Lee had operated 1230 AM WSKY in Asheville for many years and had felt that the FM was the future medium for radio listening.

[6] In the meantime, some of the other applicants for the license had merged to form a group called Biltmore Forest Radio Inc., headed up by U.S. House Representative Mel Watt.

This ruling eventually forced the FCC to place a freeze on new station licenses for a time[citation needed] and to revoke Orion's construction permit for WZLS.

Biltmore Forest Radio's WZRQ signed on that same day[4] under a time-brokered agreement with Styles Broadcasting out of Panama City, Florida.

On January 17, 1998, WZRQ shut down by court order[citation needed] and WZLS returned to the airwaves after a seven-month absence, with a ticking clock and "FM" by Steely Dan.

During the time that WZLS was off the air, a rider was attached to the 1997 Balanced Budget Bill by Arizona Senator John McCain which required that new radio and TV frequency licenses were to be auctioned off to the highest bidder.

[4] Now under the ownership of Liberty Productions, which had leased out the airtime to Saga Communications, the 96.5 frequency stunted over a period of several days with different formats.

Because of its limited signal due to the area's mountainous terrain, the station added a simulcast partner as 970 WWIT in nearby Canton was purchased in 2003, becoming WOXL (AM).