WZBA

WZBA
City Westminster, Maryland
Broadcast area Baltimore metropolitan area
Branding 100.7 The Bay
Slogan Baltimore's Classic Rock Station
Frequency 100.7 MHz
Translator(s) See table
First air date November 1, 1959
Format Classic rock
ERP 25,000 watts
HAAT 210 meters
Class B
Facility ID 59985
Callsign meaning W Z BAy
Former callsigns WTTR-FM (1959-1984)
WGRX (1984-1999)
Owner Times-Shamrock Communications
Webcast Listen Live
Website thebayonline.com

WZBA (100.7 FM, "100.7 The Bay") is a commercial FM radio station licensed to serve Westminster, Maryland. The station is owned by Times-Shamrock Communications and broadcasts a classic rock format. Its studios are in Hunt Valley and its broadcast tower is located near Owings Mills at (39°26′49.9″N 76°46′47.2″W / 39.447194°N 76.779778°W / 39.447194; -76.779778).[1]

The station's service contour covers the Baltimore metropolitan area and southern portions of South Central Pennsylvania.[2] The station markets itself as the only station in the Baltimore market dedicated to the classic rock format.

History

Engineer Russ Morgan signed on the station for the first time on November 1, 1959 as WTTR-FM.[3][4]

Shamrock Communications purchased the station on April 7, 1981 and changed the format to easy listening. The station's call sign was changed to WGRX in 1984, with a format change to "Eclectic Oriented Rock",[4] a hybrid format created by Radio Consultant John Sebastian.[5] The format changed to classic rock in May 1987.[4]

WGRX changed its format to modern rock on December 2, 1994, branded as "The X".[6] In April 1996, the station fired its program director and six DJs,[7] then aired a weekend-long stunt of disco music as "Polyester 101"[8] before switching to a country music format on May 6, 1996,[9][10] branded as "Froggy 100.7". The station later rebranded as "New Country 100.7".[11]

On December 1, 1999, due to declining ratings, the station switched its call sign to WZBA, rebranded as "100.7 The Bay" and changed formats to "Rock AC" (Rock Adult Contemporary), similar to WMMO in Orlando[12] with the slogan "Rock Without the Hard Edge".[13]

In 2001, WZBA relocated its transmitter closer to Baltimore.[13]

The station changed its format to classic rock[13] when WFXB changed formats from classic rock to smooth jazz on September 5, 2003.

Signal note

WZBA is short-spaced to WLEV "100.7 WLEV" (licensed to serve Allentown, Pennsylvania) as they operate on the same channel and are only 107 miles apart.[14] The minimum distance between two Class B stations operating on the same channel according to current FCC rules is 150 miles.[15]

Translators

WZBA programming is broadcast on the following translator:[16]

Call sign Frequency
(MHz) 		City of license ERP
W 		Height
m (ft) 		Class FCC info
W261CD 100.1 Baltimore, Maryland 2 93 m (305 ft) D FCC

References

  1. ↑ "FM Query Results for WZBA". fcc.gov. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved 2016-05-21.
  2. ↑ "54 dBu Service Contour for WZBA, 100.7 MHz, Westminster, MD". bing.com. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved 2016-05-21.
  3. ↑ Rollye James (Borenstein) (1989). Mediatrix Market Profile (PDF) (Report). Mediatrix, Inc. p. 15. Retrieved 2016-05-21.
  4. 1 2 3 Rollye James (Borenstein) (1989). Mediatrix Market Profile (PDF) (Report). Mediatrix, Inc. p. 56. Retrieved 2016-05-21.
  5. ↑ Cosper, Alex (2015-06-22). "Interview with Radio Consultant John Sebastian". playlistresearch.com. Retrieved 2016-05-21.
  6. ↑ McKerrow, Steve (1994-12-17). "2 rock stations seek same audience in format changes". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 2016-05-21.
  7. ↑ Kaltenbach, Chris (1996-04-27). "WGRX, switching formats, fires DJs". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 2016-05-21.
  8. ↑ Norton, Kristin. "22 Things You'll Never See In Baltimore Again". movoto.com. Retrieved 2016-05-21.
  9. ↑ "Baltimore's WGRX Leaps To Country" (PDF). R&R The Industry's Newspaper (1145). 1996-05-10. p. 3. Retrieved 2016-05-21.
  10. ↑ Kaltenbach, Chris (1996-05-18). "WGRX-FM goes country". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 2016-05-21.
  11. ↑ West, Steve (1999-07-19). "Danny Carlisle & Roy Sampson, New Country 100.7 WGRX Westminster/Baltimore July 19, 1999". airchexx.com. Retrieved 2016-05-21.
  12. ↑ Lance. "COUNTRY 100.7 WGRX BECOMES ROCK AC "THE BAY" WZBA". formatchange.com. Retrieved 2016-05-21.
  13. 1 2 3 "Baltimore Radio". centrevillemaryland.us. Retrieved 2016-05-21.
  14. ↑ "How Far is it Between Owings Mills, Md, United States and Allentown, Pa, United States". Free Map Tools. Retrieved 2016-05-21.
  15. ↑ "Minimum distance separation between stations. 47 CFR 73.207 (1)" (PDF). Retrieved 2016-05-21.
  16. ↑ "Station Search Details, W261CD". fcc.gov. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved 2016-05-21.

Coordinates: 39°26′49″N 76°46′48″W / 39.447°N 76.780°W / 39.447; -76.780

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