WKRZ
| File:WKRZ985.PNG | |
| City of license | WKRZ: Freeland, PA WKRF: Tobyhanna, PA |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | WKRZ: Scranton/Wilkes-Barre/Hazleton WKRF: Stroudsburg |
| Branding | 98.5 KRZ |
| Slogan | Today's Best Music for Northeast PA! |
| Frequency | WKRZ: 98.5 MHz (FM) (also on HD Radio) 98.5 HD-1 (WKRZ) 98.5 HD-2 (All Comedy Radio) WKRF: 107.9 MHz (FM) |
| First air date | WKRZ: 1948 (as WBRE-FM) WKRF: 1989 (as WPMR) |
| Format | Top 40 Mainstream |
| Language(s) | English |
| ERP | WKRZ: 8,700 watts WKRF: 830 watts |
| HAAT | WKRZ: 357 meters WKRF: 267 meters |
| Class | WKRZ: B WKRF: A |
| Facility ID | WKRZ: 34379 WKRF: 14643 |
| Callsign meaning | WKRZ: W KRaZy WKRF: W KRazy F |
| Former callsigns | WKRZ: WBRE-FM (1948-1980) WKRF: WPMR (1989-1992) WPMR-FM (1992-1995) |
| Owner | Entercom Communications (Entercom Wilkes-Barre Scranton, LLC) |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | wkrz.com |
WKRZ, "98.5 KRZ", is a radio station licensed to Freeland, Pennsylvania serving the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre/Hazleton radio market at 98.5 MHz FM. The station radio format is Top 40 which it has broadcast in the market since 1980. For three decades, the station has used "KRZ", a shortened form of its call letters, for its on air promotion. The present owners of WKRZ, Entercom Communications, received FCC approval in 2003 to move WAMT (103.1 MHz FM, now WILK-FM) from Freeland to Avoca. As a condition of the move, Entercom was required to change the city of license of WKRZ from Wilkes-Barre to Freeland due to FCC concerns about the "loss of local service" to Freeland because of the WAMT move. In practice, the only thing that changed was the legal ID.[1]
WKRZ is broadcasting in IBOC digital radio, using the HD Radio system from iBiquity.[2] The main program is simulcast on 98.5 HD-1 in digital.[2] Comedy programming can be heard on 98.5 HD-2 on the secondary digital multicasting stream.[2]
WKRZ also airs On Air With Ryan Seacrest on weekdays.
History
The radio station now known as WKRZ, first signed on the air in 1948[3] as WBRE-FM from Wilkes-Barre. It was the FM sister station to then WBRE AM at 1340 kHz[4] also located in Wilkes-Barre. WBRE-FM evolved through a number of radio formats ending up with an all News format during the 1970s.[5] The station, up to that point, broadcast in FM mono since its start in 1948. Due to consistently low audience ratings in the area,[6] WBRE-FM made a big change in 1980 when it was sold with the new owners switching to FM stereo, a dramatic format switch to Top 40 music, along with the call sign change to the present WKRZ. WKRZ-FM has been broadcasting a Top 40 music format since 1980. It debuted as 98½ KRZ-FM. It went by 98½ to differentiate itself from WILK 980 which was Top 40 at the time and called itself AM98. It was originally supposed to be called Krazy 98 as its sister station was WAQY Wacky 102 Springfield Mass.
WKRF simulcast
WPMR-FM was off the air but began a simulcast of WKRZ in 1995.[7] Its letters changed to WKRF on May 15.[8]
WKRF's city of license is Tobyhanna, Pennsylvania, and can be heard in the Stroudsburg, PA area and throughout extreme eastern sections of Pennsylvania and some sections of extreme northwestern New Jersey. These are areas where the signal from WKRZ 98.5 MHz cannot reach.
See also
References
- ↑ NorthEast Radio Watch by Scott Fybush
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 HD Digital Radio | DISCOVER IT! | HD Digital Radio
- ↑ U. S. FM Stations as of 1948
- ↑ U. S. AM stations as of 1946
- ↑ Northeastern Pennsylvania Radio Answers
- ↑ http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=WB&s_site=timesleader&p_multi=WB&p_theme=realcities&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EB71AE85C56FAB0&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM (Originally Published on April 8, 2001, Page 1B, The Times Leader, Wilkes Barre, PA)
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
External links
- WKRZ Official Website
- Query the FCC's FM station database for WKRZ
- Radio-Locator information on WKRZ
- Query Nielsen Audio's FM station database for WKRZ
- WKRZ's Signal Coverage Map from the FCC Database
- Query the FCC's FM station database for WKRF
- Radio-Locator information on WKRF
- Query Nielsen Audio's FM station database for WKRF
- WKRF's Signal Coverage Map from the FCC Database
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