WBWZ

History

The construction permit of WBWZ was awarded in 1991 to Betty Walker, the mother of then-WRWD owner William H. ("Bud") Walker and owner of an area apple orchard. Though separate ownerships linked only by bloodline on paper, prior to sign-on the younger Walker signed an agreement to operate WBWZ with WRWD from the company's then-studios in Highland. After testing for the first part of December 1992, WBWZ formally signed on on December 20 of that year carrying ABC's "Z-Rock" satellite hard rock format as Z-Rock 93.3. With limited outside promotion and no rock station targeting younger audiences, WBWZ entered the Top 10 of the Poughkeepsie ratings in its first two books and became enough of a threat to rival WPDH that the programming at that station began to evolve to classic rock.

Though with a very loyal audience and good numbers, the Walkers found it hard to sell WBWZ to advertisers with the country music format of WRWD. Coupled with the decline of hard rock and the rise of alternative rock, the writing was soon on the wall for Z-Rock 93.3 and in February 1995 the station flipped to a satellite-fed 1970s music format as Z-93. Though the station had an initial surge of listenership, quirks in Arbitron's system in rating small markets at the time led to the ratings coming out after such a surge had subsided and the overall ratings fell below the Z-Rock format.

Shortly after the format change, Bud Walker bought the license of WBWZ after the loosening of FCC regulations and to also make any sale of the stations easier. After the further loosening of ownership regulations in early 1996, Walker decided to leave radio to pursue a career in politics and sold WBWZ, WRWD, and WWLE to Hudson Valley Radio Partners, a short-term holding company. With the ownership change, WBWZ's format changed to a locally-run Hot Adult Contemporary format while keeping the Z-93 name that November. Within a month of its sign-on, the station scored a coup by landing then-recently deposed WSPK morning host Mark Bolger and his newsreader/co-host Dawn Spicer however their non-compete clauses with WSPK barred them from the air until mid-1997. Shortly after taking the air, Hudson Valley Radio Partners sold itself to California-based Roberts Radio.

Bolger's presence proved to be key for the station as WBWZ soon skyrocketed into the top of the ratings (at its peak being behind only WSPK and WPDH) and being #1 in mornings. Though the numbers eventually leveled off, they still did well for a station in a small market with a format typically seen as niche. Adding other market veterans as well as targeting former WSPK listeners when that station leaned younger also was a key factor in such success.

In 2000, Roberts Radio was bought by Clear Channel Communications with Clear Channel taking control that November. Though WBWZ was aided by the elimination of rival WCTJ (now WPKF), its ratings soon began to slip to levels not seen since prior to the Hot AC format. After the decline stretched several years, the station was soon taken over by WPKF program director Jimi Jamm (Collins) whose past work had improved that station to levels beyond Clear Channel's expectations. On June 30, 2003, Z-93 was replaced by the more CHR-leaning Star 93.3. Bolger remained in mornings though with the departure of Dawn Spicer for WGY in Albany in April 2005 until December 2010 when Clear Channel replaced him with WPKF Program Director Chris Marino assuming double duties for the cluster.

In 2011, Clear Channel Radio of the Hudson Valley succumbed to the Premium Choice programming format, eliminating local, live jocks and locally programmed music.

On March 14, 2012 at 4 pm WBWZ changed their format to classic rock, branded as "Rock 93.3".

On July 11, 2012, Gary Cee, formerly of WPDH, became the first on-air host (10am - 3pm) on Rock 93.3.

On October 3, 2016 WBWZ rebranded as "Z93".