WHZZ
 | |
| City | Lansing, Michigan |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Lansing-Jackson, Michigan |
| Branding | 101.7 Mike FM |
| Slogan | We Play Everything |
| Frequency | 101.7 MHz |
| First air date | January 1967 (as WILS-FM) |
| Format | Variety Hits |
| Power | 4,100 watts |
| HAAT | 121 meters |
| Class | A |
| Facility ID | 39538 |
| Transmitter coordinates | 42°41′29″N 84°33′29″W / 42.69139°N 84.55806°W |
| Former callsigns |
WILS-FM (3/24/92-5/15/95) WLYY (4/15/91-3/24/92) WKKP (5/5/89-4/15/91) WILS-FM (1967-5/5/89) |
| Owner | MacDonald Broadcasting |
| Sister stations | WILS, WQHH, WXLA |
| Website | 1017mikefm.com |
WHZZ (101.7 FM, "Mike FM") is a radio station licensed to Lansing, Michigan.
History
The station has gone through many different formats over the years. After beginning as a simulcast of WILS 1320 AM as WILS-FM in 1967, the station separated programming in the late 1960s with an automated MOR format (with the exception of the Jerry Marshall morning show, which was simulcast with WILS-AM from 6 to 10 am). In 1972, WILS-FM launched an automated Country format which was branded as "Hit Country", although the morning simulcast continued. In 1975, WILS-FM abandoned the Country format in favor of a 12-hour daily simulcast with WILS-AM, followed by split programming in the evening, which included an Album Rock format from 6 pm to midnight, and a Jazz format from midnight to 6 am. In 1978, WILS-FM abandoned the overnight Jazz and ended the simulcast with WILS-AM, programming the Album Rock format full-time. The Album Rock format proved to quite successful for the station, resulting in respectable ratings despite WILS-FM's 3KW signal.
In August 1983, WILS-AM/FM's original owner, Lansing Broadcasting, sold the station to Sentry Broadcasting (a division of Sentry Insurance) The new management made changes quickly, deciding to automate sister station WILS-AM with a Nostalgia format. In December 1983, most of the WILS-FM air staff, including the highly rated morning team of Doug Burton and Dan Ballard, were let go and replaced by announcers from WILS-AM. Four months later, on April 14, 1984, WILS-FM abruptly changed to an adult contemporary "Love Songs" format using the brand name "LS-102" to compete with top-rated WFMK. The station's ratings plummeted and would not recover for over a decade, as 101.7 FM went through unsuccessful tries at Hot AC as WKKP and WLYY, and country formats (the latter with a return to the WILS-FM calls in the early 1990s). The station also went through a number of ownership changes during this period. Sentry Insurance dissolved their radio division and sold WILS to Northstar Broadcasting in 1986, and after going through an upper-management shakeup, Northstar sold the station to its current owner, MacDonald Broadcasting, in 1989.
In the spring of 1995, WILS-FM became WHZZ "Z101.7," restoring the CHR/Top 40 format to the Lansing airwaves after 94.9 WVIC-FM dropped its longtime CHR format to compete with country market leader WITL. Z101.7 was frequently criticized by CHR aficionados for featuring an overly conservative, adult-oriented playlist heavy on Hot AC chart currents and 1980s and 1990s gold, but the station enjoyed good Arbitron ratings during its run and even reached #1 overall (12+) at least once.
On September 13, 2005, WHZZ unexpectedly flipped to adult hits as "Mike FM". Two days after WHZZ's flip, the CHR format was picked up by 97.5 WJIM-FM.