WRVA-FM
Encyclopedia
WRVA-FM is a Classic Hits
radio station that serves the Raleigh-Durham market of North Carolina. Its studios are located at Smoketree Court in Raleigh and its city of license is in Wake Forest
. However, its city-grade signal also covers a considerable chunk of the Eastern North Carolina market, including the cities of Rocky Mount
, Wilson
, Goldsboro
, Greenville
, and Roanoke Rapids
. WRVA-FM is owned and operated by Clear Channel Worldwide, whose sister stations include G105
, Rush Radio 106.1
, and 93.9 KISS-FM.
Even though it shares the same call letters as fellow Clear Channel
station WRVA-AM out of Richmond, Virginia
, the station is programmed completely independently. Per FCC requirements, the -FM suffix has to be attached to the call letters.
Evening Telegram founder Josh Horne, signed an AM/FM combo in this Eastern North Carolina town. WCEC was heard at 810 AM and WCEC-FM 100.7. The stations hired legendary agricultural broadcaster Ray Wilkinson in 1948 and, along with Raleigh's WRAL-FM, and Goldsboro's WGBR started the Tobacco Network. It was sold to WRAL-FM owner A. J. Fletcher, and has grown into what is now known as the North Carolina News Network. Several years after their sign on, WCEC-FM became WFMA.
WFMA had a country format when Ken Johnson's Birmingham, Alabama-based Capital Broadcasting (no relation to Raleigh's Capitol Broadcasting Company) bought it and moved its studios to Raleigh as WTRG around August 1986. (WCEC 810, now a stand-alone which was authorized for daytime operation only, went dark and its license was subsequently turned into the FCC.) Along with the studio move, WTRG was upgraded to a 100,000-watt signal from one of the tallest FM towers in North Carolina. The station, now with a 10227 square miles (26,487.8 km²) coverage area, claimed the 17th largest coverage area of any FM station in America. WTRG signed on with the fight songs from Duke, UNC and NC State before debuting with an oldies format, only to quickly shift gears to an adult contemporary format. They returned to oldies in 1989 as "Oldies 100.7".
Tom Joyner purchased WTRG in 1991 and built a very community-minded station not afraid to take editorial stances: an example of this was the station's 1993 crusade for increased rights of victims of violent crimes. With the relaxation of dual ownership rules, WTRG was sold in 1994 to Hicks Muse of Dallas, along with Carl Venters' WRDU, a move-in from nearby Wilson.
Through several mergers, WTRG, WRDU and three other local stations became part of Clear Channel Worldwide. On November 8, 2004, WTRG axed its longtime oldies format and began stunting with simulcasts of Clear Channel sister stations WRSN (now WKSL), WDCG, WDUR and WRDU. At 5 p.m. on November 12, the station switched to country as "100.7 The Bull"; however, this "new" country format was exactly that.
On November 15, also at 5 p.m., they became adult album alternative
-formatted "100.7 The River", with the new call letters WRVA-FM following shortly thereafter. Nighttime AM radio listeners may recognize these call letters from another Clear Channel Radio property, 50,000-watt WRVA 1140 in Richmond, VA (hence the "-FM").
On September 25, 2006, The River shifted to a rock adult contemporary format, albeit with the same handle and imaging. In anticipation of sister station and heritage rocker WRDU's move to a country format, which took place on October 6 of that year, "The River" went classic hits.
In 2010, WRVA-FM changed its city of license from Rocky Mount to Wake Forest in part of a multi-station agreement that allowed Capitol Broadcasting sports outlet WCMC-FM 99.9 to increase its coverage.
During 2011, WRVA shifted toward more of a mainstream classic hits/Rock-leaning Gold AC format, including more 1960s rock music and non-disco pop music from the 1970s, while continuing to play 1980s music.
On November 11, 2011, at 6:00 PM, after playing The Beatles
' "Ticket to Ride
" and going into Bobby Helms
' "Jingle Bell Rock
", WRVA-FM made the switch to all-Christmas music
. It became the third station in the Clear Channel Raleigh cluster to make such a change. WRSN/WKSL made the holiday switch on an annual basis until 2007, and WRDU did likewise in 2009 when it segued from country music to talk radio (as that station lost the ratings and revenue battle to WQDR-FM
). Due to Clear Channel's practice of launching Oldies stations across the country, the station is rumored to be going into either an oldies
, active rock
or Adult Contemporary.
Classic hits
Classic hits is a radio format which generally includes rock and pop music from 1964 to 1989. The term is sometimes erroneously used as a synonym for the adult hits format, but is more accurately characterized as a contemporary style of the oldies format...
radio station that serves the Raleigh-Durham market of North Carolina. Its studios are located at Smoketree Court in Raleigh and its city of license is in Wake Forest
Wake Forest, North Carolina
Wake Forest is a town and suburb of Raleigh, North Carolina in Wake County in the U.S. state of North Carolina and is located just north of the state capital, Raleigh. The population was 12,588 at the 2000 census. In 2009, the estimated population was 27,915...
. However, its city-grade signal also covers a considerable chunk of the Eastern North Carolina market, including the cities of Rocky Mount
Rocky Mount, North Carolina
Rocky Mount is an All-America City Award-winning city in Edgecombe and Nash counties in the coastal plains of the state of North Carolina. Although it was not formally incorporated until February 28, 1867, the North Carolina community that became the city of Rocky Mount dates from the beginning of...
, Wilson
Wilson, North Carolina
Wilson is a city and the county seat of Wilson County in the Coastal Plain region of the U.S. state of North Carolina. The 18th largest city in the state, Wilson had a population of 49,167 according to the 2010 census.- Geography :...
, Goldsboro
Goldsboro, North Carolina
Goldsboro is a city in Wayne County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 37,597 at the 2008 census estimate. It is the principal city of and is included in the Goldsboro, North Carolina Metropolitan Statistical Area. The nearby town of Waynesboro was founded in 1787 and Goldsboro was...
, Greenville
Greenville, North Carolina
Greenville is the county seat of Pitt County and principal city of the Greenville, North Carolina metropolitan area. Greenville is the health, entertainment, and educational hub of North Carolina's Tidewater and Coastal Plain and in 2008 was listed as the Tenth Largest City in North Carolina...
, and Roanoke Rapids
Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina
Roanoke Rapids is a city in Halifax County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 16,957 at the 2000 census. It is the principal city of the Roanoke Rapids Micropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:...
. WRVA-FM is owned and operated by Clear Channel Worldwide, whose sister stations include G105
WDCG-FM
WDCG, or G105 on 105.1 FM is a Contemporary hit radio station in the Raleigh-Durham radio market. Its studios are located on Smoketree Court in Raleigh's Highwoods Office Park and owned by Clear Channel Worldwide, along with 93.9 KISS-FM, 100.7 the River, and Rush Radio 106.1.- History :WDCG first...
, Rush Radio 106.1
WRDU-FM
WRDU , known as "Rush Radio 106.1", is a talk radio formatted radio station that serves the Raleigh-Durham market of North Carolina. It is owned and operated by Clear Channel Worldwide. Sister stations include G105, 93.9 KISS-FM, and 100.7 the River...
, and 93.9 KISS-FM.
Even though it shares the same call letters as fellow Clear Channel
Clear channel
A clear-channel station is an AM band Radio station in North America that has the highest protection from interference from other stations, particularly concerning night-time skywave propagation. Usually known as class A stations since 1982, they are occasionally still referred to by their former...
station WRVA-AM out of Richmond, Virginia
Richmond, Virginia
Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
, the station is programmed completely independently. Per FCC requirements, the -FM suffix has to be attached to the call letters.
History
In 1947, Mel Warner and his father-in-law, Rocky MountRocky Mount, North Carolina
Rocky Mount is an All-America City Award-winning city in Edgecombe and Nash counties in the coastal plains of the state of North Carolina. Although it was not formally incorporated until February 28, 1867, the North Carolina community that became the city of Rocky Mount dates from the beginning of...
Evening Telegram founder Josh Horne, signed an AM/FM combo in this Eastern North Carolina town. WCEC was heard at 810 AM and WCEC-FM 100.7. The stations hired legendary agricultural broadcaster Ray Wilkinson in 1948 and, along with Raleigh's WRAL-FM, and Goldsboro's WGBR started the Tobacco Network. It was sold to WRAL-FM owner A. J. Fletcher, and has grown into what is now known as the North Carolina News Network. Several years after their sign on, WCEC-FM became WFMA.
WFMA had a country format when Ken Johnson's Birmingham, Alabama-based Capital Broadcasting (no relation to Raleigh's Capitol Broadcasting Company) bought it and moved its studios to Raleigh as WTRG around August 1986. (WCEC 810, now a stand-alone which was authorized for daytime operation only, went dark and its license was subsequently turned into the FCC.) Along with the studio move, WTRG was upgraded to a 100,000-watt signal from one of the tallest FM towers in North Carolina. The station, now with a 10227 square miles (26,487.8 km²) coverage area, claimed the 17th largest coverage area of any FM station in America. WTRG signed on with the fight songs from Duke, UNC and NC State before debuting with an oldies format, only to quickly shift gears to an adult contemporary format. They returned to oldies in 1989 as "Oldies 100.7".
Tom Joyner purchased WTRG in 1991 and built a very community-minded station not afraid to take editorial stances: an example of this was the station's 1993 crusade for increased rights of victims of violent crimes. With the relaxation of dual ownership rules, WTRG was sold in 1994 to Hicks Muse of Dallas, along with Carl Venters' WRDU, a move-in from nearby Wilson.
Through several mergers, WTRG, WRDU and three other local stations became part of Clear Channel Worldwide. On November 8, 2004, WTRG axed its longtime oldies format and began stunting with simulcasts of Clear Channel sister stations WRSN (now WKSL), WDCG, WDUR and WRDU. At 5 p.m. on November 12, the station switched to country as "100.7 The Bull"; however, this "new" country format was exactly that.
On November 15, also at 5 p.m., they became adult album alternative
Adult album alternative
Adult album alternative is a radio format. A spinoff from the album-oriented rock format, its roots trace to the 1960s and 1970s from the earlier freeform and progressive formats....
-formatted "100.7 The River", with the new call letters WRVA-FM following shortly thereafter. Nighttime AM radio listeners may recognize these call letters from another Clear Channel Radio property, 50,000-watt WRVA 1140 in Richmond, VA (hence the "-FM").
On September 25, 2006, The River shifted to a rock adult contemporary format, albeit with the same handle and imaging. In anticipation of sister station and heritage rocker WRDU's move to a country format, which took place on October 6 of that year, "The River" went classic hits.
In 2010, WRVA-FM changed its city of license from Rocky Mount to Wake Forest in part of a multi-station agreement that allowed Capitol Broadcasting sports outlet WCMC-FM 99.9 to increase its coverage.
During 2011, WRVA shifted toward more of a mainstream classic hits/Rock-leaning Gold AC format, including more 1960s rock music and non-disco pop music from the 1970s, while continuing to play 1980s music.
On November 11, 2011, at 6:00 PM, after playing The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
' "Ticket to Ride
Ticket to Ride
"Ticket to Ride" is a song by The Beatles from their 1965 album, Help!. It was recorded 15 February 1965 and released two months later. -Composition:...
" and going into Bobby Helms
Bobby Helms
Robert Lee Helms , better known as Bobby Helms, was an American country music singer who enjoyed his peak success in 1957 with his hit, "Jingle Bell Rock". He was mostly known for the Christmas song...
' "Jingle Bell Rock
Jingle Bell Rock
"Jingle Bell Rock" is the name of a popular Christmas song first released by Bobby Helms in 1957. It has received frequent airplay in the United States during every Christmas time since then. "Jingle Bell Rock" was composed by Joseph Carleton Beal , and James Ross Boothe...
", WRVA-FM made the switch to all-Christmas music
Christmas music
Christmas music comprises a variety of genres of music normally performed or heard around the Christmas season, which tends to begin in the months leading up the actual holiday and end in the weeks shortly thereafter.-Early:...
. It became the third station in the Clear Channel Raleigh cluster to make such a change. WRSN/WKSL made the holiday switch on an annual basis until 2007, and WRDU did likewise in 2009 when it segued from country music to talk radio (as that station lost the ratings and revenue battle to WQDR-FM
WQDR-FM
WQDR is a radio station in Raleigh, North Carolina, USA, broadcasting to the state's central and eastern regions, including the cities of Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, Fayetteville, Rocky Mount, Wilson, and Goldsboro...
). Due to Clear Channel's practice of launching Oldies stations across the country, the station is rumored to be going into either an oldies
Oldies
Oldies is a term commonly used to describe a radio format that concentrates on music from a period of about 15 to 55 years before the present day....
, active rock
Active rock
Active rock is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations across the United States and Canada. Active rock plays contemporary rock artists with a mix of songs common in the classic rock radio format.-Format background:...
or Adult Contemporary.