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| Broadcast area | Portsmouth, New Hampshire |
| Frequency | 107.1MHz (HD Radio) |
| Branding | Z107 |
| Programming | |
| Format | Top 40 (CHR) |
| Affiliations | Premiere Networks |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
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| History | |
First air date | September 21, 1972; 53 years ago (1972-09-21)[1] |
Former call signs | WKXR-FM (1972–1982) |
| Technical information[2] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 53385 |
| Class | A |
| ERP | 5,200 watts |
| HAAT | 106 meters (348 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 43°1′38.3″N70°52′49.1″W / 43.027306°N 70.880306°W /43.027306; -70.880306 |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen live (viaiHeartRadio) |
| Website | z107fm |
WERZ (107.1FM) is a radio station licensed toExeter, New Hampshire. The station is owned byiHeartMedia. WERZ broadcasts from studios located on Lafayette Road inPortsmouth and from a transmitter located on Long Hill inStratham. Its on-air call sign is "Z107, Exeter/Portsmouth". WERZ's signal serves the coastal area fromSalem Harbor up north toBiddeford, Maine, including the Portsmouth andDover-Rochester areas ofNew Hampshire, southernYork County, Maine, and northeasternMassachusetts, where it overlaps with sister stationWXKS-FM from Boston.
The station went on the air September 21, 1972,[1] as WKXR-FM. In March 1982, the call letters were changed to WERZ and the format was changed toTop 40/CHR as "Z107". The first program director was Jack O'Brien and the studios were located at 11 Downing Court inExeter.
Boston area concert promoterDon Law's Precision Media purchased the station in 1986 and modified the format to a hybrid ofadult contemporary and top 40 (hot adult contemporary) as "107 FM WERZ". In 1989, WERZ had a slogan of "13 Hits in a row" and competed wildly againstWHEB AM–FM. Pete Falconi was program director and allowed air staff such as Lindsay Robins, Tim Fontaine, and Jeff the Doctor, to produce authentic, and unique radio shows. The result was pumping out as many hits an hour as possible, and providing the community of the Seacoast with live remote broadcasts. Ratings as perArbitron (1989) competed well with WHEB.
Specialty weekend programs helped to boost ratings, including the legendaryAmerican Top 40 withShadoe Stevens, theWeekly Top 40 withRick Dees, andThe WERZ's House Party Saturday Night featuring uptempo party songs and amegamix of popular dance music, as well as frequent prize giveaways and heavy listener interaction and requests.
WERZ remained a hot throughout all of the 2000s. For the first time in December 2008, WERZ wentall-Christmas. After the holiday season, WERZ became an adult contemporary. Then, in December 2009, WERZ went Christmas again and this time returned to a hot AC format.
In February 2010,WSKX and WERZ announced thatMatty in the Morning, syndicated byWXKS-FM out ofBoston, would be moving from WSKX to WERZ.
On October 4, 2012, at 3 pm, WERZ returned to a CHR format and the "Z107" branding.[3]