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| Broadcast area | Baltimore metropolitan area |
| Frequency | 104.3MHz (HD Radio) |
| Branding | Z104.3 |
| Programming | |
| Language | English |
| Format | Gold-leaningcontemporary hit radio |
| Subchannels |
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| Affiliations | Premiere Networks |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
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| WCAO,WPOC,WQSR | |
| History | |
First air date | June 27, 1946 (79 years ago) (1946-06-27)[1] |
Former call signs |
|
Former frequencies | 102.5MHz (1946–1947)[1] |
| Technical information[2] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 8684 |
| Class | B |
| ERP | 13,000 watts |
| HAAT | 294 meters (965 ft) |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen live (viaiHeartRadio) |
| Website | z1043 |
WZFT (104.3FM), branded "Z104.3", is a gold-leaningcontemporary hit radio station located inBaltimore, Maryland. It is currently owned and operated byiHeartMedia. WZFT's studios are located atThe Rotunda shopping center in Baltimore, and its transmitter is based atop Television Hill in the city'sWoodberry district.
The station signed on in 1949, as WITH-FM, the FM sister to WITH (1230 AM, nowWFOA). WITH-FM was Maryland's pioneer FM station, with local legendJack Wells serving as its first announcer.
On October 1, 1974, WITH-FM becamecontemporary hit radio WDJQ-FM "DJ-104". By the late 1970s, WDJQ-FM made an attempt to do an all-disco format, which failed in the ratings, and the station went back to Top 40 at the end of 1979.
In June 1980,Scripps-Howard Broadcasting acquired WDJQ-FM, and at noon on July 2, 104.3 FM became WBSB under the handle "B-104", but retaining the previous Top 40 format.[3] "B-104" was one of Baltimore's top-rated FM stations during the 1980s, and was home to "Brian and O'Brien", one of Baltimore's most notable morning drive time shows. Radio and TV personalitiesGlenn Beck andPat Gray hosted a show on WBSB for several years in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Other notable air personalities included Ken Merson (The Merson Person), Willie B., Gary Murphy, Sean Hall, Tom Gilligan, Kris Earl Phillips, Ann Duran, J.R. Russ, Lisa Kay, "Downtown" Billy Brown and Brian Carter.
By 1991, the Top 40 format suffered a decline in audience and revenue due to the rise ofalternative rock andhip hop. Many stations around the country flipped to other formats; WBSB was one of those. On February 18, 1992, at 9:00 a.m., after playing a montage of station memories, the station flipped to "Variety 104.3", ahot AC competitor toWWMX, which was a mainstream AC at the time. The first song on "Variety" was "Listen to the Music" byThe Doobie Brothers.[4][5] In January 1993, the station changed its call letters to WVRT. The station suffered from low ratings during this time. Capitol Broadcasting, the owners of WWMX, bought the station from E. W. Scripps in the fall of 1993. On December 13, the station beganstunting with a simulcast of WWMX. At midnight on December 20, the stunting switched to a loop of only five songs (with those songs being replaced each week), as well as liners redirecting listeners to WWMX. Finally, on January 12, 1994, at 6 p.m., the station flipped to "Soft 104.3" WSSF, asoft AC competing with well-establishedWLIF.[6] Capitol sold the station toAmerican Radio Systems in 1994.
After just 9 months of "Soft", on October 14, at 3 pm, the station flipped to 1970s-basedclassic hits as "104.3 The Colt", using the call letters WOCT. The first song on "The Colt" wasBachman–Turner Overdrive's "You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet". The station later evolved into aclassic rock format.[7] In 1998, American Radio Systems merged withCBS Radio/Infinity Broadcasting. The company was forced to sell one station due to being over the ownership limitations of 5 FM stations in a market. As a result, WOCT was sold toJacor Communications, which would merge with the station's current owneriHeartMedia (then known as Clear Channel Communications) a year later. Following the sale, the station changed its format again, this time to a harder classic rock format as "104.3-OCT".
In 2001, the station returned to mainstream classic rock as "Baltimore 104.3", and then a year later briefly brought back the heritage "B-104" name as WXFB ("B-104.3").
On September 5, 2003, at 10 am, the station flipped tosmooth jazz as WSMJ.[8] During WSMJ's (near) five-year run, it was nominated by the Radio & Records Industry for "Smooth Jazz Station of the Year" in 2005, as well as, one nomination and one win for "Program Director of the Year" in 2005 and 2007.
On May 23, 2008, at 9 am, after playing "Neither One of Us (Wants to Be the First to Say Goodbye)" byGladys Knight & the Pips, the station began stunting withChristmas music. At noon the same day, the station launched into a 1990s-intensivemodern rock format similar to other Clear Channel modern rockers inGrand Rapids,Philadelphia, andHartford, asChannel 104.3. The first (and ultimately, last) song on "Channel" was "No Way Back" byThe Foo Fighters.[9][10] On May 29, 2008, the station changed its call letters to WCHH.
In January 2009, the transmitter was moved from northeast of the city toTelevision Hill near downtown, with hopes of improving signal coverage in theHoward County andAnne Arundel County suburbs.
At 10 am on November 4, 2009, the station briefly stunted again, this time with R&B music as "Charm 104.3" (Mario Winans's "I Don't Wanna Know" was the first song played as part of the stunt), before officially flipping to contemporary hit radio at noon (the last song played as part of the stunt wasJa Rule &Ashanti's "Always on Time") as "Z104.3". The first song played on "Z" was "3" byBritney Spears.[11][12][13] The station changed calls to WZFT on November 20, 2009. The debut of "Z104.3" marked the first time that Baltimore had a Top 40 station since 2001, whenWXYV flipped tomainstream urban, and also brought the CHR format back to 104.3 FM after a 17-year absence. Hot AC-formatted WWMX, a former sister station now owned byEntercom, had been leaning towards a mainstream Top 40 direction beginning the preceding year to try and fill that void. On July 1, 2014, WZFT updated its logo, mirroring a logo similar to sister stationWHTZ in New York.
On June 26, 2019, WZFT-HD2 flipped to iHeart's "Pride Radio" format of Top 40/Dance music targeting theLGBTQ community.[14] Previously, the HD2 subchannel carried hip-hop music as "The Beat",urban adult contemporary music from iHeart's "All My Jams" channel, andalternative rock as "Alt 104.3".
39°20′10″N76°38′56″W / 39.336°N 76.649°W /39.336; -76.649