WERZ

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WERZ is a radio station at 107.1 FM, known as Z107, licensed to Exeter, New Hampshire. It’s owned by iHeartMedia. The studios are on Lafayette Road in Portsmouth, with a transmitter on Long Hill in Stratham. Its signal covers the Seacoast area of New Hampshire and parts of southern Maine and northeastern Massachusetts, overlapping with Boston’s WXKS-FM.

The station began broadcasting on September 21, 1972 as WKXR-FM. In 1982 the call letters changed to WERZ and the station adopted a Top 40/CHR format as “Z107.” The first program director was Jack O'Brien, and the original Exeter studios were at 11 Downing Court.

In 1986 Precision Media, owned by Boston promoter Don Law, bought WERZ and shifted the format to a hybrid of adult contemporary and Top 40, calling it “107 FM WERZ.” By 1989 the station used the slogan “13 Hits in a row” and competed strongly with WHEB, thanks to live remotes and a busy air staff. Popular weekend shows included American Top 40 with Shadoe Stevens and The Weekly Top 40 with Rick Dees, along with WERZ’s House Party megamix, prize giveaways, and heavy listener interaction.

WERZ stayed strong through the 2000s. In December 2008 it went all-Christmas, then moved to adult contemporary, briefly returning to Christmas in December 2009 before returning to hot AC. In February 2010, Matty in the Morning from Boston’s WXKS-FM moved to WERZ. On October 4, 2012 at 3 pm, WERZ returned to a CHR format and relaunched as Z107.