MARC Radio Group relaunched Alternative “100.5 The Buzz” WHHZ Newberry/Gainesville FL as “Rock It 100.5” at 8am today.

Positioning as “Fueled by Rock”, the new brand moves WHHZ to a decidedly harder Rock direction utilizing Westwood One’s “Rock 2.0” 24/7 format. The new brand debuted with Metallica “Fuel”, Billy Morrison, Ozzy Osbourne and Steve Stevens “Crack Cocaine”, Alien Ant Farm “Smooth Criminal”, and Soundgarden “Spoonman”.

MARC Radio CRO Scott Miller said, “It’s hard to believe that this market has been so long without a true hard rock station. MARC Radio is filling that void. We take rock seriously and can’t wait to share that high energy with you.” He added that the “Fueled by Rock” positioning is a nod to record label “Fueled by Ramen” that was founded by John Janick in Gainesville while attending the University of Florida.

WHHZ had a 1.0 share in the Spring 2024 Nielsen Audio ratings for Gainesville/Ocala as its signal does not reach the Ocala half of the market. The new format places the station closer to Saga Communications’ Classic Rock “Wind-FM” 92.5 WNDD Alachula/95.5 WYND-FM Silver Springs.