WTRV
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| City of license | Walker, Michigan |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Grand Rapids, Michigan |
| Branding | 100.5 The River |
| Slogan | "Christmas Music All Season Long" |
| Frequency | 100.5 MHz |
| First air date | 1991 |
| Format | Soft AC (currently Christmas Music) |
| ERP | 3,000 watts |
| HAAT | 100 meters |
| Class | A |
| Facility ID | 72529 |
| Callsign meaning | The RiVer |
| Former callsigns | WQFN (9/20/91-6/26/98) |
| Owner |
Townsquare Media (Townsquare Media of Grand Rapids, Inc.) |
| Sister stations | WFGR, WGRD-FM, WLHT-FM, WNWZ |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | |
WTRV (100.5 FM, "The River") is a radio station broadcasting a soft, gold-leaning adult contemporary format. The station is licensed to Walker, Michigan, and serves the Grand Rapids, Michigan market. Its signal can be heard as far south as Otsego, Michigan, far east as Ionia, Michigan, and as far north as Fremont, Michigan
For the first decade or so of its existence as WTRV, the station featured a MOR/soft AC format featuring a mix of soft oldies and selected more recent songs, from artists such as Carpenters, Barry Manilow and Barbra Streisand who were no longer played on competitor and former easy listening station WOOD-FM 105.7. WTRV now features a softer, gold-leaning version of the Mainstream AC format formerly heard on sister station 95.7 WLHT, which has shifted to Hot AC since 2009. Typical artists heard on the station now include Elton John, Celine Dion, Adele, Billy Joel, Bryan Adams, Bob Seger, Phil Collins, Whitney Houston and Rod Stewart.
100.5 FM went on the air in 1993 with the WQFN calls. For several years, it was co-owned with Christian broadcaster WFUR and operated out of the WFUR studios. Originally WQFN was a fully automated adult contemporary station, soon flipping to Smooth Jazz fed via satellite from Jones Radio Networks. The smooth jazz format was a moderate ratings success. In 1997, the station was sold and converted to its current call sign and the MOR format, which stood for over a decade. WTRV aired Delilah's syndicated nighttime love-songs show for a time until it moved to sister station WLHT and later to what is now WSRW-FM.
The current WTRV on-air lineup includes Andy Rent mornings, Matt Milhouse middays, program director Tom Cook (also PD of Channel 95-7) afternoons, and John Tesh evenings. The station is automated during overnights. Former air talents include Kim Carson (a veteran of Detroit radio, now doing her popular weekend "Faith, Hope and Love Songs" program of contemporary Christian music on WJQK), Gene Parker, Chuck Latour, and Wendy Reed (now midday host at Channel 95-7). Special programming includes Casey Kasem's American Top 40 - The '80s, heard Saturdays from 6 to 10 p.m.
WTRV was the first station in the Grand Rapids market to switch to a format of continuous Christmas music between Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day. However, in 2007, the station opted to continue with its normal format, with Christmas music mixed in, for the holiday season, while sister hot adult contemporary station WLHT-FM went all-Christmas (which it had never done before) to compete with WOOD-FM. In 2010, the station returned to an all-Christmas music format for the holiday season due to the rebranding of sister adult top 40 station WLHT-FM.
Sources
...and Wendy Reed, former night time host on WTRV. Gene Parker did mid-days before moving to nights.
External links
- Query the FCC's FM station database for WTRV
- Radio-Locator information on WTRV
- Query Nielsen Audio's FM station database for WTRV
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