WVBW

WVBW
City of license Suffolk, Virginia
Broadcast area Hampton Roads
Branding "92-9 The Wave"
Slogan "The Greatest Hits of the 60's, 70's, and 80's"
Frequency 92.9 MHz
First air date 1965
Format Classic Hits
ERP 50,000 Watts
HAAT 148 Meters
Class B
Facility ID 64000
Transmitter coordinates 36°52′35.0″N 76°23′28.0″W / 36.876389°N 76.391111°W
Callsign meaning W Virginia Beach Wave
Former callsigns WXYW (1965-1970s)
WFOG (1970s-1999)
WWSO (1999-2003)
WFOG (2003-2005)
Owner Max Broadcast Group Holdings, LLC
(MHR License, LLC)
Sister stations WGH, WGH-FM, WVHT, WVSP
Webcast WVBW Webstream
Website WVBW Online

WVBW is a Classic Hits formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Suffolk, Virginia, serving Hampton Roads. WVBW is owned and operated by Max Broadcast Group Holdings, LLC.[1]

History

WVBW started broadcasting in 1965 as easy listening WXYW. It became WFOG in the early 1970s and eventually evolved into an adult contemporary format. WFOG used to be co-owned with WLPM, 1450 AM in Suffolk, which was a contemporary station. The station broadcast adult contemporary "Lite Favorites" until September 10, 1999, when it was converted to Urban Oldies Soul Classics 92.9" by new owners Barnstable Broadcasting. The call sign was also changed to WWSO.

On December 16, 2001, the station changed formats again, this time going to oldies, branded as "Oldies 92-9". The first song of their new format was the Beatles' A Hard Day's Night. The WFOG letters returned on December 5, 2003, when the Classic country format on 100.5 FM shifted to AM and displaced the adult standards format on 1050. Not long after, in 2004, the moniker changed to "92-9 WFOG", reflecting the change in call sign.

Logo used until May 2011.
Logo used until early 2014/

In early 2005, Max Media purchased WFOG, and the rest of the Barnstable cluster, making them locally owned and operated. Later on that year, on July 1, the station changed to "FM 92-9 WFOG", and played a countdown of the top 100 songs for each year from 1965 to 1985. Then, at 6 a.m. on Thursday, July 21, WFOG was no more. The last song on "WFOG" was the Beach Boys' "Catch a Wave", leading up to the launch of "92-9 The Wave", with an adult contemporary format, which started with "Forever Young" by Rod Stewart. After an adult contemporary format for several years, the station transitioned in to more of an adult hits format, with an emphasis on older music.

Barry Michaels was the Morning Show host for the station since it turned to the oldies format. He left in July 2005 after being let go by the new owners. On September 12, 2005, Dick Lamb made his return to the airwaves as the new morning host for the Wave, along with his "2WD Breakfast Bunch" sidekick Paul Richardson. Jennifer Roberts, the only remaining member of the former morning show, also joined them. A naming contest was held to name the new morning show. Voters picked "Dick Lamb and the Morning Wave", which is the name of the show.

On the weeks leading up to the debut of Dick Lamb, it was hinted that he would return to the air on the Wave, and he even made a TV commercial saying that he would be the host of a new morning show on the Wave. This was also mentioned on the station's bumpers between songs.

Format flip

On May 3, 2011, WVBW segued from Adult Hits to classic hits, though no personnel changes were made. The station now plays hits of the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, with an emphasis on the 1970s. Until April of 2012, the station competed with Clear Channel Communications-owned WVMA before that station flipped from classic hits to top 40. This marks a return to an updated version of the format that 92.9 dropped as WFOG in 2005.

References

  1. ↑ "WVBW Facility Record". Federal Communications Commission, audio division.

External links