| City of license | Windsor, Virginia |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Hampton Roads |
| Branding | "Magic 105.3 FM" |
| Slogan | "Greatest Hits of All Time" |
| Frequency | 105.3 MHz (also on HD Radio) |
| First air date | 1962 |
| Format | Classic Hits Christmas Music (Seasonal) |
| ERP | 50,000 Watts |
| HAAT | 150 Meters |
| Class | B |
| Facility ID | 69570 |
| Callsign meaning | We're Virginia's MAgic |
| Former callsigns | WXRI (1962-1989) WZCL (1989-1990) WMXN (1990-1995) WJCD (1995-2001) WSVY-FM (2001-2004) WKUS (2004-2010) |
| Owner | Clear Channel Communications (CC Licenses, LLC) |
| Sister stations | WKSA, WMOV-FM, WOWI |
| Webcast | WVMA Webstream |
| Website | WVMA Online |
WVMA is a Classic Hits formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Windsor, Virginia, serving the Hampton Roads area. WVMA is owned and operated by Clear Channel Communications.
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In the late 40s, 105.3FM hit the airwaves for the first time as WSAP-FM in Portsmouth, co-owned with WSAP(AM). Eventually it went off the air for a number of years. It returned to the air in August 1962, broadcasting from an abandoned garage in Chesapeake as WXRI featuring a religious format, when it was purchased by Pat Robertson of "700 Club" fame (along with Channel 27, then WYAH). (The WXRI call letters now reside on a Southern Gospel station in the Winston-Salem area).
Initially, WXRI employed a format of teaching, preaching, and traditional Christian music. The station was non commercial until the early 1970s. After going commercial during the music segments, the station still remained traditional Christian. As Contemporary Christian Music began in the early 1970s, WXRI began playing this music for several hours on Saturdays. By 1976, WXRI began mixing softer contemporary songs in with their traditional format evolving into more of a Christian MOR format. By 1979, the station was playing music for about 15 hours a day and teaching the remaining nine hours a day. In 1981, WXRI segued into a Contemporary Christian format eliminating the traditional songs. By 1985, WXRI was playing music about 20 hours a day. They remained Contemporary Christian until the station was sold in 1989.
On May 10, 1989, Robertson sold the station to ML Media Partners and it flipped to WZCL as 'Cool 105.3' and was in direct competition with 'Oldies 95.7' WLTY ( Robertson briefly was able to kove WXRI's original Christian music format to 96.1, WKSV via an LMA, but that didn't last long ). Then in August 1990 it switched briefly switched to Country , in what most media observers view as a stunt, and just a few days later flipped formats again to Hot Adult Contemporary as WMXN, " Mix 105 ", with "Eagle . This stunting and format switch happened about the same time as WGH-FM switch from Mainstream Top 40 to country.
The station was later purchased by Ragan Henry Broadcasting, and it became WJCD with a smooth jazz format. When Clear Channel Communications bought out the station, it swapped frequencies with co-owned but lower powered WSVY Vibe 107.7, then a Jammin R&B Oldies station which had a simulcast partner on 92.1. This occurred in June 2001, and it proved to be the right decision because by the time WSVY upgraded its format to Urban AC as Vibe 105.3, it competed better with WVKL. The Tom Joyner Morning Show and drive-time addition The Michael Baisden Show collectively helped to increase the station's ratings in the market.
On March 29, 2004, WSVY changed its name and calls to WKUS 105.3 KISS FM while retaining the Urban AC format. This station was frequently in the Top 5 of Norfolk radio stations.
On October 11, 2010, WKUS's urban adult contemporary format moved from 105.3 to the 92.1 and 107.7 signals to make room for the launch of WVMA, an AC-leaning Classic Hits format at 105.3. The move meant the end of the Oldies format at WCDG.[1]
On November 11, 2011, WVMA switched to a All-Christmas Music format for the holiday season. It is unknown if it will return to Classic Hits after the holiday ends.
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