WWWV
| File:2007wwwv.JPG | |
| Broadcast area | Central Virginia Central Shenandoah Valley |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 97.5 MHz |
| Branding | 97.5 3WV |
| Programming | |
| Format | Classic rock |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| WCNR, WINA, WQMZ, WVAX | |
| History | |
First air date | March 5, 1960 |
Former call signs | WCCV-FM (1960-1977)[1] |
| Technical information | |
| Facility ID | 19837 |
| Class | B |
| ERP | 8,900 Watts |
| HAAT | 345 meters (1,132 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 37°59′5.0″N 78°28′49.0″W / 37.984722°N 78.480278°W |
| Links | |
| Webcast | WWWV Webstream |
| Website | WWWV Online |
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.[2]
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.[3] In December 1968, WCCV-FM and WCHV were sold to Charlottesville resident Edward S. Evans, Jr.[4] 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.[5] 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.[6]
On January 10, 1977, the station adopted its current identity – album-oriented rock music, the branding "3WV", and the callsign WWWV.[7]
Clay sold all of his broadcasting interests in 1987-88; WWWV and WCHV went to Eure Communications, then-owners of WXEZ Yorktown.[8] 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.) [9][10]
Saga Communications bought Eure's three-station cluster in 2004.[11]
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.[12] 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, coinciding with a slogan change from the longtime "Everything That Rocks" to "Iconic Rock".
References
- ^ "FCC History Card for WWWV".
- ^ "WWWV Facility Record". Federal Communications Commission, audio division.
- ^ Staff (May 2, 1960). "On-the-air" (PDF). Broadcasting. p. 56.
- ^ "Changing hands" (PDF). Broadcasting. December 4, 1967. p. 34.
- ^ Staff (May 15, 1971). "WCCV-FM Goes Soft" (PDF). Billboard. p. 27.
- ^ "Ownership changes" (PDF). Broadcasting. September 24, 1973. p. 82.
- ^ "Call letters" (PDF). Broadcasting. January 24, 1977. p. 67.
- ^ "Changing hands" (PDF). Broadcasting. January 25, 1988. p. 83.
- ^ Spencer, Hawes (March 13, 2003). "MIXed message: Will FCC "clear" WUMX sale?". The Hook. No. 210.
- ^ Brown, Sara (November 10, 1997). "Changing hands" (PDF). Broadcasting & Cable. p. 133.
- ^ Jaquith, Waldo (October 13, 2004). "Eure Communications To Be Sold". CVilleNews.
- ^ "Radio Station WWWV-FM To Carry Virginia Football And Men'sBasketball Games In Charlottesville Area".
External links
- 97.5 3WV Online
- ‹The template FMQ is being considered for deletion.› WWWV in the FCC FM station database
- WWWV in Nielsen Audio's FM station database
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