| City of license | WWZY: Long Branch, New Jersey WBHX: Tuckerton, New Jersey |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Monmouth-Ocean-Atlantic |
| Branding | The Breeze 107.1 and 99.7 |
| Slogan |
The Shore's Best Mix frequency = WWZY: 107.1 MHzWBHX: 99.7 MHz |
| First air date | WWZY: 1960 WBHX: 1999 |
| Format | Adult contemporary |
| ERP | WWZY: 5,000 watts WBHX: 5,600 watts |
| HAAT | WWZY: 110 meters WBHX: 33 meters |
| Class | WWZY: A WBHX: A |
| Facility ID | WWZY: 32983 WBHX: 56233 |
| Owner | Press Communications, LLC |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | breezeradio.com |
WWZY/WBHX is an adult contemporary music formatted radio station in Neptune, New Jersey, referred to as "107.1 The Breeze" and "99.7 The Breeze".
WBHX-FM is licensed to Tuckerton, New Jersey. The transmitter is located in Long Beach Island in Beach Haven. The station is heard along the Jersey Shore from Toms River to Ocean City.
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"107.1 The Breeze" is simulcast to Southern Ocean County New Jersey on 99.7 WBHX in Tuckerton, New Jersey. The station is also played throughout most of the day in southern Ocean County on WCAT-TV, the public-access television cable TV channel serving Pinelands Regional High School.
On August 10, 1999 WBHX signed on full-time airing a mostly automated Classic Rock format with "Radio Rohn" in mornings. Specialty shows included "The Dead At Midnight", "Blues Delux" and "The Dr. Demento Show".
Unfortunately, there were three radio stations with a Classic Rock format covering the Southern Ocean County area. WBHX was not able to compete with Manahawkin's WCHR-FM "105.7 The Hawk" or 50,000 watt WMGM-FM "The Shark 103.7" just a short distance away in Atlantic City. On October 4, 2002, the station switched to its current Adult Contemporary format known as "The Breeze". The very last song played by Radio Rohn before the switch from Classic Rock to Adult Contemporary was "Another One Bites the Dust" by Queen.
107.1 was founded in 1960 as WRLB. At the time, the station's owner was afforded the possibility of broadcasting with 50,000 watts, but he declined, thinking that FM radio had limited potential. Therefore, the station signed on with 3000-watts from a tower located in Long Branch, NJ. The studios were located adjacent to the tower. WWZY still uses the same tower, although the studios are now in Neptune, NJ. When the Long Branch 107.1 did not utilize 50,000 watts, the Federal Communications Commission subsequently assigned 107.1s to Briarcliff Manor, NY (north of New York City), Belvidere, NJ (near Stroudsburg, PA) and Patchogue, NY (Long Island). These area 107.1s would later haunt the Long Branch allocation with interference in fringe areas.
Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, WRLB was a "full-service" station, broadcasting big-band music, high school sports and local news. An Italian program aired on Sunday. Competition was mainly from the Asbury Park Press' radio station, WJLK-AM-FM, which aired similar full-service programming.
In 1981, WRLB was sold to Monmouth Broadcasting and became contemporary hit radio, WWUU (known on air as "U 107"). The station was programmed as contemporary hit radio, but without a strong local presence due to automation. The station was sold again to Jonathan and Elizabeth Hoffman (under the similar name "Mammoth Broadcasting"), and in 1982 became WMJY (Y-107), featuring live local talent playing the hits. Liners for the rechristened station highlighted the station's local presence by touting "The New Live Y-107".
At first, Y-107 maintained You 107's CHR format, but within a few years, Y-107 was a rock station, using the slogan "Rock Hits Home", with special programming on Sundays spotlighting new age music, blues, psychedelic music, and The Beatles. Disc jockeys at Y-107 in its rock days included John Ford, Linda Jordan, T.J. Brustowicz, Bobbi Stewart, Garrick Hart, Willobee (now Program Director at WFUZ, Nanticoke, PA), Lauren Pressley and Thom Morrera. Ian Case hosted a morning show that combined music and comedy bits. Newscasters included Doug Doyle, Rhonda Schaffler (later of CNN) and Matt Ward.
In late 1988, Mammoth sold WMJY to K&K Broadcasting. At the time of its purchase, K&K operated two radio stations in Erie, PA. Word had gotten out that a format change was in the works. On January 19, 1989, mention had been made on the air of a rally to be held the following afternoon at the station's studios in downtown Long Branch to save Y-107's rock format. In the early morning hours of January 20, 1989, K&K sent a security guard to remove overnight announcer T.J. Brustowicz from the premises and padlock the doors. The entire staff was fired (many reading of their job loss in the paper that morning), though some announcers and support personnel were eventually hired back. K&K then temporarily instituted a satellite-driven hard rock format called "Z-Rock." Many of WMJY's listeners objected to the firing of the local DJs and the hard-rock format, and petitioned K&K to change it back to classic rock. The new owners refused.
In May 1989, WMJY changed to a local, soft-adult contemporary format called "SeaView 107 FM." The new format featured soft-rock artists with a heavy dose of 1960s and 1970s oldies. Call letters changed to WZVU in June 1989.
WZVU "SeaView 107" was a ratings success in the Monmouth-Ocean ratings, beating longtime rival WJLK-FM within the first year. The station began to lean heavily on oldies, first featuring "all-oldies weekends."
Unfortunately, WZVU's corporate parent, K&K Broadcasting began to encounter financial problems. In 1992, all of the local DJs were terminated, and the station switched to a satellite delivered oldies format. Curiously, this was the same satellite format that was aired on WJLK-AM 1310 in Asbury Park. By this time, the Asbury Park Press had sold WJLK-AM-FM to D&F Broadcasting.
In early 1994, GM Jim Edwards (former Drake jock on WOR-FM) launched Oldies 107.1. Bob Steele was the second PD. Airstaff included, Rocky D, Jersey Judi Franco, Big Joe Henry, Tommy Dean, Bobby Ryan, Captain Jack Aponte and Mark Lee. Innovative specialty shows were on weekends such as All Request Radio and the Sunday Night Train with Tommy Dean and Bobby Ryan.
In the late 1990s Long Branch's 107.1 was sold to Big City Broadcasting along with the 107.1's in Briarcliff Manor, NY and Hampton Bays, (Long Island) NY. The three stations began a simulcast of Country Music, ironically known as "New Country Y-107." Call letters of the Long Branch station were changed to WWZY. Later the 107.1 in Belvidere, NJ was added to make New Country Y-107 a four station "Quad Cast."
After a few years, Big City Broadcasting went bankrupt and the four stations were sold. 107.1 in Long Branch retained the WWZY call letters but switched to a Spanish Format.
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