WROZ

WROZ (101.3 FM, "fun 101.3") is a commercial FM radio station licensed to serve Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The station is owned by Hall Communications and broadcasts an adult contemporary format. WROZ switches to all Christmas music from mid-November until December 26 each year.

WROZ
CityLancaster, Pennsylvania
Broadcast areaSouth Central Pennsylvania
Frequency101.3 MHz (HD Radio)
Brandingfun 101.3
SloganMore Music, Less Talk
Programming
FormatAdult contemporary (currently Christmas music)
Ownership
OwnerHall Communications
WLPA (AM), WONN-FM
History
First air date
1947
Former call signs
WGAL-FM (1947–1977)
WNCE (1977–1992)
Former frequencies
45.5 MHz (1944–1946)
92.7 MHz (1946–1947)
Call sign meaning
W ROZe (Rose, previous branding)
Technical information
Facility ID25865
ClassB
ERP7,400 watts (analog)
74 watts (digital)[1]
HAAT379 meters (1,243 ft)
Transmitter coordinates
40°02′4.3″N 76°37′6.9″W
Links
WebcastListen Live
Websitewww.fun1013.com

WROZ's studios and offices are located off Route 283 at 1996 Auction Road in Manheim. Its antenna is on the WGAL-TV broadcast tower located in Hellam Township, York County at (40°02′4.0″N 76°37′7.0″W).[2][3] WROZ was once co-owned with WGAL-TV.

History

On February 5, 1944, the Federal Communications Commission granted WGAL, Inc. (owned by John Steinman[4] and James Steinman[5]), a construction permit for a new station on 45.5 MHz[6] on the original 42-50 MHz FM broadcast band. After the FCC created the current FM band on June 27, 1945,[7] the station was reassigned to 92.7 MHz on July 29, 1946.[6] On January 22, 1947, the station was assigned the WGAL-FM call sign, and on June 27, 1947 the station was reassigned to 101.3 MHz.[6]

The FCC granted WGAL-FM its first license on November 16, 1951.[6]

WGAL-FM was a sister station to 1490 WGAL (now WLPA). In 1949, the region's first TV station also went on the air, WGAL-TV. The three stations were owned by the Steinman Family, which also owned two local daily newspapers, the Intelligencer Journal and the Lancaster New Era.[8][9] At first WGAL-FM simulcast its AM counterpart.

On May 21, 1959, WGAL, Inc., was granted a construction permit by the FCC to install a new transmitter for the station at the WGAL-TV tower in Hellam Township, York County and side-mount a new antenna on the TV tower. A new license with the updated facilities was granted on July 28, 1960.[6]

By the 1970s, the station had switched its format to beautiful music, a format of soft instrumentals with limited talk and commercials. It competed with several other beautiful music outlets in the Lancaster and surrounding radio markets, including 97.3 WHP-FM in Harrisburg (now WRVV) and 103.3 WSBA-FM in York (now WARM-FM).

In March 1976, WGAL, Inc. sold WGAL-FM, along with WGAL (AM), to Hall Communications for $850,000.[10] The effective date of the sale was February 17, 1977, when the FM station's license was voluntarily assigned to Hall Communications. The station's call sign was changed from WGAL-FM to WNCE that day.[6] The station's branding was changed to Nice 101.[11] The station's easy listening format was not changed.[12]

As the 1980s were ending, most easy listening stations around the country were trying to update their sound. WSBA-FM in nearby York had switched to soft adult contemporary WARM-FM.[13] WNCE began adding more vocals to its playlist.

In 1992, the easy listening format came to an end. The station changed its call sign on November 15, 1992 from WNCE to WROZ.[14] That was coupled with a switch to soft adult contemporary music, rebranding as The Rose.[15] Competitor WHP-FM in nearby Harrisburg had already abandoned the easy listening format in March 1992, switching to Rock AC as WRVV The River.[16][17]

On May 14, 2015, WROZ rebranded as fun 101.3, with a move to a more uptempo AC format.[15] In addition, it promised to play "Always Six Songs In a Row Always."

Christmas Music

WROZ changes format to all Christmas music each year in mid-November and re-brands as "The Christmas Station."[18] It returns to its regular AC format on December 26.

Signal note

WROZ is short-spaced to two other Class B stations:

WBEB B101.1 (licensed to serve Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) operates on a first adjacent channel to WROZ and the cities the stations are licensed to serve are only about 61 miles apart.[19] The minimum distance between two Class B stations operating on first adjacent channels according to current FCC rules is 105 miles.[20]

WGGY Froggy 101 (licensed to serve Scranton, Pennsylvania) operates on the same channel as WROZ and the cities the stations are licensed to serve are only about 100 miles apart.[21] The minimum distance between two Class B stations operating on first adjacent channels according to current FCC rules is 150 miles.[20]

  • "The Rose"

References
  1. "APPLICATION FOR RENEWAL OF BROADCAST STATION LICENSE, Exhibit 15 [WROZ]". fcc.gov. Federal Communications Commission. January 30, 2014. Retrieved 2018-03-28.
  2. "FM Query Results for WROZ". fcc.gov. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved 2016-05-23.
  3. "TV Query Results for WGAL". fcc.gov. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved 2016-05-23.
  4. "John Frederick Steinman, Ph. B., LL. D." HMdb.org. The Historical Marker Database. Retrieved 2018-03-28.
  5. "James Hale Steinman, A.B., LL. B., LL.D." HMdb.org. The Historical Marker Database. Retrieved 2018-03-28.
  6. "History Cards for WROZ". fcc.gov. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved 2018-03-28.
  7. "In the Matter of Allocation of Frequencies to the Various Class of Non-Governmental Services in the Radio Spectrum from 10 Kilocycles to 30,000,000 Kilocycles (Docket No. 6651)" (PDF). fcc.gov. Federal Communications Commission. June 27, 1945. Retrieved 2016-12-09.
  8. "The National Broadcasting Company Radio Affiliates". Billboard. Lancaster, PA. December 1, 1951. p. 50. Retrieved 2016-05-23.
  9. "WGAL 30 Years of Public Service". Billboard. Lancaster, PA. June 7, 1952. p. 7. Retrieved 2016-05-23.
  10. "Changing Hands" (PDF). Broadcasting. Washington, DC. March 29, 1976. p. 37. Retrieved 2016-05-23.
  11. "Readers' Reports and FM Industry News" (PDF). VHF-UHF Digest. Worldwide TV-FM DX Association: 10. May 1977. Retrieved 2016-05-23.
  12. "New Call Letters". Billboard. Lancaster, PA. April 2, 1977. p. 33. Retrieved 2016-05-23.
  13. Broadcasting Yearbook 1991 page B-288
  14. Venta, Lance (May 13, 2015). "WROZ Completes Fun Relaunch". radioinsight.com. Retrieved 2016-05-23.
  15. Negley, Erin (May 15, 2015). "WROZ changes format to Fun 101.3". lancasteronline.com. LNP. Retrieved 2016-05-23.
  16. Portzline, Timothy (2011). Harrisburg Broadcasting. Charleston, South Carolina: Arcadia. p. 109. ISBN 9780738575070.
  17. Broadcasting Yearbook 1993 page B-302
  18. Frankows, Megan (November 20, 2014). "Too early for Christmas music? Susquehanna Valley radio station now playing it". wgal.com. LNP. Retrieved 2016-05-23.
  19. "How Far is it Between Lancaster, Pa Usa and Philadelphia, Pa Usa". freemaptools.com. Retrieved 2020-01-05.
  20. "Minimum distance separation between stations. 47 CFR § 73.207(b)(1)" (PDF). Retrieved 2020-01-05.
  21. "How Far is it Between Lancaster, Pa, United States and Scranton, Pa, United States". freemaptools.com. Retrieved 2020-01-05.

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