WSVA

WSVA
City Harrisonburg, Virginia
Broadcast area Central Shenandoah Valley
Branding "92.1 FM and 550 AM WSVA"
Slogan "Breaking News and Stimulating Talk for the Valley!"
Frequency 550 kHz
First air date June 9, 1935[1]
Format News/Talk/Sports
Power 5,000 Watts daytime
1,000 Watts nighttime
Class B
Facility ID 39493
Transmitter coordinates 38°27′4.0″N 78°54′29.0″W / 38.451111°N 78.908056°W / 38.451111; -78.908056
Callsign meaning We Serve Virginia Agriculture
W Shenandoah VAlley
Affiliations CBS Radio News
Owner Saga Communications
(Tidewater Communications, LLC)
Sister stations W261CV, WHBG, WMQR, WQPO, WSIG, WWRE
Webcast WSVA Webstream
Website WSVA Online

WSVA is a News/Talk/Sports formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Harrisonburg, Virginia, serving the Central Shenandoah Valley. WSVA is owned and operated by Saga Communications, through licensee Tidewater Communications, LLC.[2]

History

WSVA went on the air on June 9, 1935 with 500 watts of power. It was the first radio station to broadcast in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley. Although it appears that the call letters stand for Shenandoah VAlley, they actually stand for We Serve Virginia Agriculture." The station was affiliated with NBC, and offered news, agricultural programs, music and other items of local interest.[3] Bluegrass singer Mac Wiseman worked at the station as a news reader and disc jockey in the 1940s.[4]

WSVA was originally owned by Frederick L. Allman. In 1946, it produced the Valley's first FM station, WSVA-FM (now WQPO), and in 1953 it added a television station, WSVA-TV (now WHSV-TV). Allman sold his stations to a partnership of Transcontinent Television and former NBC executive Hamilton Shea in 1956, earning a significant return on his investment of 21 years earlier.[5] In 1959, the Washington Evening Star, owner of WMAL AM-FM-TV in Washington, D.C., bought Transcontinent's share of the stations, as well as 1% of Shea's stake.[6] Michigan businessman James Gilmore bought the WSVA stations in 1965.[7] Gilmore sold off channel 3 in 1976,[8] but held onto the radio stations until 1987, when he sold them to VerStandig. John David Verstandig owned WSVA-AM as well as WQPO-FM, WTGD-FM, WJDV-FM, and WHBG-AM. In 2009 the station moved into a new building located on the same property to the old one at 1820 Heritage Center Way, Harrisonburg, VA 22801.

On January 1, 2015, WSVA began simulcasting its programming on FM translator W221CF, broadcasting at 92.1 FM.[9][10]

The sale of Verstandig Broadcasting of Harrisonburg to Saga Communications was closed on July 31, 2015, at a purchase price of $9.64 million.

Programming

The WSVA morning show, known as "Early Mornings" airs from 5:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. and features hosts Jim Britt (who has a road name after him), Frank Wilt and Jennifer Armstrong along with news reported by Karl Magenhofer.

Dave Ramsey airs between 10 and 12 a.m

Clark Howard airs between 1 and 3 p.m.

Mike Schikman host Late Afternoons between 3 and 6p.m.

WSVA broadcast local sports programs including high school football, basketball and baseball along with James Madison University football and basketball broadcast.

Translator

In addition to the main station, WSVA is relayed by an FM translator to widen its broadcast area.[10]

Call sign Frequency
(MHz) 		City of license Facility
ID 		ERP
W 		Height
m (ft) 		Class FCC info
W221CF 92.1 FM Harrisonburg, Virginia 151081 250 watts 130 m (430 ft) D FCC

References

  1. ↑ "Directory of Radio Stations in the U.S." (PDF). americanradiohistory.com. p. D565. Retrieved 13 September 2016.
  2. ↑ "WSVA Facility Record". Federal Communications Commission, audio division.
  3. ↑ Cacchiani, John. "WSVA Nostalgia". Retrieved 2009-11-30.
  4. ↑ Shelton, Pamela. "Mac Wiseman Biography". Retrieved 2008-11-30.
  5. ↑ "Brisk buying surge swaps four stations, $7.7 million" (PDF). Broadcasting-Telecasting. April 9, 1956. pp. 35–6. Retrieved December 31, 2012.
  6. ↑ "Changing hands" (PDF). Broadcasting. August 10, 1959. p. 54. Retrieved December 31, 2012.
  7. ↑ "Four stations sold for $6.8 million" (PDF). Broadcasting. June 7, 1965. pp. 79–80. Retrieved December 31, 2012.
  8. ↑ "Worrell Newspapers Purchases TV Station". The Middlesboro Daily News. June 9, 1976. p. 11. Retrieved December 31, 2012.
  9. ↑ "Did you hear? WSVA will be simulcast on FM!... - WSVA Harrisonburg". M. Belmont VerStandig, Inc./Facebook. December 29, 2014. Retrieved December 29, 2014.
  10. 1 2 "W221CF Facility Record". Federal Communications Commission, audio division. Retrieved December 29, 2014.
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