WBZO (103.1 FM) is a rock-leaning

classic hits Classic hits is a radio format which generally includes songs from the top 40 music charts from the late 1960s to the early 2000s, with music from the 1980s serving as the core of the format. Music that was popularized by MTV in the early 198 ...

radio station Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radio ...

owned by

Connoisseur Media Connoisseur Media LLC is an American media company. It is based in Westport, Connecticut and led by Jeff Warshaw. Connoisseur operates radio stations and digital assets in markets across the U.S. cities of Billings, Fredrick, Maryland; Bay Shore, H ...

and licensed to

Bay Shore, New York Bay Shore is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Town of Islip, New York, United States. It is situated on the South Shore of Long Island, adjoining the Great South Bay. The population of the CDP was 29,244 at the time of the 2020 ...

. The station's studios are located at Airport Plaza in

Farmingdale, New York Farmingdale is an incorporated village on Long Island within the Town of Oyster Bay in Nassau County, New York. The population was 8,189 as of the 2010 Census. The Lenox Hills neighborhood is adjacent to Bethpage State Park and the rest of the ...

, and its

transmitter In electronics and telecommunications, a radio transmitter or just transmitter is an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna. The transmitter itself generates a radio frequency alternating current, which is applied to the ...

is located on Freeman Avenue in

Islip, New York Islip ( ) is a town in Suffolk County, New York, United States, on the south shore of Long Island. The population was 335,543 at the 2010 census, making it the fourth most populous city or town in the state. The Town of Islip also contains a ...

History

103.1 FM first signed on the air in February 1993 as WBSI, broadcasting from studios located on Sunrise Highway in Bay Shore and playing oldies from the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. The WBSI call letters were dropped only a few months after the station signed on because 106.1

WBLI WBLI (106.1 FM) is a commercial radio station owned by Cox Radio and licensed to Patchogue, New York. It airs a top 40 (CHR) radio format. The station mainly serves Suffolk County, New York on Long Island. Its studios and offices are located o ...

complained the WBSI call sign was too similar and would cause confusion in the

Arbitron ratings Nielsen Audio (formerly Arbitron) is a consumer research company in the United States that collects listener data on radio broadcasting audiences. It was founded as the American Research Bureau by Jim Seiler in 1949 and became national by merging ...

. WBZO — along with

WHLI WHLI (1100 AM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Hempstead, New York, and serving Long Island. It is owned by Connoisseur Media and has an oldies radio format made up of hits from the 1950s, 60s, 70s and 80s. The station's studios a ...

, WKJY, and WWSK — was sold by Barnstable Broadcasting to Connoisseur Media effective July 3, 2012 for $23 million. On May 15, 2015, WBZO rebranded as "103.1 Max FM". In September 2022, the on-air staff was let go due to budget cuts. WBZO is now running

automated Automation describes a wide range of technologies that reduce human intervention in processes, namely by predetermining decision criteria, subprocess relationships, and related actions, as well as embodying those predeterminations in machines ...

References

External links

* BZO Classic hits radio stations in the United States Radio stations established in 1993 1993 establishments in New York (state) Mass media in Suffolk County, New York Connoisseur Media radio stations {{NewYork-radio-station-stub