WHZT

Infobox Radio Station


name = WHZT - The New Hot 98-1
airdate = June 6th, 1953
station_logo.giffrequency = 98.1 (MHz)
area = Greenville/Spartanburg & The Upstate
format = Rhythmic Contemporary Hit Radio
owner = Cox Radio
erp = 93,000 watts
branding = "The New Hot 98.1 - Carolina's #1 Hit Music Station"
sister_stations = WJMZ-FM
class = C1
website = [http://hot981.com/ hot981.com]
callsign_meaning = "HoT" (The Z substitutes for the O)

WHZT is a Rhythmic Contemporary Hit Radio station licensed to Seneca, South Carolina and serves the Upstate South Carolina region, particularly northwestern South Carolina and most Greenville. The Cox radio outlet is licensed by the FCC to broadcast at 98.1 MHz with an ERP of 93 kW. The station goes by the name Hot 98.1 and its current slogan is "Carolina's #1 Hit Music Station."

History

WBFM signed on the air June 6th, 1953. The station was an adult standards outlet airing some of the same programming as sister AM WSNW in Seneca, South Carolina. The station continued with the same format until the mid-90s, even after a power increase to 100,000 watts. The station played oldies for a while and then Triple-A.

Prior to its flip to Rhythmic Top 40 in the Spring of 2001, WHZT's previous format was Sports Talk as WPEK ("98.1 The Peak"). But in the week prior to the flip it stunted, and in the process kept listeners guessing, with a Modern AC format as "Q98.1". Since then Hot 98.1 has done well with its Rhythmic format, which also serves as 'companion' to its Adult R&B sister WJMZ, who had been the R&B/Hip-Hop outlet in the region before seguing into their current direction in 2002.

In September 2007, they "Re-launched" with a promotion called "PAY YOUR BILLS" after being "dead" for several days prior, the dead term referring to being "dead serious about giving away free money." This was met with much fanfare on the air as they also launched a freshened image with new voice talent and jingles, the first change of it's kind since the stations 2001 launch. The re-launch paid off as WHZT rocketed to the number one position in their highly compeditive target demographic, according to the Fall 2007 Arbitron survey. On March 18th, 2008 the station announced that "PAY YOUR BILLS" would be returning.

Air Staff

* Murph Dawg
* Jet Black
* Tone Hollywood
* Shorty
* Gabe
* Lucky
* Supa Dave

Mixers

* DJ Supa Dave
* DJ Skizzle
* DJ Gabe
* DJ Sha

Coverage

98.1 WHZT could be heard as far south and west as the northeastern suburbs of the Atlanta metro area, and as far east as the Spartanburg area. East of the Spartanburg area, it still becomes more and more difficult to receive this station due to interference from neighboring 97.9 WPEG in Charlotte.

External links

* [http://hot981.com WHZT official website]
*fmq|WHZT