WNZZ
Encyclopedia
WNZZ is a radio station
licensed
to serve Montgomery, Alabama
, USA. The station, originally launched in 1953, is currently owned by Cumulus Media
and the broadcast license
is held by Cumulus Licensing, LLC.
music format. The beautiful music
is only interrupted for news from WSFA-TV and Alabama Radio Network.
daytime-only station broadcasting on 950 kHz. On December 1, 1957, WRMA was acquired by WRMA Broadcasting Company, Inc. William O. Jones, doing business as W.O. Jones, Inc., purchased WRMA in 1969. On March 24, 1977, the station was acquired by the Brien Broadcasting Corporation. The new owners had the station's callsign changed to WLSQ.
Brien Broadcasting Corporation owner Cleveland J. "Cleve" Brien died in April 1986. The station applied for a new callsign and was assigned WREZ on March 16, 1987.
On June 4, 1987, after clearing probate and other legal hurdles, an application was made to the FCC to transfer control of licensee Brien Broadcasting Corporation to the estate of Cleve J. Brien with Sara M. Brien serving as administratrix. The transfer was approved by the FCC on June 29, 1987. One day later, on June 5, 1987, the Brien Broadcasting Corporation announced an agreement to sell WREZ to Montgomery Broadcasting Limited Partnership. The deal was approved by the FCC on July 17, 1987.
This change would also prove short-lived as on August 4, 1987, the Montgomery Broadcasting Limited Partnership applied to transfer the broadcast license
for WREZ to Don McCoy's U.S. Broadcasting Limited Partnership. The transfer was approved by the FCC on August 14, 1987, and the transaction was consummated on October 14, 1987. The new ownership had the FCC change the station's call letters to WSYA on September 14, 1988.
In October 1993, U.S. Broadcasting Limited Partnership contracted to sell this station to Colonial Broadcasting Company, Inc. The deal was approved by the FCC on December 28, 1993, and the transaction was consummated on January 31, 1994. In September 1994, Colonial Company, Inc., agreed to transfer control of station licensee Colonial Broadcasting Company, Inc., to Robert E. Lowder. The deal was approved by the FCC on December 8, 1994, and the transaction was consummated on March 8, 1995.
In March 1995, Robert E. Lowder agreed to transfer control of licensee Colonial Broadcasting Company, Inc., to Republic Corporation. The deal was approved by the FCC on April 4, 1995, but the transaction was never consummated and Lowder retained control of the licensee. In anticipation of the completed sale, the station had switched to its current call sign, WNZZ, on April 17, 1995. In January 1998, Robert E. Lowder reached a new agreement to transfer control of the licensee to Cumulus Media
through their Cumulus Holdings, Inc., subsidiary. The deal was approved by the FCC on March 10, 1998.
In a series of internal corporate moves, the license was transferred through several holding companies before winding up with Cumulus Licensing in December 1998. This final deal was approved by the FCC on December 12, 1998, and the transaction was consummated on December 31, 1998.
Cumulus Licensing announced in November 2007 that it would assign the licenses for 19 stations to a trust company, Stratus Radio, to comply with FCC ownership regulations. This trust was to be an independent trustee whose sole mission was to sell off the stations to new owners and, while the sales were pending, to run the stations independently of Cumulus Media. The deal was approved by the FCC on May 15, 2008, but the transfer application was dismissed at the request of Cumulus Licensing LLC.
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
licensed
City of license
A city of license or community of license, in American and Canadian broadcasting, is the community that a radio station or television station is officially licensed to serve by that country's broadcast regulator....
to serve Montgomery, Alabama
Montgomery, Alabama
Montgomery is the capital of the U.S. state of Alabama, and is the county seat of Montgomery County. It is located on the Alabama River southeast of the center of the state, in the Gulf Coastal Plain. As of the 2010 census, Montgomery had a population of 205,764 making it the second-largest city...
, USA. The station, originally launched in 1953, is currently owned by Cumulus Media
Cumulus Media
Cumulus Media, Inc. is the second largest Owner and Operator of AM and FM radio stations in the United States, behind Clear Channel Communications, operating 570 stations in 150 markets as of September 16, 2011. The company also owns Cumulus Media Networks...
and the broadcast license
Broadcast license
A broadcast license or broadcast license is a specific type of spectrum license that grants the licensee the privilege to use a portion of the radio frequency spectrum in a given geographical area for broadcasting purposes. The licenses are generally straddled with additional restrictions that...
is held by Cumulus Licensing, LLC.
Programming
WNZZ broadcasts an adult standardsAdult standards
Adult standards is a North American radio format heard primarily on AM or class A FM stations.Adult standards is aimed at "mature" adults, meaning mainly those persons over 50 years of age, but it is mostly targeted for senior citizens...
music format. The beautiful music
Beautiful music
Beautiful music is a mostly instrumental music format that was prominent in American radio from the 1960s through the 1980s...
is only interrupted for news from WSFA-TV and Alabama Radio Network.
History
This station began regular broadcast operation on May 8, 1953, licensed as WRMA. Owned by the Southland Broadcasting Company, WRMA began as a 1,000 wattWatt
The watt is a derived unit of power in the International System of Units , named after the Scottish engineer James Watt . The unit, defined as one joule per second, measures the rate of energy conversion.-Definition:...
daytime-only station broadcasting on 950 kHz. On December 1, 1957, WRMA was acquired by WRMA Broadcasting Company, Inc. William O. Jones, doing business as W.O. Jones, Inc., purchased WRMA in 1969. On March 24, 1977, the station was acquired by the Brien Broadcasting Corporation. The new owners had the station's callsign changed to WLSQ.
Brien Broadcasting Corporation owner Cleveland J. "Cleve" Brien died in April 1986. The station applied for a new callsign and was assigned WREZ on March 16, 1987.
On June 4, 1987, after clearing probate and other legal hurdles, an application was made to the FCC to transfer control of licensee Brien Broadcasting Corporation to the estate of Cleve J. Brien with Sara M. Brien serving as administratrix. The transfer was approved by the FCC on June 29, 1987. One day later, on June 5, 1987, the Brien Broadcasting Corporation announced an agreement to sell WREZ to Montgomery Broadcasting Limited Partnership. The deal was approved by the FCC on July 17, 1987.
This change would also prove short-lived as on August 4, 1987, the Montgomery Broadcasting Limited Partnership applied to transfer the broadcast license
Broadcast license
A broadcast license or broadcast license is a specific type of spectrum license that grants the licensee the privilege to use a portion of the radio frequency spectrum in a given geographical area for broadcasting purposes. The licenses are generally straddled with additional restrictions that...
for WREZ to Don McCoy's U.S. Broadcasting Limited Partnership. The transfer was approved by the FCC on August 14, 1987, and the transaction was consummated on October 14, 1987. The new ownership had the FCC change the station's call letters to WSYA on September 14, 1988.
In October 1993, U.S. Broadcasting Limited Partnership contracted to sell this station to Colonial Broadcasting Company, Inc. The deal was approved by the FCC on December 28, 1993, and the transaction was consummated on January 31, 1994. In September 1994, Colonial Company, Inc., agreed to transfer control of station licensee Colonial Broadcasting Company, Inc., to Robert E. Lowder. The deal was approved by the FCC on December 8, 1994, and the transaction was consummated on March 8, 1995.
In March 1995, Robert E. Lowder agreed to transfer control of licensee Colonial Broadcasting Company, Inc., to Republic Corporation. The deal was approved by the FCC on April 4, 1995, but the transaction was never consummated and Lowder retained control of the licensee. In anticipation of the completed sale, the station had switched to its current call sign, WNZZ, on April 17, 1995. In January 1998, Robert E. Lowder reached a new agreement to transfer control of the licensee to Cumulus Media
Cumulus Media
Cumulus Media, Inc. is the second largest Owner and Operator of AM and FM radio stations in the United States, behind Clear Channel Communications, operating 570 stations in 150 markets as of September 16, 2011. The company also owns Cumulus Media Networks...
through their Cumulus Holdings, Inc., subsidiary. The deal was approved by the FCC on March 10, 1998.
In a series of internal corporate moves, the license was transferred through several holding companies before winding up with Cumulus Licensing in December 1998. This final deal was approved by the FCC on December 12, 1998, and the transaction was consummated on December 31, 1998.
Cumulus Licensing announced in November 2007 that it would assign the licenses for 19 stations to a trust company, Stratus Radio, to comply with FCC ownership regulations. This trust was to be an independent trustee whose sole mission was to sell off the stations to new owners and, while the sales were pending, to run the stations independently of Cumulus Media. The deal was approved by the FCC on May 15, 2008, but the transfer application was dismissed at the request of Cumulus Licensing LLC.