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WVEE (FM)
Encyclopedia
WVEE is one of the most popular urban-formatted radio station
s in the country and the highest-rated station of the Atlanta radio stations by Arbitron
. WVEE has Atlanta as its city of license
, and is owned by CBS Radio
, a subsidiary
of the CBS Corporation
. Its studio is located in Colony Square
in Midtown Atlanta
.
It shares a tower
with WPBA TV 30, and in fact shares the same antenna with WSB-FM
98.5 and WSTR FM 94.1 operating at an effective radiated power
of 100 kilowatts in midtown Atlanta
. The three radio station
s' transmitter
s are diplexed together, so that they all feed to the antenna instead of into each other.
radio format, but migrated to the 103.3 frequency by 1948 .. It was originally co-owned by Storer Broadcasting
with WAGA-AM 590 (now WDWD) and television station WAGA-TV
channel 5, a CBS
(now Fox
) affiliate.
WAGA-FM became WPLO-FM when it moved to 103.3 and simulcast
ed WPLO
AM. They maintained the country music radio format, but with many top-40 cuts. WPLO-FM was operated by Georgia State University
students during the late 1960s before WRAS FM 88.5 signed on. WPLO-FM was its previous callsign, as both stations were owned by Plough Broadcasting which later became Schering-Plough Broadcasting.
In 1968, WPLO-FM changed its radio format from top-40 to hard rock
. WPLO-FM then changed its radio format from rock to country music once again. In October 1976, 103.3 changed call letters and radio formats from WPLO-FM country to WVEE-FM urban contemporary
and began using the "V-103" moniker. It briefly aired a Disco
radio format in the late 1970s. The station then became one of the Atlanta radio market leaders under the leadership of program director, Scotty Andrews.
In the early 1980s, DKM Broadcasting Corporation purchased WVEE-FM and sister station
WAOK. On January 1, 1988, WVEE was sold, along with other DKM-owned properties in Denver, Baltimore
, Springfield, Lincoln, Akron
, Dayton
and Dallas, for $200,000,000 to The Summit Communications Group
, Inc. In March 1995, Summit sold its interests in WVEE FM and WAOK AM to Granum Communications, Inc. (Herbert W. McCord, Peter Ferrara, and Michael Weinstein). In March 1996, Granum Communications sold both to Infinity Broadcasting.
In 2000, V-103 after many years of operating as an urban contemporary station that only played R&B and classic soul
added hip hop
full-time to compete with Radio One's WHTA (Hot 97.5, now Hot 107.9) in addition to direct competitor Cox
's WALR-FM
(Kiss 104.7, now Kiss 104.1, which also added more current R&B songs) and to appeal more to the precious 18-34 demographic. In 2003, "V-103" changed its longtime station slogan
from "The People's Station" to "Atlanta's BIG Station" to signify its dominance of Atlanta urban radio and being #2 (now #1) overall behind radio market leader WSB
AM. In 2008, it reverted back to the previous slogan "The People's Station" to signify its commitment to the community
.
Since Fall 2006, V-103 has premiered a HD Radio
frequency for playing Urban Adult Contemporary
(specifically Neo-soul) music.
" program. On Sunday afternoons, the station airs a show dedicated exclusively to classic and contemporary soul music (particularly neo-soul) from noon to 3pm. It's maintained a very strict rubric to the urban contemporary format since its inception in 1976, which is rare amongst larger markets urban-oriented radio stations who have shifted to the Mainstream Urban
or Urban Adult Contemporary
formats. Its programming pits it in direct competition with Urban ACs WALR
& WAMJ/WUMJ, Mainstream Urban WHTA, and Rhythmic WWVA
all at the same time.
In 2010, the station was honored by the National Association of Broadcasters
with the Marconi award for Urban Station of the Year.
10am-2pm weekdays
2-6pm weekdays
6-10pm weekdays
1-6am weekdays
Weekends/Fill-in
have teamed up to bring Atlanta the Frank and Wanda Television Show, with Frank Ski
and Wanda Smith. On the show, viewers can actually watch the personalities and their guest discussing some prominent topics and issues from the morning broadcast. Celebrities that have been on the show include: Rapper Young Jeezy
, Comedian Joe Clair
, TV Judge Penny Brown-Reynolds and more.
Typically, the show deals with a prominent topic or guest each episode and the last ten minutes of the episode are usually reserved for "Girl Talk" with Miss Sophia and "Frank Ski's Inspirational Vitamin", although the "Girl Talk" segment is not present in every episode. The theme song is performed by singer Monica.
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
s in the country and the highest-rated station of the Atlanta radio stations by Arbitron
Arbitron
Arbitron is a consumer research company in the United States that collects listener data on radio audiences. It was founded as American Research Bureau by Jim Seiler in 1949 and became national by merging with L.A. based Coffin, Cooper and Clay in the early 1950s...
. WVEE has Atlanta as its city of license
City of license
A city of license or community of license, in American and Canadian broadcasting, is the community that a radio station or television station is officially licensed to serve by that country's broadcast regulator....
, and is owned by CBS Radio
CBS Radio
CBS Radio, Inc., formerly known as Infinity Broadcasting Corporation, is one of the largest owners and operators of radio stations in the United States, third behind main rival Clear Channel Communications and Cumulus Media. CBS Radio owns around 130 radio stations across the country...
, a subsidiary
Subsidiary
A subsidiary company, subsidiary, or daughter company is a company that is completely or partly owned and wholly controlled by another company that owns more than half of the subsidiary's stock. The subsidiary can be a company, corporation, or limited liability company. In some cases it is a...
of the CBS Corporation
CBS Corporation
CBS Corporation is an American media conglomerate focused on commercial broadcasting, publishing, billboards and television production, with most of its operations in the United States. The President and CEO of the company is Leslie Moonves. Sumner Redstone, owner of National Amusements, is CBS's...
. Its studio is located in Colony Square
Colony Square
Colony Square is a mixed-use development and sub-district in Midtown Atlanta, Georgia, United States, located on Peachtree Street in between 14th and 15th Streets. The sub-district, which originated as the first mixed-use development in the Southeast, was built between 1969 and 1973...
in Midtown Atlanta
Midtown Atlanta
Midtown is the second largest financial district in the city of Atlanta, Georgia, situated between the commercial and financial districts of Downtown and SoNo to the south and the affluent residential and commercial district of Buckhead to the north...
.
It shares a tower
Tower
A tower is a tall structure, usually taller than it is wide, often by a significant margin. Towers are distinguished from masts by their lack of guy-wires....
with WPBA TV 30, and in fact shares the same antenna with WSB-FM
WSB-FM
WSB-FM is an Atlanta radio station. Along with several other Atlanta radio stations, WSB-FM is owned by Cox Enterprises' Cox Media Group subsidiary, and is the group's flagship FM station...
98.5 and WSTR FM 94.1 operating at an effective radiated power
Effective radiated power
In radio telecommunications, effective radiated power or equivalent radiated power is a standardized theoretical measurement of radio frequency energy using the SI unit watts, and is determined by subtracting system losses and adding system gains...
of 100 kilowatts in midtown Atlanta
Midtown Atlanta
Midtown is the second largest financial district in the city of Atlanta, Georgia, situated between the commercial and financial districts of Downtown and SoNo to the south and the affluent residential and commercial district of Buckhead to the north...
. The three radio station
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
s' transmitter
Transmitter
In electronics and telecommunications a transmitter or radio transmitter is an electronic device which, with the aid of an antenna, produces radio waves. The transmitter itself generates a radio frequency alternating current, which is applied to the antenna. When excited by this alternating...
s are diplexed together, so that they all feed to the antenna instead of into each other.
History
The station that became "V-103" began back in the late 1940s as WAGA-FM, on 102.9 with a country musicCountry music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
radio format, but migrated to the 103.3 frequency by 1948 .. It was originally co-owned by Storer Broadcasting
Storer Broadcasting
Storer Broadcasting, Inc. was an American company which owned several television and radio stations in the northeast United States. It was incorporated in Ohio in 1927, and sold its broadcasting properties in 1983.-1920s—1940s:...
with WAGA-AM 590 (now WDWD) and television station WAGA-TV
WAGA (TV)
WAGA-TV, virtual channel 5.1 is an owned-and-operated television station of the News Corporation-owned Fox Television Network and based in Atlanta, Georgia, United States...
channel 5, a CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
(now Fox
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
) affiliate.
WAGA-FM became WPLO-FM when it moved to 103.3 and simulcast
Simulcast
Simulcast, shorthand for "simultaneous broadcast", refers to programs or events broadcast across more than one medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at the same time. For example, Absolute Radio is simulcast on both AM and on satellite radio, and the BBC's Prom concerts are often...
ed WPLO
WPLO (AM)
WPLO is an Atlanta area AM broadcasting station, licensed to Grayson, Georgia, that broadcasts Spanish language music programming. It transmits at a frequency of 610 kHz with 1,500 Watts of power during the daytime and 225 Watts during nighttime using a non-directional antenna...
AM. They maintained the country music radio format, but with many top-40 cuts. WPLO-FM was operated by Georgia State University
Georgia State University
Georgia State University is a research university in downtown Atlanta, Georgia, USA. Founded in 1913, it serves about 30,000 students and is one of the University System of Georgia's four research universities...
students during the late 1960s before WRAS FM 88.5 signed on. WPLO-FM was its previous callsign, as both stations were owned by Plough Broadcasting which later became Schering-Plough Broadcasting.
In 1968, WPLO-FM changed its radio format from top-40 to hard rock
Hard rock
Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...
. WPLO-FM then changed its radio format from rock to country music once again. In October 1976, 103.3 changed call letters and radio formats from WPLO-FM country to WVEE-FM urban contemporary
Urban contemporary
Urban contemporary is a music radio format. The term was coined by the late New York DJ Frankie Crocker in the mid 1970s. Urban contemporary radio stations feature a playlist made up entirely of hip hop/rap, contemporary R&B, pop, electronica such as dubstep and drum and bass and Caribbean music...
and began using the "V-103" moniker. It briefly aired a Disco
Disco
Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...
radio format in the late 1970s. The station then became one of the Atlanta radio market leaders under the leadership of program director, Scotty Andrews.
In the early 1980s, DKM Broadcasting Corporation purchased WVEE-FM and sister station
Sister station
In broadcasting, sister stations or sister channels are radio and/or television stations operated by the same ownership....
WAOK. On January 1, 1988, WVEE was sold, along with other DKM-owned properties in Denver, Baltimore
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
, Springfield, Lincoln, Akron
Akron, Ohio
Akron , is the fifth largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Summit County. It is located in the Great Lakes region approximately south of Lake Erie along the Little Cuyahoga River. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 199,110. The Akron Metropolitan...
, Dayton
Dayton, Ohio
Dayton is the 6th largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County, the fifth most populous county in the state. The population was 141,527 at the 2010 census. The Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 841,502 in the 2010 census...
and Dallas, for $200,000,000 to The Summit Communications Group
Summit Communications Group
The Summit Communications Group is an Atlanta-based communications company which once owned 16 radio stations around the United States. The company now concentrates on technology and internet services....
, Inc. In March 1995, Summit sold its interests in WVEE FM and WAOK AM to Granum Communications, Inc. (Herbert W. McCord, Peter Ferrara, and Michael Weinstein). In March 1996, Granum Communications sold both to Infinity Broadcasting.
In 2000, V-103 after many years of operating as an urban contemporary station that only played R&B and classic soul
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
added hip hop
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
full-time to compete with Radio One's WHTA (Hot 97.5, now Hot 107.9) in addition to direct competitor Cox
Cox Enterprises
Cox Enterprises is the successor to the publishing company founded in Dayton, Ohio, United States, by James Middleton Cox, who began with the Dayton Daily News. He was the Democratic candidate for the President of the United States in the election of 1920...
's WALR-FM
WALR-FM
WALR-FM is an urban adult contemporary-formatted radio station owned by Cox Media Group. WALR-FM is licensed to Greenville and broadcasts on a class C0 100-kilowatt signal on the 104.1 megahertz frequency...
(Kiss 104.7, now Kiss 104.1, which also added more current R&B songs) and to appeal more to the precious 18-34 demographic. In 2003, "V-103" changed its longtime station slogan
Slogan
A slogan is a memorable motto or phrase used in a political, commercial, religious and other context as a repetitive expression of an idea or purpose. The word slogan is derived from slogorn which was an Anglicisation of the Scottish Gaelic sluagh-ghairm . Slogans vary from the written and the...
from "The People's Station" to "Atlanta's BIG Station" to signify its dominance of Atlanta urban radio and being #2 (now #1) overall behind radio market leader WSB
WSB (AM)
WSB — branded AM 750 and 95.5 FM News/Talk WSB — is a commercial radio station licensed to Atlanta, Georgia broadcasting a news/talk format. The station transmits with 50,000 watts of nondirectional power day and night, enjoying clear-channel status on its broadcast frequency according to the U.S...
AM. In 2008, it reverted back to the previous slogan "The People's Station" to signify its commitment to the community
Community
The term community has two distinct meanings:*a group of interacting people, possibly living in close proximity, and often refers to a group that shares some common values, and is attributed with social cohesion within a shared geographical location, generally in social units larger than a household...
.
Since Fall 2006, V-103 has premiered a HD Radio
HD Radio
HD Radio, which originally stood for "Hybrid Digital", is the trademark for iBiquity's in-band on-channel digital radio technology used by AM and FM radio stations to transmit audio and data via a digital signal in conjunction with their analog signals...
frequency for playing Urban Adult Contemporary
Urban Adult Contemporary
Urban adult contemporary is the name for a format of radio music, similar to an urban contemporary format. Radio stations using this format usually would not have rap music on their playlists. The format was designed by Barry Mayo when he, Lee S. Simonson and Bill Pearson organized Broadcast...
(specifically Neo-soul) music.
Current format and programming
Musically speaking, V-103 is a very unique station with a playlist consisting of a balance of current R&B, soul, and hip-hop songs along with throwbacks and recurrents of all aforementioned genres mixed in during most parts of the day (with the exception of Monday through Saturdays evenings from 6 to 10pm). Also from Sunday through Thursday nights, the station airs slow jams from current and old school R&B and soul songs from 10pm to 2am during its "Quiet StormQuiet storm
Quiet storm is a late-night radio format, featuring soulful slow jams, pioneered in the mid-1970s by then-station-intern Melvin Lindsey at WHUR-FM, in Washington, D.C. Smokey Robinson's like-titled hit single, released in 1975 as the title track to his third solo album, lent its name to the format...
" program. On Sunday afternoons, the station airs a show dedicated exclusively to classic and contemporary soul music (particularly neo-soul) from noon to 3pm. It's maintained a very strict rubric to the urban contemporary format since its inception in 1976, which is rare amongst larger markets urban-oriented radio stations who have shifted to the Mainstream Urban
Mainstream Urban
Mainstream Urban is a term used to describe a radio format similar to an Urban Contemporary format. The format differentiates itself due to two factors: playlist composition and target demographic...
or Urban Adult Contemporary
Urban Adult Contemporary
Urban adult contemporary is the name for a format of radio music, similar to an urban contemporary format. Radio stations using this format usually would not have rap music on their playlists. The format was designed by Barry Mayo when he, Lee S. Simonson and Bill Pearson organized Broadcast...
formats. Its programming pits it in direct competition with Urban ACs WALR
WALR-FM
WALR-FM is an urban adult contemporary-formatted radio station owned by Cox Media Group. WALR-FM is licensed to Greenville and broadcasts on a class C0 100-kilowatt signal on the 104.1 megahertz frequency...
& WAMJ/WUMJ, Mainstream Urban WHTA, and Rhythmic WWVA
WWVA-FM
WWVA-FM is an Atlanta radio station broadcasting a Rhythmic contemporary radio format which features R&B, Pop and Dance hits. It is owned by Clear Channel Communications and is licensed to serve Canton, Georgia...
all at the same time.
In 2010, the station was honored by the National Association of Broadcasters
National Association of Broadcasters
The National Association of Broadcasters is a trade association, workers union, and lobby group representing the interests of for-profit, over-the-air radio and television broadcasters in the United States...
with the Marconi award for Urban Station of the Year.
Current On-Air Talent
6-10am weekdays- Frank SkiFrank SkiFrank Ski is an American DJ, journalist, philanthropist, and public forums host.-Career highlights:As a journalist, he conducted the final interview with Coretta Scott King, widow of Martin Luther King, Jr...
- Wanda Smith
- Jean Ross news
- Crash Clark traffic
- Mark D producer
10am-2pm weekdays
- Ramona DeBreaux
- DJ Jaycee 12 o'clock Throwback mixer
2-6pm weekdays
- Ryan Cameron
- Elle Duncan co-host
- Crash Clark co-host/traffic
- DJ Baby Yu 5 o'clock Traffic Jam mixer
6-10pm weekdays
- Greg Street
- Crash Clark traffic
- Lil Bankhead producer/fill-in personality
- DJ Green Lantern 9 o'clock Mixtape mixer
1-6am weekdays
- Bubby Love
- Crash Clark traffic
Weekends/Fill-in
- Ramona DeBreaux
- Sytonnia Moore
- Osei the Dark Secret
- Luscious
- Terry Bello
- DJ Infamous mixer/fill-in personality
- DJ Baby Yu mixer
- Larry Tinsley
- DJ Tayrok mixer
- DJ Cowboy mixer
- DJ Kash mixer
- DJ Jelly mixer
- Da Da
- Honey B
- Big TiggerBig TiggerDarian "Big Tigger" Morgan , also known as Big Tigg; is an American television and radio personality best known as the host of BET's Rap City and 106 & Park.- :...
- Kenny Burns
- Tina Douglas Public Affairs show host
- Nick CannonNick CannonNicholas Scott "Nick" Cannon is an American actor, comedian, rapper, entrepreneur, record producer, radio, and television personality. On television, Cannon began as a teenage sketch comedian on All That before going on to host The Nick Cannon Show, Wild 'N Out, and America's Got Talent...
In popular culture
- V-103 was mentioned in the 1998 movie The Players ClubThe Players ClubThe Players Club is a 1998 comedy/drama thriller film from New Line Cinema starring Bernie Mac, LisaRaye, and Jamie Foxx. Ice Cube, who has a small role in the film, wrote and made his directorial debut. The movie made $5,894,607 in its opening week...
directed by hip-hop rapper/actor Ice CubeIce CubeO'Shea Jackson , better known by his stage name Ice Cube, is an American rapper and actor. He began his career as a member of the hip-hop group C.I.A. and later joined the rap group N.W.A. After leaving N.W.A in December 1989, he built a successful solo career in music, and also as a writer,...
. - V-103 was shown in Tyler Perry's 2009 movie "Madea Goes to JailMadea Goes to JailMadea Goes to Jail is a 2009 comedy-drama film adaptation written and directed by Tyler Perry, which was based on Perry's 2006 play of the same name. The play and the film deal with Perry's recurring character Madea Simmons going to jail for her uncontrollable anger management problems...
".
The Frank and Wanda TV Show
V-103.com and fellow CBS-owned television station WUPAWUPA
WUPA, channel 69, is a television station in Atlanta, Georgia. An owned and operated station of the The CW Television Network, it identifies itself as "CW 69". It is owned by CBS Corporation, which is half-owner of The CW. Founded November 10, 1980, the station is broadcast locally in...
have teamed up to bring Atlanta the Frank and Wanda Television Show, with Frank Ski
Frank Ski
Frank Ski is an American DJ, journalist, philanthropist, and public forums host.-Career highlights:As a journalist, he conducted the final interview with Coretta Scott King, widow of Martin Luther King, Jr...
and Wanda Smith. On the show, viewers can actually watch the personalities and their guest discussing some prominent topics and issues from the morning broadcast. Celebrities that have been on the show include: Rapper Young Jeezy
Young Jeezy
Jay Wayne Jenkins , better known by his stage name Young Jeezy, is an American rapper. He is the member of the hip hop group United Streets Dopeboyz of America and a former member of BMF...
, Comedian Joe Clair
Joe Clair
Joe Clair, also known by the nickname "Joe Cleezy", is an American stand-up comedian, radio DJ, and VJ. A native of the Seat Pleasant, Maryland suburb of Washington, D.C., Clair is best known as the former host of BET's Rap City from 1994 to 1999....
, TV Judge Penny Brown-Reynolds and more.
Typically, the show deals with a prominent topic or guest each episode and the last ten minutes of the episode are usually reserved for "Girl Talk" with Miss Sophia and "Frank Ski's Inspirational Vitamin", although the "Girl Talk" segment is not present in every episode. The theme song is performed by singer Monica.