Network Affiliation(s):

History of Call Letters and Formats:

History Of WKZY
Thanks to Marc Tyll for this history of WKZY.
WKZY began operations in 1987 as WDFL-FM 106.3 from Cross City, approximately 50 miles West of Gainesville. The station was constructed and owned by long time Lakeland resident and broadcaster Duane F. McConnell. The original WDFL-FM operated on 106.3mhz with 3,000 watts from a 180 foot tower located about 5 miles South of Cross City. WDFL-FM was co-owned with WDFL-AM 1240 which re-broadcast all programming from WDFL-FM. The programming consisted of 24-hours of mainstream country provided by the Satellite Music Network and the station covered most of Dixie and Levy counties. In 1989, McConnell and his consulting engineer, Jim Johnson, determined WDFL-FM could get a power upgrade from 3,000 watts to 100,000 watts as a class C1 by moving the frequency from 106.3 to 106.9. Plans went in to action and a petition was filed with the FCC to amend the FM Table of Allotments. Ben Dickerson, who owned WEAG-FM 106.3 in Starke, filed a petition to deny McConnell’s request and asked that the FCC grant the frequency 106.9 as a Class 2 station to Starke. The FCC denied Dickerson’s petition and granted McConnell’s petition for Cross City. McConnell and Johnson made plans to move the WDFL-FM tower to Trenton, located about 25 miles West of Gainesville. A new 469 foot tower was constructed at the WDJY-FM 101.7 Trenton location and the power was increased to 100,000 watts in the year 2000. 
Robert Young, who had previously worked at WAPE and WIVY in Jacksonville, was hired as WDFL' s General Manager. The call letters were changed to WKZY to reflect "Cozy" for "Cozy 106.9." The WKZY call letters had previously been associated with FM 92.5 in LaBelle. The new WKZY format was changed to Westwood One’s Adult Standards featuring artists such as Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Perry Como, Nat King Cole, and many others. The new "Cozy 106.9" also featured top of the hour world news from CNN Radio. 
McConnell sold WKZY-FM along with WDFL-AM to Pamal Broadcasting, Ltd, headed by James Morrell, in 2000. The studios were moved to the WLUS-AM 980 building located off Kincaid Road in Gainesville, known as the Radio Ranch. The format was changed to Soft Adult Contemporary known as "Lite Rock 106.9".  Former WHTQ-FM 96.5 personality and WFKS-FM 99.9 Program Director Bruce Cherry was hired as WKZY's Program Director and Operations Manager. The Lite Rock format only lasted about a year, unable to effectively compete against WKTK’s superior signal. In 2002 WKZY modified its programming to Classic Hits of 70s, 80s, and 90s. Bruce Cherry left WKZY in 2005 to become Program Director at WKTK, while former WKTK Program Director, Briton Jon Rice, replaced Cherry at WKZY. The new on air slogan is "106.9 KZY with the hits of the 70s, 80s, 90s and whatever we want." 

* Pamal Sells Gainesville/Ocala Cluster      4-19-11
Pamal Broadcasting Ltd. of Latham, NY has agreed to sell its seven radio stations in the Gainesville-Ocala market. The deal is between Pamal subsidiary 6 Johnson Road Licenses, Inc. and MARC Radio Group of Winter Park, Florida. MARC includes broadcasters Mike Schweitzer, Bob Longwell, and Tom Hauff. Shawn Portmann will serve as President of the Gainesville-Ocala Market Cluster. MARC does not own any other stations. The deal includes; WTMG-FM 101.3, Williston, WHHZ-FM 100.5, Newberry, WKZY-FM 106.9, Cross City, WDVH-FM 101.7, Trenton, WRZN-AM 720 licensed to Hernando, WDVH-AM 980 and WTMN-AM 1430, both licensed to Gainesville. The final sale price was $2,550,000.