WMBZ (FM)

Last updated
WMBZ
92.5 Buzz Country Logo.png
Broadcast areaNorthern Milwaukee suburbs
Frequency 92.5 MHz
Branding92.5 Buzz Country
Programming
Format Country
Affiliations Westwood One
Ownership
Owner
  • David Magnum
  • (Magnum Communications, Inc.)
WRYU, WVTY
History
First air date
September 1958;65 years ago (1958-09) (as WBKV-FM)
Former call signs
  • WBKV-FM (1958–1988)
  • WBWI-FM (1988–2015)
  • WZRK (2015)
  • WBWI-FM (2015)
Call sign meaning
"Buzz"
Technical information [1]
Licensing authority
 FCC
Facility ID 71542
Class B
ERP 17,500 watts
HAAT 164 meters (538 ft)
Transmitter coordinates
 43°25′44″N88°18′04″W / 43.429°N 88.301°W / 43.429; -88.301
Links
Public license information
Webcast Listen live
Website buzzcountry.com

WMBZ (92.5 MHz "Buzz Country 92.5") is a commercial FM radio station in West Bend, Wisconsin, serving Milwaukee's northern suburbs. WMBZ and sister station WVTY, which serves Milwaukee's southern suburbs, are co-programmed and air a country music radio format. They are owned by David Magnum, through licensee Magnum Communications, Inc., along with sister WRYU in West Bend.

Contents

WMBZ is a Class B FM station, with an effective radiated power (ERP) of 18,000 watts. The transmitter tower is on Wisconsin Highway 33 at Aurora Road in Addison. [2]

History

The station signed on the air in September 1958 as WBKV-FM, co-owned with WBKV (1470 AM). WBKV-FM was an easy listening station, playing quarter-hour sweeps of soft instrumentals and mellow vocals. WBKV-FM was later known as "V92" and featured an automated mix of adult contemporary and country music.

Logo as WBWI-FM WBWI.gif
Logo as WBWI-FM

On September 16, 1988, the station picked up the WBWI-FM call sign. WBWI-FM flipped to its current country format in late 1989/early 1990. For a few years it was known as "92 Country Rock" then "92 Country" before it was renamed to "Pure Country". In 2004, the station rebranded to simply "92.5 WBWI".

On June 25, 2014, Bliss Communications announced that it would sell WBWI-FM and WBKV, along with WRJN and WVTY (then WEZY) in Racine. The buyer was David Magnum's Magnum Communications, Inc. Bliss had owned WBWI and WBKV since 1970 (when WBWI was still WBKV-FM). [3] The sale, at a price of $2.25 million, was consummated on October 31, 2014.

On February 9, 2015, WBWI-FM rebranded as "Buzz Country". [4] On February 18, 2015, WBWI-FM’s callsign was changed to WMBZ. WMBZ and co-owned 92.1 WVTY air separate commercials but have the same DJs and play the same country music.

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References

  1. ↑ "Facility Technical Data for WMBZ". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  2. ↑ Radio-Locator.com/WMBZ
  3. ↑ "Bliss Communications to sell West Bend, Racine radio stations". The Janesville Gazette. June 25, 2014. Retrieved June 26, 2014.
  4. ↑ WBWI Relaunches as Buzz Country
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