BLISSFIELD — An all-new local, internet-based radio station has announced its official launch.
The station at 517Rocks.com , which aims to rock southern Michigan and the world, features a mix of rock, hard rock and pop rock from the mid-1960s through the mid-1990s, a news release said. In addition to music, local weather from NOWCast Weather Network meteorologists and local community information are features 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
When WBZV-FM/Buzz 102.5, licensed to Hudson, was sold and flipped formats more than one year ago, a hole in the classic rock format serving Lenawee and Hillsdale counties opened, the release said.
“I saw an opportunity to jump into digital broadcasting and serve listeners who no longer had a local choice for classic rock and community information,” 517Rocks.com owner and program director Jerry Hayes, said in the release.
Hayes spent nearly two decades working in local over-the-air radio and currently works full time in auto sales.
“The technology available to internet broadcasters is amazing; we have an automated play-out system, mobile apps and a mix of programming just like an over-the-air station,” said Hayes, who operates the station out of his Blissfield home. “The big difference is I didn’t have to buy a radio station and transmitter and incur all of the cost that comes along with that type of venture.”