WWWV

Last updated
WWWV
WWWV 97.5 3WV logo.png
Broadcast area Central Virginia
Central Shenandoah Valley
Frequency 97.5 MHz
Branding97-5 3WV
Programming
Language(s) English
Format Classic rock
Affiliations United Stations Radio Networks
Ownership
Owner
  • Saga Communications
  • (Tidewater Communications, LLC)
WCNR, WCVL-FM, WINA, WQMZ, WVAX
History
First air date
March 5, 1960
Former call signs
WCCV-FM (1960–1977) [1]
Technical information [2]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID 19837
Class B
ERP 8,900 watts
HAAT 345 meters (1,132 ft)
Transmitter coordinates
37°59′5.0″N78°28′49.0″W / 37.984722°N 78.480278°W / 37.984722; -78.480278
Links
Public license information
Webcast Listen Live
Website 3wv.com

WWWV (97.5 FM) is a classic rock formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Charlottesville, Virginia, and serves Central Virginia and the Central Shenandoah Valley. WWWV is owned and operated by Saga Communications, and operates as part of its Charlottesville Radio Group. [3]

Contents

History

WCCV-FM signed on March 5, 1960, with a middle-of-the-road format of post-war pop and light classical music. WCCV-FM was co-owned with WCHV (1260 kHz) by Roger and Louise Neuhoff's Eastern Broadcasting Corporation. [4] In December 1968, WCCV-FM and WCHV were sold to Charlottesville resident Edward S. Evans, Jr. [5] Two years later, the station flipped to country music during the day and a simulcast of WCHV's adult contemporary format between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. On May 1, 1971, WCCV-FM switched again to beautiful music. [6] In 1973, Evans sold the two stations to Lyell B. Clay's Clay Broadcasting, owner of several newspapers and television stations, most notably WWAY of Wilmington, but no other radio stations. [7]

On January 10, 1977, the station adopted its current identity – album-oriented rock music, the branding "3WV", and the callsign WWWV. [8]

Clay sold all of his broadcasting interests in 1987-88; WWWV and WCHV went to Eure Communications, then-owners of WXEZ Yorktown. [9] In 1998, Eure combined WWWV with Charlottesville Broadcasting Corporation's WINA (1070 kHz) and WQMZ (95.1 MHz) in a merger deal. Eure was ordered by the Department of Justice to spin off the merger's two remaining stations – WCHV and WKAV (1400 kHz) – to Clear Channel, as FCC regulators took issue with Eure's potential ownership of five stations in the small market. (The FCC under a different leadership permitted Clear Channel to own six stations just five years later.) [10] [11]

Saga Communications bought Eure's three-station cluster in 2004. [12]

WWWV took over as the FM home of Virginia Cavaliers football and men's basketball at the beginning of the 2003-04 football season, complementing longtime state network flagship WINA. [13] It simulcasts all games, but does not air the coaches' shows.

Since flipping to a broadly rock format in 1977, the station's music has aged with its audience; it remained a modern rock reporter through the 1990s before adding recurrents and moving to active rock. WWWV dropped all new music in 2017 to become strictly classic rock.[ citation needed ]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WRVA (AM)</span> Radio station in Richmond, Virginia

WRVA is a commercial AM radio station licensed to Richmond, Virginia and serving Central Virginia. WRVA airs a news/talk radio format and is owned by Audacy, Inc. Established in 1925, WRVA is one of Virginia's oldest radio stations, and the most powerful AM station in the Commonwealth. For much of its history, WRVA billed itself as the "Voice of Virginia."

WMZQ-FM is a commercial radio station in Washington, D.C. owned by iHeartMedia, it has had a country music radio format since 1977. The station's studios and offices are on Rockville Pike in Rockville, Maryland, and its transmitter is on Tower Street in Falls Church, Virginia. WMZQ-FM has an effective radiated power (ERP) of 50,000 watts, the maximum power for radio stations in the Washington area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WKJM</span> Radio station in Virginia, United States

WKJM is an urban adult contemporary formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Petersburg, Virginia, serving Petersburg, Colonial Heights, and Chesterfield in Virginia. WKJM is owned and operated by Radio One. The station's studios and offices are located just north of Richmond proper on Emerywood Parkway in unincorporated Henrico County, and its transmitter is located in Petersburg.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WTPA-FM</span> Radio station in Pennsylvania, United States

WTPA-FM is a commercial radio station licensed to serve Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania. The station is owned by Cumulus Media and broadcasts a classic rock format. Its broadcast tower is located on Reesers Summit in Fairview Township, York County, at.

WTNT is a Spanish hits AM radio station licensed to Alexandria, Virginia and serving the Washington metro area. WTNT is owned and operated by Metro Radio. 730 kHz is a Canadian and Mexican clear-channel frequency.

WKHL is a non-commercial FM radio station licensed to serve Palmyra, Pennsylvania. The station is owned by Educational Media Foundation and is an affiliate of K-LOVE, EMF's contemporary Christian music network.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WINA</span> Radio station in Charlottesville, Virginia

WINA is a news/talk/sports formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Charlottesville, Virginia, serving Charlottesville and Albemarle County, Virginia. WINA is owned and operated by Saga Communications, and operates as part of its Charlottesville Radio Group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WCNR</span> Radio station in Keswick, Virginia

WCNR is an adult album alternative formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Keswick, Virginia, serving Charlottesville, Albemarle and Western Fluvanna counties in Virginia. WCNR is owned by Saga Communications, and operates as part of its Charlottesville Radio Group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WPKX</span> Radio station in New Hampshire, United States

WPKX is a commercial AM radio station licensed to Rochester, New Hampshire, that broadcasts a sports radio format, largely supplied from Fox Sports Radio. The station is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. and serves the Portsmouth-Dover-Rochester media market, also heard in Southern Maine. WPKX broadcasts at 5000 watts around the clock from a transmitter off Route 108 in Rochester. To protect other stations on 930 kHz, WPKX uses a directional antenna at night.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WCVL-FM</span> Classic country radio station in Charlottesville, Virginia

WCVL-FM is a country music formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Charlottesville, Virginia, serving Charlottesville and Albemarle County, Virginia. The station is owned by Saga Communications, through licensee Tidewater Communications, LLC, and operates as part of its Charlottesville Radio Group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WQMZ</span> Radio station in Charlottesville, Virginia

WQMZ is an adult contemporary formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Charlottesville, Virginia, serving Charlottesville and Albemarle County, Virginia. WQMZ is owned by Saga Communications, and operates as part of its Charlottesville Radio Group.

WHUK is an Adult Hits formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Crozet, Virginia, serving Charlottesville and Albemarle County, Virginia. WHUK is owned and operated by Monticello Media.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WCHV-FM</span> Radio station in Charlottesville, Virginia

WCHV-FM is a news/talk formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Charlottesville, Virginia, serving Charlottesville and Albemarle County, Virginia. WCHV-FM is owned and operated by Monticello Media.

WKTR (840 kHz) is a classic hits formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Earlysville, Virginia, serving Charlottesville. WKTR is owned by Piedmont Communications, Inc.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WCHV (AM)</span> Radio station in Charlottesville, Virginia

WCHV is a news/talk-formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Charlottesville, Virginia, serving Charlottesville and Albemarle County, Virginia. WCHV is owned and operated by Monticello Media.

WKAV is a Christian adult contemporary formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Charlottesville, Virginia, serving Charlottesville and Albemarle County, Virginia. WKAV is owned and operated by Monticello Media.

WGMN is a commercial radio station in Roanoke, Virginia. Owned and operated by the non-profit Stu-Comm, Inc., it broadcasts an adult album alternative music format as a simulcast of Charlottesville-based WNRN-FM.

WLVA is a commercial radio station licensed to Lynchburg, Virginia. It airs a talk radio format and is owned and operated by Brent Epperson. The studios and offices are on Timberlake Road in Lynchburg.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WPOR</span> Radio station in Maine, United States

WPOR is a radio station in Portland, Maine, that broadcasts a country music radio format. It is owned by Saga Communications.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WEHC</span> Public radio station in Emory, Virginia

WEHC is a Public Radio-formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Emory, Virginia, serving the Abingdon/Marion area. WEHC is owned and operated by Emory and Henry University.

References

  1. "FCC History Card for WWWV".
  2. "Facility Technical Data for WWWV". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  3. "WWWV Facility Record". Federal Communications Commission, audio division.
  4. Staff (May 2, 1960). "On-the-air" (PDF). Broadcasting. p. 56.
  5. "Changing hands" (PDF). Broadcasting. December 4, 1967. p. 34.
  6. Staff (May 15, 1971). "WCCV-FM Goes Soft" (PDF). Billboard. p. 27.
  7. "Ownership changes" (PDF). Broadcasting. September 24, 1973. p. 82.
  8. "Call letters" (PDF). Broadcasting. January 24, 1977. p. 67.
  9. "Changing hands" (PDF). Broadcasting. January 25, 1988. p. 83.
  10. Spencer, Hawes (March 13, 2003). "MIXed message: Will FCC "clear" WUMX sale?". The Hook. No. 210.
  11. Brown, Sara (November 10, 1997). "Changing hands" (PDF). Broadcasting & Cable. p. 133.
  12. Jaquith, Waldo (October 13, 2004). "Eure Communications To Be Sold". CVilleNews.
  13. "Radio Station WWWV-FM To Carry Virginia Football And Men'sBasketball Games In Charlottesville Area".