WWWF-FM

WWWF-FM
Broadcast areaLong Island
Frequency103.1 MHz
Branding103.1 The Wolf
Programming
Language(s)English
FormatCountry music
Ownership
Owner
WALK-FM, WHLI, WKJY, WWSK
History
First air date
February 1993 (31 years ago) (1993-02)
Former call signs
  • WQIA (1992)
  • WBSI (1992–1993)
  • WBZO (1993–2024)[1]
Call sign meaning
"Wolf" with 2 added Ws
Technical information[2]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID60245
ClassA
ERP1,550 watts
HAAT141 meters (463 ft)
Transmitter coordinates
40°45′03″N 73°12′49″W / 40.75083°N 73.21361°W / 40.75083; -73.21361 (WBZO)
Links
Public license information
WebcastListen live
Websitewww.thewolf1031.com

WWWF-FM (103.1 FM) is a country music radio station owned by Connoisseur Media and licensed to Bay Shore, New York. The station's studios are located at Airport Plaza in Farmingdale, New York, and its transmitter is located on Freeman Avenue in Islip, New York.[3]

History

103.1 FM first signed on the air in February 1993 as WBSI "B-103", broadcasting from studios located on Sunrise Highway in Bay Shore and playing oldies from the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s.[4] The WBSI call sign was dropped only a few months after the station signed on because 106.1 WBLI complained the WBSI call sign was too similar and would cause confusion in the Arbitron ratings.

WBZO – along with WHLI, WKJY, and WWSK — was sold by Barnstable Broadcasting to Connoisseur Media effective July 3, 2012, for $23 million.[5]

On April 7, 2014, WBZO relaunched its classic hits format, shifting from a 60-70s pop-based music mix to a 70s-80s rock-based music mix.[6] A year later, on May 15, 2015, WBZO rebranded as "103.1 Max FM".[7]

In September 2022, the on-air staff was let go due to budget cuts; WBZO would run automated for the rest of the format's run.[8]

On March 19, 2024, Connoisseur Media announced that the station would flip to country music as "103.1 The Wolf" at 10:31 a.m. the following day. The change took place at the time promised; following a block of departure-themed songs to end the "Max" format ("The Final Countdown" by Europe, "Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)" by Billy Joel, "That's All" by Genesis and "New Kid in Town" by The Eagles), the station launched the "Wolf" format with "How Country Feels" by Randy Houser.

With the flip, Connoisseur Media applied for a call sign change to WWWF-FM, and the station would officially adopt the call sign on the 26th. The move returns the country format to a majority of the western Long Island area; while the eastern portion is served by WJVC, it has signal problems in most of Western Suffolk County. In addition, the format had been missing from that region since the flip of New York station WNSH (which was able to be picked up in the area) in October 2021.[9][10]

References

  1. ^ "Call Sign History". CDBS Public Access Database. FCC Media Bureau. Retrieved April 21, 2013.
  2. ^ "Facility Technical Data for WWWF-FM". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  3. ^ "WBZO-FM 103.1 MHz". radio-locator.com. Theodric Technologies LLC. Retrieved September 27, 2022.
  4. ^ Angrisani, Carol (February 18, 1993). "New radio station to highlight Islip" (PDF). Suffolk County News. Retrieved August 23, 2020.
  5. ^ Venta, Lance (March 26, 2012). "Connoisseur Media Acquires Long Island Radio Group". RadioInsight.
  6. ^ Venta, Lance (April 3, 2014). "WBZO Long Island Retools". RadioInsight.
  7. ^ "WBZO Long Island Rebrands As Max-FM". radioinsight.com. RadioBB Networks. June 22, 2020. Retrieved September 27, 2022.
  8. ^ "News Bites: KDOT, 'Z100's End of Summer Bash,' 'Radio Works for Healthcare,' WBZO". insideradio.com. September 12, 2022. Retrieved September 27, 2022.
  9. ^ Gay, Verne (March 19, 2024). "Classic rock station 103.1 'MAX' FM flipping to country music, rebranding as 'The Wolf'". Newsday. Retrieved March 20, 2024.
  10. ^ "The Wolf Howls Onto Long Island". Radio Insight. March 20, 2024. Retrieved March 20, 2024.


Stub icon 1 Stub icon 2

This article about a radio station in New York is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.