WROV-FM

Infobox Radio station
name = WROV-FM


city = Martinsville, Virginia & Blacksburg, Virginia
area = Lynchburg and New River Valley areas
branding =
slogan =
airdate = December 15, 1946
frequency = 96.3 MHz
format = Rock
share = 7.8
share as of = Fa'07
share source = R&Rcite news | first= | last= | coauthors= | title=Roanoke-Lynchburg Market Ratings | date= | url=http://www.radioandrecords.com/RRRatings/DefaultSearch.aspx?MarketName=Roanoke-Lynchburg&MarketRank=%20 | work =Radio & Records | pages = | date = | language = ]
erp = 14,000 watts
haat = 633 meters
class = C1
callsign_meaning = W Rock Of Virginia
former_callsigns = WMVA-FM (1975-1989)
owner = Clear Channel Communications
licensee = Capstar TX
webcast = listen live|http://www.wrov.cc/cc-common/ondemand/player.html?world=st
website = official|http://www.wrov.cc
affiliations =

WROV-FM (96.3 FM) is a radio station licensed to Martinsville, Virginia, USA, the station serves the Roanoke-Lynchburg area broadcasting a rock music format. The station is currently owned by Clear Channel Communications. [ cite web|url=http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/fmq?call=WROV-FM |title=WROV-FM Facility Record |work=United States Federal Communications Commission, audio division ] [cite web|url=http://www1.arbitron.com/sip/displaySip.do?surveyID=SU08&band=fm&callLetter=WROV-FM|title=WROV-FM Station Information Profile|publisher=Arbitron] The station is also broadcast on HD radio. [ cite web|url=http://www.hdradio.com/ |title=HD Radio Station Guide |work=HD Radio |publisher=iBiquity ]

tation history

Pre-History as WROV-AM

Previously, these call letters had been at 1240 AM and had been a very popular Top 40 station in the 60s and 70s.

The original WROV-AM signed on in 1946 at the 1490 frequency, but in 1948 moved to the 1240 frequency, formerly occupied by WSLS-AM, who had moved to the 610 frequency, to improve it's signal range. The station carried live and network programming through the end of the 1950s. Jerry Joynes was a popular personality on WROV-AM in the 1950s.

Around 1948, a sister FM station, WROV-FM , signed on and simulcasted the AM's programming. In 1952, WROV-TV, UHF Channel 27, signed on but later signed off in 1953. Later , Channel 27 was home to WRFT, an ABC affiliate from around 1961 to 1974, and independent WVFT from 1981 to 1993, and Fox Affiliate WFXR in 1993.

In 1955 the stations were sold to Burt Levine, who moved the station into a Rock & Roll Music direction starting with a popular R&B & Jazz show hosted by "Jivin" Jackson. By the end of the 1950s, WROV-AM was a Top 40 station 24 hours a day. Also, shortly after the purchase, Levine sold WROV-FM, at the time on 103.7, citing the unprofitability of FM. Later, after the sale , the station was relocated by the FCC to 92.3 and became WLRG, a beautiful music station.

The "Rock Of Virginia"

The 1960s were considered the "Golden Age Of Top 40 " for WROV-AM and many other stations like it around the country. After some musical "doldrums" in the early sixties, Top 40 began attracting new listeners with a variety of new musical trends such as the "British Invasion" led by the Beatles and The Rolling Stones, the unique R&B records being produced by such labels as Motown, Stax, and Atlantic, the American "Garage Band" sound with such American groups as Paul Revere & The Raiders , Question Mark & The Mysterians, and The Young Rascals, and the "San Francisco" sound dominated by groups like Jefferson Airplane. One of WROV-AM's most popular 1960s personalities was Fred Frelantz.It has been said that "The Cheater" , a national 1965 Top 40 Hit by Bob Kuban & The In-Men, became a national hit after a teenager from Boston, where the record had been locally popular, on a visit to Roanoke , let the DJs at WROV hear the record. WROV then added the song to their playlist, and it became a national hit afterwards, and remains a staple in the East Coast Beach & Shag Music community.

The station had continued success in the 1970s. One the most popular personalities on WROV-AM in the 1970s was Bart Prater. In 1975, the station had a hand in convincing Warner Brothers Records to release "Black Water" by The Doobie Brothers , which had originally been issued on the "B" side of a modest 1974 hit "Another Park , Another Sunday", as an "A" sided single. "Black Water" later became a number one hit for the Doobie Brothers in 1975 , and remains a staple of Classic Rock and Adult Contemporary radio stations.

1980 - FM Top 40 comes to Roanoke

In 1980 the AM station got a new FM competitor when WLRG-FM ( Ironically, WROV's former sister station in the 1950s ) flipped from its long-time beautiful music format to Top 40 as WXLK / " K92 ". By August 1980 K92 had pushed WROV from first place to 5th in the ratings. At that point, the station modified it format from Top 40 to adult contemporary. Though WROV-AM continued to be competitive , the ratings slipped throughout the eighties. In 1988, after a deal to buy crosstown WJLM-FM fell through , Levine finally sold WROV to North Carolina broadcaster Tom Joyner for 500,000 dollars. After Joyner purchased the station, he moved WMVA-FM, a Martinsville, Va licensed radio station he had just previously purchased, in with WROV-AM, and changed the FM station's calls to WROV-FM, and implemented a separately programmed Album Rock Format. (See the WROV-FM History section) In 1991, WROV-AM went to a partially sattlite delivered Oldies format. In 1992 Joyner sold WROV-AM/FM to Weil Enterprises, a family-owned company out of North Carolina.

End of an era on AM

In 1996, Weil sold WROV-AM/FM to Benchmark Broadcasting, who sold them to Capstar Broadcasting. In 1998 Capstar decided that the AM's long-time music format was no longer competitive, and another format had to be selected. While that decision was being researched, to save money, Capstar decided to simulcast WROV-FM's programming on WROV-AM. The last live DJ on WROV-AM was long-time personality Larry Bly, who played Don McLean's "American Pie" ( with the lyrics "-the day the music died --" ) as his last song to signify the end of an era of live music programming on WROV-AM. A few months later WROV-AM became an all-sports station , WGMN " The Game " in September of 1998.

A New Owner

Capstar went through two mergers over the next few years, first as AMFM, and finally, Clear Channel. In 2007, as part of massive divestiture of smaller stations, Clear Channel sold WGMN to 3 Daughters Media, owned by Gary Burns, who continued with the all sports format.

WROV-FM History

The FM station was originally a local station, WMVA-FM, serving Martinsville, Virginia, where it played adult contemporary music. Joyner Communications had been shopping around for a signal to put an album rock format in the Roanoke area.

Throughout the 1980s, Roanoke had no album rock station since the early 80s when the original Album Rock station, WSLQ, flipped formats to Adult Contemporary, forcing residents to listen to spotty signals from Blacksburg and Greensboro. Joyner had originally considered country station WJLM 93.5 as the most likely candidate for purchasing, but the owner wanted more money.

In 1987, discovering that WMVA's 50 thousand watt signal could be moved closer to Roanoke while maintaining what is called a "City grade signal" over Martinsville, WMVA-FM's official city of license, as required by the FCC, Joyner purchased WMVA-AM & FM, and moved the FM tower closer to Roanoke in order to upgrade the signal to serve Roanoke and Lynchburg. ( WMVA-AM was later sold off shortly after the FM's move to Roanoke )

Taking its inspiration from stations such as WKRR in Greensboro, WRXL in Richmond, and WNOR in Norfolk, the station signed on from its new tower on Cahas Mountain as an album rock station on February 14 1989.

The Heritage WROV call letters were obtained when Joyner, in need of a new base of operations in Roanoke, purchased long-time Top 40 station WROV-AM from long-time owner Burt Levine. WROV-AM had been the leading Top 40 station in Roanoke during the 1960s & 1970s, but lost most of its audience during the eighties to WXLK-FM, "K92".However,the WROV call letters were still well known in Roanoke and during it's Top 40 yeare ahad been frequently referred to as "The Rock Of Virginia". After the WROV-AM purchase, Joyner moved the WMVA-FM studios from Martinsville to Roanoke, and into the WROV-AM facility , and WMVA-FM became WROV-FM.({Fact|date=August 2007

References

External links

* [http://www.wrovhistory.com/ History of WROV-AM]
*FM station data|WROV