WZTI
kHz | |
| Branding | Fonz FM 100.3 MKE - 107.3 Racine |
|---|---|
| Programming | |
| Format | Oldies |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Milwaukee Radio Alliance |
| WLDB, WLUM-FM | |
| History | |
First air date | April 20, 1947 (as WMLO) |
Former call signs | WMLO (1947–1949) [1] WMIL (1949–1972) WZUU (1972–1982) WLLZ (1982–1985) WZUU (1985–1986) WMVP (1985–1993) WMCS (1993–2013) |
| Technical information | |
| Facility ID | 63597 |
| Class | B |
| Power | 5,000 watts |
| Translator(s) | 100.3 W262CJ (Milwaukee) 107.3 W297BY (Franklin) |
| Repeater(s) | 93.3 WLDB-HD2 (Milwaukee) |
| Links | |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | fonzfm.com |
WZTI (1290
WZTI is powered at 5,000
History
ABC and CBS Radio
The station
A sister station, 95.7 WMIL-FM, was added in 1961. WMIL switched its affiiation to the CBS Radio Network in June 26, 1961.[4] Its relationship with CBS Radio lasted until December 1963.
Country, Top 40 and Oldies
WMIL-AM-FM were owned from 1968 to 1988 by Malrite Broadcasting. At first, the two stations simulcast a country music format. The station called itself "Big M Country." In 1971, the FM station switched to beautiful music as "WMVM, Stereo Radio 95.7". It used the slogan "Milwaukee's Voice of Music."
Both stations flipped to
In 1980, it was granted a power increase from 1,000 watts days only to 5,000 watts day and night. The city of license was change to Greenfield, Wisconsin.
Talk and Sports
In 2004, WMVP flipped to a talk radio format. The "MVP" in the call sign referred to "most valuable player," a title connected with owner Willie Davis' pro football years with the Green Bay Packers. AM 1000 in Chicago purchased the WMVP call letters from Davis for a new sports radio format. At that point, 1290 AM became WMCS in December 1993. The WMCS call sign stood for "Milwaukee's Community Station", to emphasize the station's heavy community involvement.
In December 2004, WMCS began airing sports shows from
On January 22, 2008, Good Karma Broadcasting, owner of WAUK, purchased
Blues and Adult Standards
On June 30, 2008, WMCS began airing its own content, consisting of
On February 26, 2013, WMCS began stunting with Elvis Presley songs in preparation of a format flip.[9] At 3 p.m. on March 1, the station debuted its new adult standards format as "1290 Martini Radio." It took a new call sign, WZTI.[10][11][12]
On July 27, 2014, WZTI began to also air on the FM band on 100.3 FM, using
The Party
On November 1, 2014, WZTI dropped the Adult Standards format and began stunting with Christmas music, calling itself "100.3 The Elf." On December 25, 2014, at 5 PM, after playing "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" by LeAnn Rimes, the station flipped to rhythmic oldies.
The new format was branded as "The Party 100.3 FM & 1290 AM."[14] The first song on "The Party" was "1999" by Prince.[15]
Oldies
On August 25, 2015, at Noon, after playing "
On March 7, 2018, WZTI rebranded as "Fonz FM" (named after Happy Days character Arthur "The Fonz" Fonzarelli).[18] It discontinued carrying programming from the True Oldies Channel, switching to its own locally-programmed playlist.
WAWA 1590
Prior to its purchase of WMCS in 1988, All-Pro Broadcasting owned
The station also simulcast part-time with FM sister station
References
- ^ Sponsor's ad: "Tomorrow--an old friend has a new name, WMLO becomes WMIL", Milwaukee Journal, April 27, 1949, Green Sheet, Page 2.
- ^ Radio-Locator.com/WZTI
- ^ "WMLO Inaugural" (PDF). Broadcasting. May 5, 1947. Retrieved September 27, 2014.
- ^ Advertisement: "NEW WMIL LINE-UP", Milwaukee Sentinel, Monday, June 26, 1961, Page 8, Part 1.
- ^ Broadcasting News-January 2005
- ^ JS Online: WAUK-AM adds MU to marketing mix
- ^ JS Online: Pack prepares, just in case
- ^ JS Online: WMCS-AM radio ends ESPN feed, goes talk and music
- ^ "Format Changes". Your Midwest Media. February 26, 2013. Archived from the original on March 17, 2013. Retrieved February 24, 2013.
- ^ "Milwaukee Makes A Martini". Radio Insight. March 1, 2013. Retrieved March 1, 2013.
- ^ "WMCS-A Shaken, Not Stirred Into WZTI-A 'Martini Radio'". All Access. March 1, 2013. Retrieved March 1, 2013.
- ^ "Format Changes". Your Midwest Media. March 1, 2013. Archived from the original on March 17, 2013. Retrieved February 24, 2013.
- ^ Dudek, Duane (July 29, 2014). "More AM radio stations taking their signals to FM dial". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved July 30, 2014.
- ^ "1290/100.3 Milwaukee To Debut New Format" from Radio Insight (December 24, 2014)
- ^ WZTI Becomes The Party from Format Change Archive December 29, 2014
- ^ "@NowOnMKEOldies" on Twitter
- ^ Party's Over in Milwaukee as True Oldies Debuts from Radio Insight (August 25, 2015)
- ^ Happy Days in Milwaukee as WZTI Rebrands as Fonz FM Radioinsight - March 7, 2018
External links
- WZTI website
- Milwaukee radio: a retrospective
- WZTI in the FCC AM station database
- WZTI in Nielsen Audio's AM station database
- W262CJ in the FCC FM station database
- W262CJ at FCCdata.org
- W297BY in the FCC FM station database
- W297BY at FCCdata.org