The station began broadcasting on July 20, 1966, holding the call sign WTCA-FM, a sister station to AM 1050 WTCA.[1][2][5] The station was owned by the Kunze family's Community Service Broadcasters.[2][5] Its transmitter was located one mile south of Plymouth, Indiana, and it had an ERP of 3,000 watts at a HAAT of 220 feet.[2]
In 1981, the station's call sign was changed to WNZE.[2] As WNZE, the station aired a country music format.[6][7] In 1992, the station's transmitter was moved to Lakeville, Indiana, and it ERP was increased to 11,300 watts at a HAAT of 150 meters.[8][9]
In 1994, the station's call sign was changed to WLTA, and the station adopted a soft AC format.[3][7] The call sign WLTA had been held by 100.7 in Elkhart, Indiana, which changed formats from soft AC to country as WBYT "B-100".[7]
In spring 1996, the station adopted an oldies format, and its call sign was changed to WZOC.[10][3] The station was branded "Oldies 94.3".[11] In summer 1996, the station was sold to Plymouth Broadcasting for $575,000.[12] In March 2012, WZOC was sold to Douglas Road Radio for $2,100,000.[13][14]
On February 28, 2014, after the station had shifted from an oldies format to a classic hits format, it was re-branded from "Oldies 94.3" to "Z94.3".[15]
In September 2015, Schurz Communications, which previously held a minority interest in Douglas Road Radio, agreed to acquire full ownership of the company. The transaction is part of the $442.5 million acquisition of Schurz' broadcast interests, including WZOC, by Gray Television.[16][17][18] Though Gray initially intended to keep Schurz' radio stations, on November 2, it announced that Mid-West Family Broadcasting would acquire WZOC and Schurz' other South Bend radio stations for $5.5 million.[19][20][21] The sale to Mid-West was consummated on February 16, 2016.[22]
Previous logo with the "Less Talk" portion of the slogan
In February 2022, WZOC shifted its format from classic hits to classic rock.[23]
