WLMZ (AM)

WLMZ
Simulcast of WLMZ-FM, Pittston
Broadcast areaScranton/Wilkes-Barre/Hazleton
Frequency1300 kHz
BrandingLa Mega 102.3
Programming
Language(s)Spanish
FormatTropical music
Ownership
Owner
History
First air date
1982 (1982)[1]
Former call signs
  • WYLV (1981–1982)
  • WWKC (1982–1983)
  • WXPX (1983–1996)
  • WILP (1996–2001)
  • WOGY (2001–2005)
  • WKZN (2005–2020)
  • WODS (2020–2023)
Call sign meaning
"La Mega"
Technical information[2]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID22667
ClassB
Power5,000 watts day
500 watts night
Transmitter coordinates
40°56′24″N 76°00′05″W / 40.939928°N 76.001447°W / 40.939928; -76.001447
Links
Public license information
WebcastListen live (via Audacy)
Websitewww.audacy.com/lamega1023

WLMZ (1300 kHz) is a commercial AM broadcasting radio station licensed to West Hazleton, Pennsylvania. It is owned by Audacy, Inc. and airs a Spanish tropical format in a simulcast with WLMZ-FM (102.3 FM) from Pittston. WLMZ has a power of 5,000 watts daytime with a directional antenna signal pattern focused towards the north, then switches to a power of 500 watts at night with another directional signal pattern focused towards the northeast. WLMZ is considered a Class B station according to the Federal Communications Commission.

Until October 13, 2023, the then-WODS was one of four simulcast radio stations in Northeastern Pennsylvania that called themselves WILK Newsradio, along with 103.1 WILK-FM in Avoca, 980 WILK in Wilkes-Barre and 910 WAAF in Scranton. Studios and offices are on Route 315 in Pittston.

History

Prior use of 1300 kHz in Hazleton

Main article: WHZN (Pennsylvania)

The first station at 1300 kHz in the Hazleton area operated from October 26, 1961, to January 14, 1965, as WTHT, which became WHZN in 1964. Broadcasting from studios and a transmitter southeast of Hazleton, the station experienced a turbulent final year which included a license renewal designated for hearing, financial problems, and a union strike which prompted the station to go off air for good. An attempt to reactivate the frequency in the late 1960s and early 1970s failed due to its specification of West Hazleton as the city of license despite not covering it completely.

Current license

The current station on 1300 kHz signed on in 1982 with the call sign WWKC, branded as "KC Country", with a country music format. At the time, it only broadcast with 500 watts of power and was a daytimer station, required to sign-off at sunset each day. It was only the second AM station to serve the Hazleton area. The country music format did not do very well in the market, so in 1983, the station changed to an adult standards format with the addition of some local news and talk. It switched call signs to WXPX, increasing its daytime power to its present 5,000 watts. The WXPX call sign lasted until 1996, when the station was sold and the format and call sign were changed to WILP, and joined the WILK News Radio network.

Another ownership change happened in 2001 when the station changed call signs to WOGY.[3] The station was sold to its present owners, Entercom Communications.

The station's call sign was changed to WKZN in 2005,[4] and to WODS in 2020.[5] The WODS call sign was transferred from 103.3 FM in Boston, which had held the call sign since 1987. When Entercom changed that station's call sign to WBGB, it "parked" the WODS call sign on this station, so they could not be used by a rival Boston station.

WODS left the news/talk simulcast with WILK-FM (103.1) on October 13, 2023, when it shifted to a simulcast of the newly-launched "La Mega 102.3" Spanish tropical format of WMQX. "La Mega" had previously aired on the second HD Radio channel of WGGY and on two FM translators.[6] WODS changed its call sign to WLMZ on October 19, 2023, with WMQX changing its call sign to WLMZ-FM on October 25.

References

  1. ^ Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 2010 (PDF). 2010. p. D-478. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
  2. ^ "Facility Technical Data for WLMZ". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  3. ^ Scott Fybush. "Northeast Radio Watch - December 31, 2001 (The Year in Review)". Northeast Radio Watch (Rochester, New York). Retrieved December 31, 2001.
  4. ^ Scott Fybush. "Northeast Radio Watch - March 7, 2005 - Pennsylvania". Northeast Radio Watch (Rochester, New York). Retrieved March 7, 2005.
  5. ^ "Call Sign History (WLMZ)". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
  6. ^ Venta, Lance (October 13, 2023). "Audacy Launches La Mega 102.3 Scranton/Wilkes-Barre". RadioInsight. Retrieved October 13, 2023.