WCHZ-FM

Last updated

WCHZ-FM
Broadcast area Greater Augusta
Frequency 93.1 MHz (HD Radio)
BrandingHot 95.5/93.1
Programming
Format Classic hip hop
Ownership
Owner
History
First air date
August 4, 1997;28 years ago (1997-08-04) (as WRFN)
Last air date
January 2024;1 year ago (2024-01)
Former call signs
  • WRFN (1997–2003)
  • WGAC-FM (2003–2011)
Call sign meaning
Former "Channel Z" branding for the current WGAC-FM
Technical information [1]
Licensing authority
 FCC
Facility ID 17129
Class A
ERP 4,100 watts
HAAT 122 meters (400 ft)
Transmitter coordinates
 33°29′59.9″N82°37′8.5″W / 33.499972°N 82.619028°W / 33.499972; -82.619028
Translator(s) WHHD-HD2: 95.5 W238AU (Augusta)
Repeater(s) 98.3 WHHD-HD2 (Clearwater, South Carolina)
Links
Public license information
Webcast Listen live
Website www.hotaugusta.com

WCHZ-FM (93.1 MHz, "Hot 95.5/93.1") was a commercial radio station broadcasting a classic hip hop format. It was licensed to Warrenton, Georgia, and served Greater Augusta. The station went by the name "Hot 95.5/93.1" and was owned by Beasley Media Group, with studios on Jimmie Dyess Parkway in Augusta.

Contents

History

The station signed on the air on August 4, 1997. It launched as WRFN, a sports radio station owned by Beard Broadcasting alongside sister AM sports station, WRDW. Beasley Broadcasting purchased both stations in 1999. [2] On October 3, 2003, the station changed its call sign to WGAC-FM, simulcasting news/talk WGAC (580 AM).

On August 10, 2011, WGAC-FM's news/talk format moved to 95.1 FM, licensed to Harlem, Georgia, swapping frequencies with rock-formatted WCHZ; the stations also swapped call signs five days later. [3] The move also shifted WCHZ to the AM dial as a simulcast on 1480 AM, displacing WGUS, although WGUS-FM continued to broadcast on its 102.7 FM signal. Due to the new frequency's poor coverage of the Augusta market with 93.1 and inadequate sound quality on the AM dial, Beasley Broadcasting began broadcasting 95 Rock on a broadcast translator with 250 watts at 95.5 FM to better cover the city of Augusta and surrounding towns on January 16, 2012. In 2014, the station switched to simulcasting WGUS-FM, as 93.1 and 102.7 WGUS. The 250 watt translator at 95.5 continued to simulcast WCHZ (AM).

On January 21, 2015, WCHZ-FM dropped the simulcast of WGUS-FM, and began simulcasting WHHD-HD2, and WCHZ (AM), branded as "Hot 95.5/93.1" with a classic hip-hop format. [4] Beasley Media surrendered WCHZ (AM)'s license to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on February 5, 2015; the FCC cancelled the license the same day.

The station's program director was Jay "Baby J" Jones and could be heard weekday afternoons during "Traffic Jammin' with Baby J".

WCHZ-FM went silent in January 2024 following the sale of its tower; it never returned to the air and did not respond to an FCC inquiry, leading to the loss of its license in June 2025. The "Hot" programming continues on WHHD-HD2 and W249EF (97.7 FM) as "Hot 97.7". [5]

References

  1. ↑ "Facility Technical Data for WCHZ-FM". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  2. ↑ "American Radio History Archive October 1, 1999" (PDF).
  3. ↑ "WCHZ-FM Call Sign History". United States Federal Communications Commission, audio division.
  4. ↑ Classic Hip Hop Comes to Augusta
  5. ↑ Venta, Lance (June 8, 2025). "FCC Report 6/8: Beasley Loses Augusta Area FM". RadioInsight. Retrieved August 31, 2025.
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