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WOZN (1670
kHz 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 uni ...
) is a
sports Sport is a physical activity or game, often competitive and organized, that maintains or improves physical ability and skills. Sport may provide enjoyment to participants and entertainment to spectators. The number of participants in ...
AM
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 ...
licensed to and serving
Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is the List of municipalities in Wisconsin by population, second-most populous city in the state, with a population of 269,840 at the 2020 Uni ...
. Owned and operated by
Mid-West Family Broadcasting Mid-West Family Broadcasting is an independently owned broadcasting company based in Madison, Wisconsin. The company owns and manages radio stations in Madison, Wisconsin, Eau Claire, Wisconsin, La Crosse, Wisconsin, Benton Harbor/St. Joseph, Mich ...
, WOZN is also simulcast on F.M. translator W244DR (96.7 MHz). WOZN originates from its Madison studios at 730 Ray-O-Vac Dr. on the far west side. Its single transmitter tower is located on Syene Rd. in the nearby Town of Madison, sharing a site with WLMV. The station's 1670 AM signal transmits on a non-directional antenna with daytime transmitting power of 10,000 watts reduced to 1,000 watts at sunset.


Programming

"The Zone's" schedule includes programming from
Infinity Sports Network Infinity Sports Network is an American sports radio network. It debuted as CBS Sports Radio with hourly sports news updates on September 4, 2012, and with 24/7 programming on January 2, 2013. Infinity Sports Network is programmed by Audacy, In ...
, including ''
The Jim Rome Show ''The Jim Rome Show'' is an American sports radio talk show hosted by Jim Rome. It airs live for three hours each weekday from 12pm to 3pm Pacific Time. The show is produced in Los Angeles, syndicated by Westwood One, and can be heard on aff ...
''. Local content on the station includes the call-in show "Over the Line" with program director Ebo Thoreson; "The Bill Michaels Show", which is syndicated statewide from WOZN following the show’s departure from previous flagship
WSSP WSSP (1250 AM broadcasting, AM) is a commercial radio, commercial radio station in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, owned by Audacy, Inc. It airs a sports radio radio format, format known as "105.7 The Fan". Most of its programs are from Infinity Sport ...
in Milwaukee; and "Wisconsin Farm Report with Pam Jahnke", a statewide farm markets program that is the only holdover from WTDY's news/talk schedule. WOZN is also part of the Wisconsin Sports Zone Radio Network which originates from The Zone and provides seven daily sports updates to 13 radio stations throughout the state of Wisconsin. Other local shows on The Zone include the "Wisconsin Football Roundtable" with former Badgers Brooks Bollinger, Gabe Carimi and Matt Bernstein. Also the Wisconsin Basketball Roundtable with former Badgers Josh Gasser, Mike Bruesewitz and Charlie Wills. Both the Football and Basketball Roundtable are hosted by longtime Madison sportscaster Zach Heilprin. Live game broadcasts on WOZN have included the
United States Hockey League The United States Hockey League (USHL) is the top junior ice hockey league sanctioned by USA Hockey. The league consists of 16 active teams located in the Midwestern United States and Great Plains, for players between the ages of 16 and 21. Th ...
's
Madison Capitols The Madison Capitols are a Tier I junior ice hockey team that plays in the Eastern Conference of the United States Hockey League. Founded in 2014, the team plays its home games at Bob Suter's Capitol Ice Arena in Middleton, Wisconsin. Histor ...
as well as the
Northwoods League The Northwoods League is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league. All players in the league must have National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA eligibility remaining in order to participate. The league is amateur, and players are not ...
's Madison Mallards. Beginning in 2021, WOZN became part of the
Milwaukee Brewers Radio Network The Milwaukee Brewers Radio Network (branded as the Brewers Radio Network, with a "presented by" sponsorship by American Family Insurance) is a 34-station radio network in Wisconsin and Michigan that broadcasts baseball games and related programm ...
, taking over as Madison's radio home of the Brewers from longtime affiliate WIBA.


History

WOZN originated as the expanded band "twin" of an existing station on the standard AM band. On March 17, 1997 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) announced that 88 stations had been given permission to move to newly available " Expanded Band" transmitting frequencies, ranging from 1610 to 1700 kHz, with WTDY in Madison authorized to move from 1480 to 1670 kHz."FCC Public Notice: Mass Media Bureau Announces Revised AM Expanded Band Allotment Plan and Filing Window for Eligible Stations"
(FCC DA 97-537), March 17, 1997.
A construction permit for the expanded band station was assigned the callsign WAWY on January 9, 1998. The FCC's initial policy was that both the original station and its expanded band counterpart could operate simultaneously for up to five years, after which owners would have to turn in one of the two licenses, depending on whether they preferred the new assignment or elected to remain on the original frequency. However, this deadline has been extended multiple times, and both stations have remained authorized. One restriction is that the FCC has generally required paired original and expanded band stations to remain under common ownership. On June 12, 1998 the callsign WTDY and format were transferred from 1480 AM to 1670 AM, while 1480 AM became WTDA. The two stations simulcast programming until 2002, when 1480 AM became the
Spanish language Spanish () or Castilian () is a Romance languages, Romance language of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family that evolved from the Vulgar Latin spoken on the Iberian Peninsula of Europe. Today, it is a world language, gl ...
-formatted WLMV. As a talk station, WTDY featured a schedule with various hosts (national or local) and viewpoints (liberal, conservative, bipartisan, or apolitical). WTDY's schedule over the years featured such national hosts as
Tom Leykis Tom Leykis (pronounced: ; born ) is an American former talk radio personality best known for hosting ''The Tom Leykis Show'' from 1994 to 2009 (nationally syndicated), and April 2012 to 2018 (internet streamcast/podcast). The show follows the ho ...
, Bill O'Reilly,
Art Bell Arthur William Bell III (June 17, 1945 – April 13, 2018) was an American broadcaster and author. He was the founder and the original host of the paranormal-themed radio program '' Coast to Coast AM'', which is syndicated on hundreds ...
, and
Rush Limbaugh Rush Hudson Limbaugh III ( ; January 12, 1951 – February 17, 2021) was an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative political commentator who was the host of ''The Rush Limbaugh Show'', which first aired in 1984 and was nati ...
(the station was one of ''
The Rush Limbaugh Show ''The Rush Limbaugh Show'' was an American conservative talk radio show hosted by Rush Limbaugh. Since its nationally syndicated premiere in 1988, ''The Rush Limbaugh Show'' became the highest-rated talk radio show in the United States. At i ...
's'' original affiliates). WTDY's local hosts over the years included Debbie Monterrey, Casey Hoff, Shawn Prebil, and
Mark Belling Mark Belling (born July 4, 1956) is an American former conservative talk radio host for 1130 WISN in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He is also a local newspaper columnist, former television host, and was a frequent guest host for Rush Limbaugh in the e ...
, who worked at WTDY in its early period as a talk station before gaining prominence at Milwaukee's WISN. Perhaps WTDY's most recognizable local figure was John "Sly" Sylvester; a longtime Madison radio personality, "Sly" began a 15-year run at WTDY in 1997, and was mainly heard in the morning slot ("Sly in the Morning") except for a brief period in middays in the mid-2000s. Employing an acerbic, provocative style on-air, "Sly" displayed his own wide-ranging political viewpoints, though he gained notoriety for his open support of pro-union protests against the controversial Act 10 legislation passed by the
Wisconsin Legislature The Wisconsin Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The legislature is a bicameral body composed of the upper house, Wisconsin State Senate, and the lower Wisconsin State Assembly, both of which have had Republ ...
in 2011."Radio personality Sly, others out of work at WTDY,"
from ''
Wisconsin State Journal The ''Wisconsin State Journal'' is a daily newspaper published in Madison, Wisconsin by Lee Enterprises. The newspaper, the second largest in Wisconsin, is primarily distributed in a 19 county region in south-central Wisconsin. As of Septembe ...
'', 11/22/2012
In addition to "Sly," WTDY's schedule by 2012 included local show ''Forward with Kurt Baron''; full hours of local news at 12PM and 5PM; national shows including ''
Michael Smerconish Michael Andrew Smerconish ( ; born March 15, 1962) is an American radio host, television presenter, political commentator, author, and lawyer. He hosts ''The Michael Smerconish Program'' on SiriusXM's POTUS Channel and a weekly program on CNN and ...
'' and '' America's Radio News''; and weekend broadcasts of
NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The N ...
and college sports from
Compass Media Networks Compass Media Networks is an American radio network. The company launched in January 2009. It is owned by former Westwood One CEO and former COO of Connoisseur Media, Peter Kosann. The company focuses on radio and offers representation and m ...
and Sports USA. On December 13, 2011, WTDY began simulcasting its sister station on 106.7 FM licensed to
Mount Horeb, Wisconsin Mount Horeb is a village in Dane County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 7,754 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is part of the Madison metropolitan area. History The Ho-Chunk nation The Village of Mount Horeb is par ...
; the FM signal, which adopted the WTDY-FM call sign, had previously simulcast the
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 ...
format of
WWQM-FM WWQM-FM (106.3 Hertz, MHz) is a radio station licensed to Middleton, Wisconsin and serving the Madison, Wisconsin, Madison area. Owned and operated by Mid-West Family Broadcasting, the station has aired a country music radio format, format sin ...
(as WWQN). Though the 106.7 FM signal only meets the fringes of Madison (its signal strength covers Western
Dane County Dane County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 561,504, making it the second-most populous county in Wisconsin after Milwaukee County, Wiscon ...
and Iowa County), the move gave WTDY (and later WOZN) a presence on the clearer
FM radio FM broadcasting is a method of radio broadcasting that uses frequency modulation (FM) of the radio broadcast carrier wave. Invented in 1933 by American engineer Edwin Armstrong, wide-band FM is used worldwide to transmit high fidelity, high-f ...
band and continued a trend in recent years of spoken word formats (news, talk, or sports) moving to or simulcasting on FM signals. WTDY-FM changed call signs to WOZN-FM when 1670 AM launched the "Zone" sports format. On November 21, 2012, Mid-West Family Broadcasting management conducted layoffs at WTDY, with "Sly" Sylvester let go along with the station's entire news staff (program director and ''Forward'' host Kurt Baron was retained in another capacity); later that day, news/talk programming on both WTDY and WTDY-FM was replaced by automated
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 ...
."WTDY Madison Dismisses Staff; Flips to Christmas,"
from Radio Insight, originally posted 11/21/2012 and updated 11/30/2012
The Christmas stunting lasted until the weekend of December 29, 2012 in favor of a two-song loop of "
Wherever I May Roam "Wherever I May Roam" is a song by American Heavy metal music, heavy metal band Metallica. It was released in October 1992 as the fourth single from their eponymous fifth album, ''Metallica (album), Metallica''. It reached number 82 on the US ''Bi ...
" by
Metallica Metallica is an American heavy metal band. It was formed in Los Angeles in 1981 by vocalist and guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...
and "
Welcome to the Jungle "Welcome to the Jungle" is a song by American rock band Guns N' Roses, featured as the opening track on their debut album, ''Appetite for Destruction'' (1987). It was released as the album's second single initially in the UK in September 1987 ...
" by
Guns N' Roses Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1985 as a merger of local bands L.A. Guns and Hollywood Rose. When they signed to Geffen Records in 1986, the band's "classic" line-up consisted of vocalist Axl R ...
. The loop ended at 11AM on January 2, 2013, when both 1670 AM and 106.7 FM (respectively identifying as WOZN and WOZN-FM) unveiled a
sports talk Sports radio (or sports talk radio) is a radio format devoted entirely to discussion and broadcasting of sport, sporting events. A widespread programming genre that has a narrow audience appeal, sports radio is characterized by an often-low comed ...
format branded as "The Zone," launching with the
CBS Sports Radio Infinity Sports Network is an American sports radio network. It debuted as CBS Sports Radio with hourly sports news updates on September 4, 2012, and with 24/7 programming on January 2, 2013. Infinity Sports Network is programmed by Audacy, Inc ...
debut of ''
The Jim Rome Show ''The Jim Rome Show'' is an American sports radio talk show hosted by Jim Rome. It airs live for three hours each weekday from 12pm to 3pm Pacific Time. The show is produced in Los Angeles, syndicated by Westwood One, and can be heard on aff ...
'' ("Welcome to the Jungle", used in the stunting loop, is the program's opening theme). WOZN added a low-power FM simulcast on translator W244DR (96.7 MHz) in August 2017, a signal that reaches the immediate Madison area. The sign-on of 96.7 allowed Mid-West Family to change WOZN-FM from a "Zone" simulcast to 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 (with a new call sign of
WRIS-FM WRIS-FM (106.7 FM broadcasting, FM) is a radio station licensed to Mount Horeb, Wisconsin and serving the Madison, Wisconsin, Madison market. The station is owned by Mid-West Family Broadcasting and airs an alternative rock format as "The Resis ...
) on October 31 of that year."Alternative Resistance Emerges in Madison,"
from RadioInsight, 10/31/2017


See also

*
Mid-West Family Broadcasting Mid-West Family Broadcasting is an independently owned broadcasting company based in Madison, Wisconsin. The company owns and manages radio stations in Madison, Wisconsin, Eau Claire, Wisconsin, La Crosse, Wisconsin, Benton Harbor/St. Joseph, Mich ...


Previous Logo

(WOZN's logo under previous simulcast with WOZN-FM 106.7)


Notes


References


External links


WOZN official website
* * {{Brewers Radio Network OZN (AM) Sports radio stations in the United States Infinity Sports Network stations Radio stations established in 2001