WEZF

WEZF

Burlington, Vermont
Broadcast area	Northern Vermont
Frequency	92.9 MHz
Branding	Star 92.9
Programming
Format	Hot Adult Contemporary Christmas music (Nov.-Dec.)
Affiliations	Premiere Radio Networks
Ownership
Owner	Vox AM/FM, LLC
Sister stations	WCPV, WEAV, WXZO, WVTK
History
First air date	1969 (as WVNY-FM)
Former call signs	WVNY-FM (1969-?)
Call sign meaning	EZ Favorites
Technical information
Facility ID	35232
Class	C
ERP	46,000 watts
HAAT	824 meters
Transmitter coordinates	44°31′40.00″N 72°48′58.00″W
Links
Webcast	Listen Live
Website	star929.com

WEZF (92.9 FM, "Star 92.9") is an English-language American radio station located in Burlington, Vermont. The station airs a hot adult contemporary format.

Owned and operated by Vox AM/FM (it was a Clear Channel Communications station until 2008), it broadcasts with an effective radiated power of 46,000 watts (class C) using an omnidirectional antenna. WEZF is the only full commercial class C radio station in Vermont. The advantage of having both the effective radiated power ERP and a transmitting antenna location on top of Vermont's highest mountaintop, Mount Mansfield, affords WEZF a tremendous reach throughout Vermont, New Hampshire, New York, Quebec (including Montreal), some parts of western Maine, and areas of extreme Eastern Ontario. This is roughly higher in terms of the ERP than Montreal adult contemporary station CKBE-FM, owned by Cogeco.

History

Early years under beautiful music and adult contemporary format (1969-1999)

WEZF went on the air on July 19, 1969 and was originally known as WVNY-FM; that call sign is now used by a local television station previously co-owned and known as WVNY-TV, which signed on the air before its FM counterpart. [1]. WEZF was unique in that the station was originally launched as an offshoot of WVNY-TV, and never had a companion AM station. This unique situation made WEZF the first standalone FM station in Vermont. Traditionally, most FM stations were originally launched by a companion AM station. The station originally had a beautiful music format, changing to soft adult contemporary in the 1980s, and retained the 93 WEZF branding. In 1995, the station became more of a mainstream AC and rebranded as 92.9 WEZF.

The Clear Channel era and early "Star 92.9" era (1999-2008)

In 1999, when 103.3 The Lake (now adult hits as WWMP since 2005) the station changed formats to hot AC and was rebranded as Star 92.9. By 2003, the station reverted to AC after 103.3 The Lake flipped formats. In addition, Christmas music began airing on the station from late November–December 25.

Vox takeover (2008-2010)

WEZF still broadcasts where once WEZF and WVNY originated from in historic Fort Ethan Allen in Colchester, Vermont. In 2007, Clear Channel had announced they were selling off hundreds of radio stations to cut costs. WEZF, along with sibling stations WCPV, WXZO, WEAV, WVTK, WXZO, WCVR-FM, and WTSJ, were all involved with a pending sale from Clear Channel Communications to locally owned Vox Communications. One of the current principal owners in Vox Communications originally launched both WCPV in late 1994, and after that the radio station now known as WXZO.

In July 2008, Vox Communications took control of WEZF and its sister stations.

End of "Feel Good Flashback Weekends," morning show adjustment and moving towards a hot adult contemporary direction (2010-12)

By September 2010, a few months after its adult hits-formatted Feel Good Flashback Weekend show was dropped and regarding sister station WXZO going to top 40 as Planet 96.7, WEZF moved towards a hot AC direction. Reasons why the Feel Good Flashback Weekend show disappeared from the station is because of rival WWMP going back to adult hits while Star 92.9 phased in more hot AC content, putting its AC format in a more 24/7 status.

By September 2011, WEZF was moved to the Nielsen BDS hot adult contemporary panel, but the station was still adult contemporary per Mediabase reports. Former sister station WVTK airs an adult contemporary format.

In Fall 2011, WEZF began pursuing the Montreal radio market, taking advantage of CFQR-FM's change in staff and format tweaking to CKBE-FM, "92-5 The Beat". Martz Communications Group, a broadcaster that also handles advertising sales for WEZF, is orchestrating the effort.

Another morning show change and format change back to hot adult contemporary (2012-present)

Nolan departed the morning show in late 2011. As of March 2012, WEZF switched to hot adult contemporary per Mediabase reports, making WEZF have the station's second run in the hot AC format. More than a week after the station flipped formats to hot AC, the station was doing schedule readjustment, moving Tara to drive time, while bringing a new morning show with hosts Tim & Mary (moving over from drive time). The move left former sister WVTK as the only AC in the Burlington, VT area; the hot AC format's first incarnation was from 1999-2003. In Plattsburgh, New York, they are served by CKBE-FM, despite considered as rimshot. The switch to Hot AC at WEZF joins existing hot adult contemporary station WYZY in the Burlington/Plattsburgh area. For Montreal listeners, it joins the market's existing longtime hot AC CJFM-FM (Virgin Radio 96). The adult contemporary format dropped by WEZF was later acquired by WIER 102.3, which flipped from active rock in March 2012.

External links

• Star 92.9 WEZF official website
• Facility details for Facility ID WEZF ({{{2}}}) in the FCC Licensing and Management System
• {{{2}}} in Nielsen Audio's FM station database