WLZX-FM and WLZX air an active rock format. However, WLZX (AM), along with its FM translator, breaks away to carry Boston Bruins and Boston Celtics games.
History
What is now WLZX-FM went on the air November 1, 1965, as WHMP-FM.[3] In 2000, Saga Communications purchased WHMP-FM and WHMP from Clear Channel,[4] which operated WHMP-FM as the "Rock Alternative".[5] Lazer 99.3 went live on September 11, 2000.[6]
On February 3, 2017, WLZX-FM rebranded as "Lazer 99.3 & 105.1" and began simulcasting on WLZX (1600 AM, formerly WHNP) and FM translator W286DB (105.1 FM) in East Longmeadow, Massachusetts. As WHNP, the 1600 AM facility had simulcast the talk format of sister station WHMP.[7] The station subsequently rebranded as "Lazer 99.3 & 98.5", in reflection of the translator's move to 98.5 FM as W253CD.[8]
The WLZX stations switched to an alternative rock format in the summer of 2017, but returned to the active rock format at 6:00a.m. on February 4, 2020. The stations added The Toucher and Rich Show, a syndicated morning show based at WBZ-FM in Boston, on May 9, 2022;[9] they dropped the program in 2023.[10]
Translators
In addition to W253CD (98.5), which is fed by WLZX (AM), WLZX-FM has two translators: W232BW (94.3) in Amherst at 250 watts, which simulcasts its HD2 channel, a classic hits station branded as "Rewind 94.3";[11] and W245BK (96.9), also a 250-watt facility in Amherst, which simulcasts WLZX-FM's HD3 channel, an oldies station branded as "Pure Oldies 96.9".[12]
