WJMZ-FM (107.3

MHz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), often described as being equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose formal expression in terms of SI base u ...

) is a commercial radio station

licensed A license (American English) or licence (Commonwealth English) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit). A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another part ...

Anderson, South Carolina Anderson is a city in and the county seat of Anderson County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 28,106 at the 2020 census, making it the 16th-most populous city in South Carolina. It is one of the principal cities in the Gree ...

and serving the

Upstate South Carolina The Upstate, historically known as the Upcountry, is a region of the U.S. state of South Carolina, comprising the northwesternmost area of the state. Although loosely defined among locals, the general definition includes the 10 counties of the ...

region, including Greenville and

Spartanburg Spartanburg is a city in and the county seat of Spartanburg County, South Carolina, United States. The city had a population of 38,732 as of the 2020 census, making it the 11th-most populous city in the state. The Office of Management and Budg ...

. The station is owned by

SummitMedia SummitMedia, LLC is an American radio broadcasting company based in Birmingham, Alabama. The company formed to purchase mid-market radio stations being divested by Cox Radio in 2013. On November 1, 2018, SummitMedia acquired 19 stations in ...

and airs an

urban adult contemporary Urban adult contemporary, often abbreviated as urban AC or UAC, (also known as adult R&B,) is the name for a format of radio music, similar to an urban contemporary format. Radio stations using this format usually would not have hip hop music on ...

radio format A radio format or programming format (not to be confused with broadcast programming) describes the overall content broadcast on a radio station. The radio format emerged mainly in the United States in the 1950s, at a time when Radio broadcasting, ...

. It is among the highest rated stations in the Greenville–Spartanburg

radio market A media market, broadcast market, media region, designated market area (DMA), television market area, or simply market is a region where the population can receive the same (or similar) television and radio station offerings, and may also incl ...

, according to

Nielsen ratings Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rat ...

. WJMZ is licensed by the

Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, internet, wi-fi, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains j ...

(FCC) to broadcast with an

effective radiated power Effective radiated power (ERP), synonymous with equivalent radiated power, is an IEEE standardized definition of directional radio frequency (RF) power, such as that emitted by a radio transmitter. It is the total power in watts that would ha ...

(ERP) of 100,000 watts with a tower at 1,010 feet

height above average terrain Height above average terrain (HAAT), or (less popularly) effective height above average terrain (EHAAT), is the vertical position of an antenna site above the surrounding landscape. HAAT is used extensively in FM radio and television, as it is ...

(HAAT). Its studios are located at Noma Square in Downtown Greenville, and its

transmitter In electronics and telecommunications, a radio transmitter or just transmitter (often abbreviated as XMTR or TX in technical documents) is an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna (radio), antenna with the purpose of sig ...

is located off Massey Road in Pendleton.

History

107.3 began as WANS-FM on October 24, 1967, the FM

sister station In broadcasting, sister stations or sister channels are radio or television stations operated by the same company, either by direct ownership or through a management agreement. Radio sister stations will often have different formats, and somet ...

to 1280

WANS WANS (1280 AM) was a southern gospel radio station located in Anderson, South Carolina, United States. The station was licensed by the FCC to broadcast with 5 kW nondirectional during the daytime and 1 kW directional at night. Station hist ...

. They broadcast out of studios in Anderson on Clemson Boulevard. WANS-AM-FM were highly rated

Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is a list of the 40 currently most popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "To ...

radio stations through the 1960s, 70s, and 80’s with the AM station eventually switching to

oldies Oldies is a term for musical genres such as pop music, rock and roll, doo-wop, surf music from the second half of the 20th century, specifically from around the mid-1950s to the 1980s, as well as for a radio format playing this music. Since 2 ...

music, while the FM continued playing the hits. After being a top 40 powerhouse for many years, owner Radio Anderson sold them to Degree Communications, run by Kent Burkhart, a radio consultant in Atlanta, in 1988. The new owner cut staff, promotions and other costs. The AM once again

simulcast Simulcast (a portmanteau of "simultaneous broadcast") is the broadcasting of programs or events across more than one resolution, bitrate or medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at exactly the same time (that is, simultaneously) ...

the FM station. Ratings dropped in a drastically. By 1990, the station was bankrupt. WANS-FM flipped from

top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is a list of the 40 currently most popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "To ...

adult contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul ...

-formatted WWMM as "Magic 107.3" on February 1, 1991, after the station was sold to Desert Communications for $3 million. In 1994, due to low ratings and facing competition from

WMYI WMYI (102.5 FM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Hendersonville, North Carolina. It serves the Upstate South Carolina and Western North Carolina regions, including Greenville, Spartanburg and Asheville. WMYI airs an adult hits radi ...

and

WSPA-FM WSPA-FM (106.3 Hertz, MHz) is a Regional Mexican-formatted radio station in the Greenville-Spartanburg area of Upstate South Carolina. The Norsan Media outlet is licensed by the FCC to Simpsonville, South Carolina, and broadcasts at with an ERP ...

, the

format was dropped. 107.3 WWMM changed its format and

call sign In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign (also known as a call name or call letters—and historically as a call signal—or abbreviated as a call) is a unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be formally as ...

to urban contemporary as "107.3 JAMZ", WJMZ-FM. In 1995, AmCom Carolinas Inc. sold WJMZ to

WROQ WROQ (101.1 FM) is a classic rock radio station licensed to Anderson, South Carolina, and serving the Upstate South Carolina region, including Greenville and Spartanburg. The station has had a classic rock format since December 1, 1987. This ...

owner ABS Communications Inc., for $5.3 million. ABS immediately took over WJMZ in a

local marketing agreement In North American broadcasting, a local marketing agreement (LMA), or local management agreement, is a contract in which one corporation, company agrees to operate a radio station, radio or television station owned by another party. In essence, it ...

. In 2001, the station was sold to

Cox Media Group CMG Media Corporation (doing business as Cox Media Group) is an American media conglomerate principally owned by Apollo Global Management in conjunction with Cox Enterprises, which maintains a 29% minority stake in the company. The company p ...

, a major radio, TV and newspaper owner based in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

. WJMZ carried the station slogan, "The Peoples' Station" until 2003, when it changed to "Today's R&B." In 2009, WJMZ-FM earned a

Marconi Award :''"Marconi Award" links here. Note that in the Netherlands, the radio academy awards are also called Marconi Awards.'' The Marconi Radio Awards are presented annually by the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) to the top radio stations and ...

as Urban Station of the Year from the

National Association of Broadcasters The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) is a Industry trade group, trade association and lobbying, lobby group representing the interests of commercial and non-commercial over-the-air radio and television broadcasting, broadcasters in th ...

. In 2010, disc jockey Kelly Mac won the Marconi Award for Medium Market Personality of the Year. On July 20, 2012, Cox Radio, Inc. announced the sale of WJMZ-FM and 22 other stations to Summit Media LLC for $66.25 million. The sale was consummated on May 3, 2013.

HD Radio

WJMZ-FM HD2 broadcasts an

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

format branded as ''X98.5'' (relayed on FM translator W253BG 98.5 FM

Arial Arial is a sans-serif typeface in the Sans-serif#Neo-grotesque, neo-grotesque style. Fonts from the Arial family are included with all versions of Microsoft Windows after Windows 3.1, as well as in other Microsoft programs, Apple's macOS, and ma ...

). WJMZ-FM HD3 broadcast an

urban contemporary Urban contemporary music, also known as urban music, urban pop, or just simply urban, is a music radio format. The term was coined by New York radio DJ Frankie Crocker in the early to mid-1970s as a synonym for Black music. Urban contemporary r ...

format branded as ''Streetz 99.5'' (relayed on FM translator W258CB 99.5 FM Greenville) until late 2024, when it switched to

Christmas music Christmas music comprises a variety of Music genre, genres of music regularly performed or heard around the Christmas and holiday season, Christmas season. Music associated with Christmas may be purely instrumental, or in the case of Christmas ...

as ''Star 99.5''. On December 26, 2024, the station changed to

. WJMZ-FM HD4 simulcasts sister station

WHZT WHZT (98.1 FM) is a rhythmic contemporary radio station licensed to Williamston, South Carolina, and serving Upstate South Carolina, including Greenville and Spartanburg. It is owned by SummitMedia and branded "HOT 98.1." Its studios are at No ...

in order to increase its coverage area in Spartanburg County (relayed on FM translator W231BA 94.1 FM

)

References

External links

* * * * {{Urban Radio Stations in South Carolina 1963 establishments in South Carolina Radio stations established in 1963 JMZ-FM Urban adult contemporary radio stations in the United States