Z104
metropolitan area's largest adult rock format radio station, owned by Bonneville International. The station broadcasted from Braddock Heights, Maryland at 103.9 MHz FM and from Waldorf, Maryland, at 104.1 MHz FM.
It was commonly known as Z104 with the slogan "Washington's Modern Music." The station was also known for its community efforts and donation drives for local charities. Furthermore, as a member of the Nationals Network, it offered radio coverage of a large portion of the Washington Nationals games.
History
The WWZZ/WWVZ simulcast was originally two separately owned and operated stations, starting with WXTR ("Xtra 104"), then Washington's heritage Oldies station.
WXTR, which had been purchased by Liberty Broadcasting , was soon paired with the Frederick, Maryland-licensed WZYQ 103.9-FM - the original "Z-104", which had been doing a locally based CHR format in Frederick for years, in an attempt to attain better signal coverage for WXTR. Finally, Bonneville purchased the WXTR/WZYQ combo, and changed the format over to CHR in the summer of 1996, as "Z-104" with the call letters WWZZ/WWVZ.
At the time, the station followed regional radio stations that had similar format such as Q-102 WIOQ in Philadelphia and Q-94 WRVQ in Richmond, Virginia, and was well-received by local audiences.
Ratings slowly sank as a result of the station's poor signal and repetitive musical selection.
The appearance of Baltimore station 102.7 WXYV in 1997 threatened to further chip away at Z104's audience, though the threat never materialized because of the insignificant overlap between the two stations' signals. Between 1998 and 1999, ratings for Z104 actually improved along with the quality of their programming.
The biggest test for Z104's longevity was the appearance of Clear Channel station WIHT (Hot 99.5) which played a similar selection of hip-hop and modern R&B music.
WIHT also ran an advertising blitz in the area that included attack-style ads targeting Z104 specifically. The format proved an effective alternative to WIHT and to local stations WWDC (DC101) and WHFS (HFS 99.1), both of which specialized in hard rock.
On January 4, 2006, at noon, WWZZ went off the air due to a multiple-station format change arranged by Bonneville International.
The previous occupant of 103.5, the classical music station WGMS, was moved to the Z104 frequency.
Programming
Z104's weekday morning program included the Matthew Blades Radio Program on the McDonald's Morning Drive, led by its namesake, Matthew Blades. Other prominent DJs affiliated with the station included Jenni Chase and Music Director Sean Sellers.
Weekends featured an hour of coverage dedicated to the local music scene in the Capital Scene program, hosted by Jenni Chase.
The station also hosted a number of live events featuring prominent musicians. The Z104 Lounge programs featured performances and interviews in the Z104 studio itself.
Tickets for these events were typically given out through other Z104 programs leading up to the event. The Z104 Bosom Ball was held in 2003 at Washington's famed 9:30 Club, benefiting George Washington University's mobile mammogram program and featuring performances by Guster and Third Eye Blind.
Listeners would call in with a request for any song of any genre and pledge a minimum of $25 to the Salvation Army. The event was such a success that it became an annual happening, with future Request-a-Thons benefiting Ronald McDonald House, plus a special one held after Hurricane Katrina in September 2005 for the victims of that catastrophe (the minimum donation was raised from 2003 onward to $500 for unsigned local bands seeking an avenue of exposure).
Themes
Broadcasts on each day of the week had a certain theme associated with them, which changed the music played throughout the day.
New Release Mondays - Featured tracks from newly released albums
Storyteller Tuesdays - Featured a selection of short interviews with popular musicians
Wayback Wednesdays - Featured an interspersing of a selection of songs from the 1980s and 1990s with usual programming
Artist of the Month Thursdays - Featured music from an artist that the station had decided to focus on for the month
Z104 Lounge Weekends - Featured clips from live performances at 11 a.m.
on Sundays
Their weekend tagline was "It's the weekend and you gotta be on the Z, Z104!!"
Original Schedule 1996-1998
05:30 a.m. Bedtime Groove with various DJs including DJ Fadi, DJ Self, Bobby D, DJ Soho, DJ Spin.
Bedtime Groove with various DJs including DJ Fadi, DJ Self, Bobby D, DJ Soho, DJ Spin and DJ Milkman
Part Time Fillers
Fox Mueller (Mark Mueller)
Mason
Mark Anthony
Final Weekday Schedule
5:30 a.m. - 12:00 a.m.: All Night Long with JV - JV
Late Nights: Matt Simon
.