WZOX (1660
AM) is a commercial radio station 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 operate on 1660 kHz from facilities located in
Kalamazoo, Michigan
Kalamazoo ( ) is a city in Kalamazoo County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Kalamazoo had a population of 73,598. It is the principal city of the Kalamazoo–Portage metropolitan are ...
.
History
The station began as the "expanded band" twin to a station operating on the standard AM band. On March 17, 1997, the FCC announced that eighty-eight stations had been given permission to move to newly available "
expanded Band" transmitting frequencies, ranging from 1610 to 1700 kHz, with then-WQSN in Kalamazoo authorized to move from 1470 to 1660 kHz.
["FCC Public Notice: Mass Media Bureau Announces Revised AM Expanded Band Allotment Plan and Filing Window for Eligible Stations"](_blank)
(FCC DA 97-537), March 17, 1997.
A construction permit for the expanded band station was assigned the call letters WQSN on October 1, 1998, concurrent with the call sign of the original WQSN on 1470 AM, changing to WKLZ. 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,
although this deadline was extended multiple times. It was ultimately decided to transfer full operations to the expanded band station, and on February 20, 2006, the original station on 1470 AM, now WKLZ, was deleted.
The station had been licensed to Fairfield Broadcasting as WQSN. It was sold to
Midwest Communications
Midwest Communications, Inc. is a Wausau, Wisconsin–based radio broadcasting company. It owns 82 radio stations located primarily within the Midwest United States, in Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Tennessee, Il ...
in 2006. The FCC approved a callsign change on March 26, 2007, to WQLR, the former callsign of
WVFM
WVFM (106.5 FM broadcasting, FM) is an alternative rock , alternative rock-leaning adult hits radio station serving the Kalamazoo, Michigan radio market. The station has an ERP of 33 kW. They are owned by Midwest Communications. WVFM 106.5 ...
, an existing FM music station owned by Midwest Communications in Kalamazoo.
The station flipped from
sports radio
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 ...
to
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 ...
on December 1, 2020.
On December 18, 2020, the station became WTOU, after exchanging call letters with a station on
1560 AM
The following radio stations broadcast on AM frequency 1560 kHz: 1560 AM is classified as a United States clear-channel frequency by the Federal Communications Commission. KNZR Bakersfield and WFME New York City share Class A status of 15 ...
. On April 2, 2025, the station became WZOX, after exchanging call letters with a station on
96.5 FM
The following radio broadcasting, radio stations broadcast on FM broadcasting, FM frequency 96.5 MHz:
Argentina
* Acqua (radio station), Acqua in Pinamar, Buenos Aires
* Aire de San Javier in San Javier, Santa Fe
* Arequito (radio station), A ...
.
"Form 380 - Exchange Request"
File Number:0000268609, Granted March 31, 2025.
References
External links
*
*
FCC History Cards for WKLZ (1470 AM)
(covering 1955–1981 as WKLZ / WYYY)
1998 establishments in Michigan
Midwest Communications radio stations
Radio stations established in 1998
TOU (AM)
Urban adult contemporary radio stations in the United States
{{Michigan-radio-station-stub