WWVT-FM

Public radio station in Ferrum, Virginia From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

WWVT (1260 AM) and WWVT-FM (89.9 FM) are a pair of non-commercial radio stations serving Southside Virginia: WWVT is licensed to Christiansburg, Virginia, United States, and WWVT-FM is licensed to Ferrum, Virginia, United States.[5] They broadcast a classical music format and are owned and operated by Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.[6] WWVT-FM is the flagship of WVTF Music, a companion service to WVTF, Southwestern Virginia's NPR member news and information station. WWVT-AM-FM have their studios at WVTF's facility inside the WVTF Public Radio Broadcast Center on Kingsbury Lane in Roanoke.

Broadcast area
Frequencies
  • WWVT-FM: 89.9 MHz
  • WWVT: 1260 kHz
BrandingWVTF Music
Quick facts Broadcast area, Frequencies ...
WWVT-FM and WWVT
Broadcast area
Frequencies
  • WWVT-FM: 89.9 MHz
  • WWVT: 1260 kHz
BrandingWVTF Music
Programming
FormatClassical music
AffiliationsNPR
Ownership
Owner
WVTF, WISE-FM
History
First air date
  • WWVT-FM: January 1989 (1989-01)[1]
  • WWVT: November 21, 1954 (1954-11-21)
Former call signs
  • WWVT-FM: WFFC (1987–2017)[2]
  • WWVT:
    • WBCR (1954–1966)
    • WJJJ (1966–1995)
    • WNNI (1995–1998)
Technical information[3][4]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID
  • WWVT-FM: 21417
  • WWVT: 48622
Class
  • WWVT-FM: A
  • WWVT: D
Power
  • WWVT:
    • 5,000 watts (day)
    • 25 watts (night)
ERP
  • WWVT-FM: 1,100 watts
HAAT
  • WWVT-FM: 207 meters (679 ft)
Transmitter coordinates
  • WWVT-FM: 36°54′50.0″N 79°57′7.0″W
  • WWVT: 37°9′14.4″N 80°30′25.2″W
Translator(s)See § Low-powered translators
Links
Public license information
WebcastListen live
Websitewww.radioiq.org
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WWVT-FM's transmitter is sited on Waidsboro Road in Ferrum, while WWVT's transmitter is sited on Walton Road at Caboose Road in Radford. Programming is also heard on a series of rebroadcasters and FM translators around Southwest Virginia.

History

WWVT-FM 89.9

The station signed on the air in January 1989.[7][1] The original call sign was WFFC, the student station of Ferrum College. Its power at the time was only 100 watts.

In 2003, the Virginia Tech Foundation launched a secondary all-news and talk service, Radio IQ, on WWVT (1260 AM in Christiansburg). This schedule contrasted with WVTF's full-service schedule of music and news. As WWVT was only licensed to broadcast during the day at the time, WFFC joined Radio IQ in order to give it a 24-hour signal. The Virginia Tech Foundation also intended to have WFFC feed Radio IQ to extra FM translators that it owned. Since FCC rules prevent a station from feeding translators via microwave that are not co-owned, Ferrum sold WFFC to the foundation in November of that year.[8][9][10]

This arrangement lasted until July 10, 2017, when Radio IQ became the Virginia Tech Foundation's primary service and moved to WVTF's more powerful signal and repeater network. As WVTF covers WFFC's entire broadcast area, it dropped Radio IQ to become the flagship of WVTF Music. The station changed its call sign to the current WWVT-FM in the same month.[11][12][13] Due to the relatively modest coverage areas of the WWVT stations and their translators, WVTF Music is simulcast on the second HD Radio channels of all full-power Radio IQ stations except WRIQ in Richmond.[13]

WWVT 1260 AM

AM 1260 signed on in October 1954. Its original call sign was WBCR and it was a daytimer, required to leave the air at night. It was later known as "Triple J" WJJJ. It competed in the 1960s and 1970s with Virginia Tech's student radio station, WUVT, for the local Top 40 market.[14][15]

The station became WNNI in 1995. Bocephus Broadcasting purchased eight stations in the Blacksburg-Christiansburg market in 1997, after which it donated WNNI to the Virginia Tech Foundation.[16]

In 2003, Virginia Tech launched the original incarnation of Radio IQ on the rechristened WWVT.[17] WWVT was originally a daytimer that was required to go off the air at sunset to prevent interference to WCHV and WKXR on the same channel. After more than 50 years of daytime-only operation, WWVT added 25 watts of night power in 2005.

WWVT left Radio IQ and joined the WVTF Music network in 2017, in order to take advantage of its Blacksburg-based FM translator W238BN (95.5 FM).

Programming

Much of the network's weekday programming is classical music, from midnight to early evenings. Weeknights are devoted to jazz music. Weekends include blocks of album adult alternative (AAA), bluegrass, Americana and opera. National and regional shows include Metropolitan Opera radio broadcasts, Sunday Baroque, Mountain Stage, The Thistle and Shamrock, All Songs Considered, Pipedreams and American Routes.[18]

Low-powered translators

More information Call sign, Frequency ...
Call signFrequencyCity of licenseFIDERP (W)ClassFCC infoNotes
W201CN 88.1 FMAfton, Virginia9368110DLMSRelays WVTU-HD2
W208AP 89.5 FMLynchburg, Virginia8454410DLMSRelays WWVT-FM
W208BX 89.5 FMRoanoke, Virginia70342250DLMSRelays WVTF-HD2
W209AA 89.7 FMCharlottesville, Virginia70343250DLMSRelays WVTW-HD2
W211BE 90.1 FMLebanon, Virginia927008.5DLMSRelays WWVT-FM
W211BF 90.1 FMBig Stone Gap, Virginia927028DLMSRelays WISE-FM-HD2
W215BJ 90.9 FMSaint Paul, Virginia1221331DLMSRelays WWVT-FM
W238BN 95.5 FMBlacksburg, Virginia156071250DLMSRelays WWVT
W270BJ 101.9 FMLexington, Virginia14566825DLMSRelays WIQR-HD2
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References

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