WODZ-FM (96.1

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 ...

), branded as "The Eagle", is a

radio station Radio broadcasting is the broadcasting 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 rad ...

broadcasting a classic hits format. Licensed to

Rome, New York Rome is a city in Oneida County, New York, United States, located in the central part of the state. The population was 32,127 at the 2020 census. Rome is one of two principal cities in the Utica–Rome Metropolitan Statistical Area, which lie ...

, United States, the station serves the Utica–Rome market. The station is owned by

Townsquare Media Townsquare Media, Inc. (formerly Regent Communications until 2010) is an American radio network and media company based in Purchase, New York. The company started in radio and expanded into digital media toward the end of the 2000s, starting wit ...

as part of a cluster with news-talk station

WIBX WIBX (950 AM broadcasting, AM) is a commercial radio, commercial radio station in Utica, New York. It is one of Central New York's oldest radio stations, dating back to 1925. The station airs a talk radio, news/talk radio format and is owned by ...

, classic rock-formatted

WOUR WOUR (96.9 FM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Utica, New York. It broadcasts a classic rock radio format, with occasional recent rock hits, calling itself "The Rock of Central New York". The station is owned by Townsquare Media as ...

, hot AC-formatted WLZW (Lite 98.7), and country-formatted WFRG (Big Frog 104).

History

WODZ-FM signed on in August 1968 as WKAL-FM, owned by Maurer Broadcasting Corporation and operating at 95.9 FM. The station originally simulcast its AM sister station,

WKAL WKAL (1450 AM broadcasting, AM; "Talkradio 1450") is a radio station licensed to Rome, New York, United States, and serving the Utica, New York, Utica-Rome-Syracuse, New York, Syracuse radio market. The station is owned by Tune In Broadcasting, L ...

(1450 AM). In 1977, WKAL-FM dropped the simulcast in favor of beautiful music. Maurer Broadcasting Corporation sold WKAL AM-FM to Wooster Republican Publishing Company of

Wooster, Ohio Wooster ( ) is a city in Wayne County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Located in northeastern Ohio, the city lies approximately south-southwest of Cleveland, southwest of Akron and west of Canton. The population was 27,232 at the ...

in 1980. In July 1984, WKAL-FM changed its call letters to WTCO, and became a

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

station, "Top Country." The following year, the station, along with WKAL, was acquired by Howard Green and Donald Simmons, owner of WENY AM- TV and WLEZ in Elmira and WOND and WMGM FM- TV in

Atlantic City, New Jersey Atlantic City, sometimes referred to by its initials A.C., is a Jersey Shore seaside resort city (New Jersey), city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Atlantic City comprises the second half of ...

. The new owners reverted the station's call letters to WKAL-FM on February 10, 1986, and implemented a

soft 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 ...

format. Target Communications bought WKAL AM-FM from Green and Simmons in 1987; soon after taking over, on February 1, 1988, the call sign was changed to WFRG-FM, and the station returned to country music, this time branded " 96 Frog". The new format was simulcast on 1450 AM, which also took the WFRG call letters (save for a short time in the early 1990s when the AM station broke away to become

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 ...

station WZLB); in addition, the station moved to its current frequency, 96.1. Target Communications eventually became Arrow Communications, which went into receivership in 1992, and then in November 1993, WFRG AM-FM was purchased by Forever Broadcasting, owners of

and dominant market leader

WLZW WLZW (98.7 FM broadcasting, FM) is a commercial radio, commercial radio station in Utica, New York, serving the Utica-Rome, New York, Rome media market, radio market. The station is owned by Townsquare Media and calls itself ''Lite 98.7''. It i ...

. Forever renamed the stations WODZ and launched an oldies format, with the country format and WFRG-FM call letters moving to 104.3 FM. The simulcast on AM 1450 continued until May 1999, when that frequency was sold to the

Bible Broadcasting Network The Bible Broadcasting Network (BBN) is a listener-supported global Christian Conservative Christian radio radio network, network staffed and headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. It was founded in 1971 by Lowell Davey, who was the network ...

and became WYFY (it has since reclaimed the WKAL call sign). Forever sold its stations in the market, including WODZ-FM, to Regent Communications (the forerunner to Townsquare Media) several months later. On January 2, 2015, WODZ shifted to classic hits and rebranded from "Oldiez 96" to "96.1 The Eagle."

References

External links

* {{Townsquare Media ODZ-FM Classic hits radio stations in the United States Radio stations established in 1968 Rome, New York Townsquare Media radio stations