlikely Candidates, WRDA flipped back to a Spanish-language CHR format as "Z105.7" (the first song played was "Fantasía" byOzuna), initially as a simulcast of WBZY (105.3 FM), where the format has been heard since October 2018. WBZY serves areas to the south and west of Atlanta, while WRDA covers the more populous northern and eastern portions of the market, as well as where the majority of the market's Hispanic and Latino population resides. The simulcast would last until May 4, when WBZY adopted WRDG's urban format. Both WBZY and WRDA had a 0.9 rating in the March 2020 Nielsen Audio ratings, which had just been released days prior to the flip.[29][30] The WBZY call letters would move to 105.7 FM on May 11; in turn, the WRDA calls moved to 105.3 FM.[31] On May 18, WBZY began simulcasting onWBZW (96.7 FM) once again,[32] but would then drop the simulcast again on November 5, 2021.[33]
WBZY'sdigital subchannel offers one different format:
WBZY's main channel was also heard onDTV radio viadigitallow-power TVstationWANN-CD 29, onvirtual channel 32.23, with the former WiLD format on 32.25.
