| Broadcast area | Green Bay-Appleton |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 104.3MHz |
| Branding | 104.3 The Fuse |
| Programming | |
| Format | Alternative rock |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Woodward Communications, Inc. |
| WAPL,WHBY,WKSZ,WKZY,WSCO,WZOR | |
| History | |
First air date | 1998 (as WECB) |
Former call signs | WECB (1993–2009) WCHK-FM (2009–2012) WKZG (2012–2023) |
Call sign meaning | W FuZZe |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 7120 |
| Class | A |
| ERP | 5,600watts |
| HAAT | 104 meters (341 ft) |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | www |
WFZZ (104.3FM) is analternative rock-formattedradio stationlicensed toSeymour, Wisconsin and serving theFox Cities and NortheastWisconsin. Owned and operated by Woodward Communications, WFZZ's studios are located on College Avenue inAppleton, while its transmitter is located inSeymour.
The station launched in the spring of 1998 as WECB under the ownership of Earl Brooker and his wife, Carol (the namesakes of the call letters). Earl Brooker was a local businessman, politician, and long-time Fox Cities radio personality (he worked the 5:30–9:00 morning shift on WECB). Under the Brookers' ownership, WECB featured a70s Hits format, and also featured broadcasts ofGreen Bay Gamblers hockey andWisconsin Timber Rattlers baseball.[2]
On April 1, 2003, the Brookers sold WECB toDubuque, Iowa-based Woodward Communications, with the station joining Woodward's Northeast Wisconsin radio cluster.[3] On July 18, 2003, after two days ofstunting with various versions of "Summer Breeze", Woodward would change WECB's format toSoft Adult Contemporary as "104.3 The Breeze, Northeast Wisconsin's Lite Rock".[4] "The Breeze" featured a schedule that included theJohn Tesh Radio Show (Monday–Saturday mornings), as well as all-Christmas music annually during November and December.
In December 2009, WECB continued its holiday music past Christmas, with the promise that "one more gift" would be presented at 3 p.m. on December 31; along with that announcement, cryptic advertisements asking "Hey! Where's Chuck?" appeared in local newspapers.[5] At 3 p.m. on December 31 (afterGayla Peevey's "I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas" finished playing), WECB became WCHK-FM and introduced a newadult hits format under the branding of "Chuck FM", withThe Rolling Stones' "Start Me Up" the first song being played.[6] "Chuck FM" was patterned after theJack FM-style ofadult hits stations, in that the music playlist was generally wide-ranging, hard-edged voiceover liners were used in lieu of DJs, and the on-air presentation was irreverent; such irreverence was highlighted by WCHK-FM's decision to "play nothing" butdead air during theGreen Bay Packers' appearance inSuper Bowl XLV in February 2011 (outside of FCC required legal IDs).[7] (A Fox Valley-based competitor,Midwest Communications-ownedWYDR, would adopt the Jack FM format six years later, in October 2015.)[8]
On November 1, 2012, at midnight, "Chuck FM" was dropped from WCHK-FM, and the station began playing round-the-clockChristmas music (as "The Christmas Station"), a move not made by WCHK-FM or any other Green Bay/Appleton radio station during the holiday season since the days leading up to "Chuck FM's" debut at the end of 2009. The all-Christmasstunting ended at midnight on the morning of December 26, when the station (which changed itscall sign to WKZG on November 9) flipped to "KZ104.3", which featuredadult hits from the 1980s and 1990s and a core artist list that includes artists such asGeorge Michael,Bon Jovi, andMadonna (the latter artist's "Vogue" was the first song played).[9] Unlike "Chuck FM's" DJ-free format, "KZ104.3" featured on-air personalities, includingMario Lopez's national show at nights and local staff including the husband-and-wife team of Doug Erickson and Mary Love, who hosted WKZG's morning shift after moving over from the morning slot atTop 40 sister stationWKSZ.[10]
On September 16, 2013, "KZ104.3" began simulcasting on itsChilton-licensed sister stationWKZY (92.9 FM), which as WXMM had aired a contemporarycountry music format since its September 2011 sign-on. The simulcast move allowed "KZ104.3," which would be rechristened "KZ Radio" in early 2014, to extend its reach to better cover the SouthernFox Valley, including the cities ofOshkosh andFond du Lac, where its main 104.3 signal may be hard to reach.[11]
The 104.3/92.9 simulcast was dropped on February 15, 2016, when WKZY switched to a simulcast of its Top 40 sister stationWKSZ. In addition, morning hosts Doug and Mary moved back to WKSZ's morning slot on the same day, and WKZG would revert to the "KZ104.3" moniker.[12] On February 25, WKZG tweaked their format by incorporating more material from the 2000s to recent times, though the station still included 80s and 90s songs.
On April 15, 2019, WKZG shifted to adult contemporary, while retaining the "KZ104.3" branding.[13]
On November 1, 2022, WKZG shifted to Christmas music, seemingly innocuously as the station continued to use the "KZ" branding and gave little, if any, indication of any change after the holidays, as the station had switched to Christmas music during the holiday season for the past three years. However, on November 23, it was disclosed by radio news websiteRadioInsight that Woodward had applied for new WFZZ call letters for the station, to take effect on January 3, 2023; in addition, an anonymous registration was made for 1043thefuse.com in August.[14]
These reports of a format change would ultimately prove to be true, as the station dropped the "KZ" branding at 9 a.m. on December 27 and began stunting once again, looping the entire playlist of"Weird Al" Yankovic as "Weird Al Radio" (beginning with "Amish Paradise", followed by "White and Nerdy", "Smells Like Nirvana", "Dare to Be Stupid", and "I Love Rocky Road"). The move was believed to be playing off of a boost in his popularity in 2022 with the release of his biography filmWeird: The Al Yankovic Story.[15]
At 3 p.m. on January 3, 2023, after playing "The Alternative Polka" (an apparent final hint at the future format), followed by the short "Bite Me" piece (thehidden track at the end ofOff the Deep End), the station, now under the WFZZ call letters, flipped to a gold-basedalternative rock format, branded as "104.3 The Fuse". "The Fuse", which launched with "What's My Age Again?" byBlink-182, is Woodward's third rock-formatted station in the Green Bay/Fox Cities area, followingclassic rock mainstayWAPL (105.7 FM) and the "Razor"active rock simulcast onWZOR (94.7 FM) andWZOS (104.7 FM). It also fills a void in the market for alternative that was left whenCumulus Media-ownedWKRU dropped the format for classic rock at the end of 2017.[16][17]
44°31′26″N88°19′55″W / 44.524°N 88.332°W /44.524; -88.332