WNND
Encyclopedia
WNND and WNNP are two FM radio stations serving the Columbus, Ohio
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...

 market. Owned by Saga Communications
Saga Communications
Saga Communications is a broadcasting company that owns and operates stations in 26 markets in the United States. The company, which is based in Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan, primarily operates radio stations , but it also operates 9 television stations Saga Communications is a broadcasting...

, WNND broadcasts on 103.5 MHz from Pickerington, Ohio
Pickerington, Ohio
As of the census of 2000, there were 9,792 people, 3,468 households, and 2,687 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,317.4 people per square mile . There were 3,573 housing units at an average density of 480.7 per square mile...

, and WNNP broadcasts on 104.3 MHz from Richwood, Ohio
Richwood, Ohio
Richwood is a village in Claibourne Township, Union County, Ohio, United States. The population was 2,156 at the 2000 census.-History:The town of Richwood was laid out in 1832, by Philip Plummer. In 1834, road work was completed, and all the roads going into the town were gravelled...

.

WNND formerly carried a hybrid of Adult Contemporary, Urban AC, and instrumental covers as "Smooth Jazz 103.5" under the WJZA calls with programming derived from Broadcast Architecture's Smooth Jazz Network; while from 2009 to 2010, WODB had its own identity as "Big Hits B1043," with a classic hits format.

At 4:35 p.m. on July 30, 2010, WJZA and WODB are now known as "Rewind 103.5/104.3: Columbus' Greatest Hits," and adopted a 1980s-based classic hits format. On August 6, 2010 WJZA and WODB changed their call letters to WNND and WNNP, respectively.

History

WNND and WNNP are now a combined two of five radio stations in the Columbus market to have a Classic Hits format, joining Newark-based WNKO, WTDA
WTDA
WTDA is an FM radio station in Westerville, Ohio at 103.9 MHz. It currently broadcasts a Classic Hits format and is the Central Ohio radio broadcast home of the Pittsburgh Steelers....

 (satellite-programmed by Dial Global
Dial Global
Dial Global is a radio syndication company. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Triton Media Group and is a sister company to Townsquare Media, both of which are owned by Oaktree Capital Management....

) and WCGX
WCGX
WCGX — branded Gen-X Radio — is a commercial radio station in Columbus, Ohio currently owned by Clear Channel Communications and broadcasting an adult-leaning Modern Rock music format, changing from a 1990s hits format in October 2011...

, which offers a "Gen X" 1990s-2005 format. They also feature the second 80s-derived classic hits format in Columbus radio history, as sister station WVMX was all-80s WXST "Star 107.9" back in the late 1990s.

WNND

WNND was first assigned the call sign WSWZ on May 11, 1989. WSWZ changed call letters to WJZA on February 13, 1998, and switched format to smooth jazz, taking the format previously used by the 107.5 FM facility in Columbus, Ohio
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...

. Prior to that WSWZ played an Oldies format that served the Lancaster, Ohio area. That station dropped the WJZA calls and smooth jazz format on December 26, 1997 in exchange for WCKX
WCKX
WCKX is a radio station broadcasting an Rhythmic Contemporary format. The station is licensed to and serves the Columbus, Ohio metropolitan area. It first began broadcasting in 1993 under the call sign WJZA. The station is currently owned by Radio One...

's calls and format, which were dropped from the 106.3 FM facility in London, Ohio
London, Ohio
London is a city in and the county seat of Madison County, Ohio, United States. Located about southwest of the Ohio capital of Columbus, London was established in 1811 to serve as the county seat. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 8,771, an increase from 7,807 in 1990. It is the...

 (now known as WXMG).

In time, the usage of the "smooth jazz" name was taken very liberally as WJZA shifted to a hybrid of Adult Contemporary, Urban AC, and instrumental covers, while the majority of WJZA's programming was soon derived from Broadcast Architecture's "Your Smooth Jazz" service, which chiefly operated under this hybrid style.

WNNP

Prior to their previous "Big Hits B104.3" format, WNNP simulcast WJZA's smooth jazz
Smooth jazz
Smooth jazz is a genre of music that grew out of jazz fusion and is influenced by R&B, funk, rock, and pop music styles ....

 programming under the WJZK call letters. Their classic hits
Classic hits
Classic hits is a radio format which generally includes rock and pop music from 1964 to 1989. The term is sometimes erroneously used as a synonym for the adult hits format, but is more accurately characterized as a contemporary style of the oldies format...

 format launched on February 2, 2009 at 12:00PM, taken from the former "Big Hits B107.9" WODB at 107.9, which a few days earlier switched to a Hot AC format as WVMX "Mix 107.9." Morning host Dave Kay was the only local personality on the station, with the rest of the programming having been satellite-fed from Dial Global
Dial Global
Dial Global is a radio syndication company. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Triton Media Group and is a sister company to Townsquare Media, both of which are owned by Oaktree Capital Management....

 (but under a different channel than the one WTDA currently carries).

Due to WNNP's transmitter originating 40 miles northwest from Columbus in Richwood
Richwood, Ohio
Richwood is a village in Claibourne Township, Union County, Ohio, United States. The population was 2,156 at the 2000 census.-History:The town of Richwood was laid out in 1832, by Philip Plummer. In 1834, road work was completed, and all the roads going into the town were gravelled...

, the 104.3 signal suffers coverage problems in the Columbus metro, mainly in the eastern and southern portions. While still WODB, the station filed an application to change its city of license and transmitter location from Richwood to West Jefferson, Ohio
West Jefferson, Ohio
West Jefferson is a village in Madison County, Ohio, United States. The population was 4,331 at the 2000 census. Located along U.S. Route 40, the village has a fairly close relationship with the surrounding township, which include various out-of-corporation-limit neighborhoods West Jefferson is a...

, along with increasing power from 3.4 KW to 6 KW, so as to offer better coverage in the Columbus area. The move ultimately was rejected by the FCC.

A Letter from WJZA's Columbusjazz.com as of July 30, 2010

Smooth jazz can also now be heard at harmoniclounge.com and columbusjazzradio.com.

External links




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