WHZZ
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| WHZZ | |
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| City of license | Lansing, Michigan |
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| Broadcast area | [1] |
| Branding | 101.7 Mike FM |
| Frequency | 101.7 MHz |
| First air date | January 1957 |
| Format | Variety Hits (Classic Hits/Hot Adult Contemporary hybrid) |
| Power | 4,100 watts |
| HAAT | 121 meters |
| Class | A |
| Facility ID | 39538 |
| Transmitter Coordinates | |
| Former callsigns | WILS-FM (3/24/92-5/15/95) WLYY (4/15/91-3/24/92) WKKP (5/5/89-4/15/91) WILS-FM (?-5/5/89) |
| Owner | MacDonald Broadcasting |
| Sister stations | WILS, WQHH, WXLA |
| Website | http://www.1017mikefm.com/ |
WHZZ (101.7 FM, "Mike FM") is a radio station licensed to Lansing, Michigan. It first began broadcasting in 1967 as WILS-FM. Prior to the adoption of the current format in September 2005, WHZZ had programmed a CHR/top 40 format for over a decade as "Z101.7." After WHZZ's change to "Mike FM", the CHR format was picked up by 97.5 WJIM-FM.
The station has gone through many different formats over the years. After beginning as a simulcast of WILS 1320 AM, the station separated programming in the late 1960s with an automated pop standards format, and then in the 1970s became a highly successful album rock station. However, on April 14, 1984, WILS-FM abruptly changed to an adult contemporary "Love Songs" format using the brand name "LS-102" to compete with top-rated WFMK. The station's ratings plummeted and would not recover for over a decade, as 101.7 FM went through unsuccessful tries at Hot AC as WKKP and WLYY, and country formats (the latter with a return to the WILS-FM calls in the early 1990s).
In the spring of 1995, WILS-FM became WHZZ "Z101.7," restoring the CHR/Top 40 format to the Lansing airwaves after 94.9 WVIC-FM dropped its longtime CHR format to compete with country market leader WITL. Z101.7 was frequently criticized by CHR aficionados for featuring an overly conservative, adult-oriented playlist heavy on Hot AC chart currents and 1980s and 1990s gold, but the station enjoyed good Arbitron ratings during its run and even reached #1 overall (12+) at least once.
As "Mike FM," WHZZ continues to do respectably in the Lansing Arbitron ratings, possibly due to the fact that unlike other Variety Hits stations such as WDRQ in Detroit, WHZZ employes a staff of actual DJs.
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