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| Broadcast area | Metro Lynchburg |
| Frequency | 100.1MHz (HD Radio) |
| Branding | The Vibe 100.1 & 97.7 |
| Programming | |
| Format | Urban adult contemporary |
| Subchannels | HD2:Active rock (WZZU) |
| Affiliations | Premiere Networks |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Mel Wheeler, Inc. |
| WFIR,WPLI,WPLY-FM,WSLC-FM,WSLQ,WVBB,WXLK,WZZU | |
| History | |
First air date | 1948 (1948) |
Former call signs |
|
Call sign meaning | ViBE |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 9690 |
| Class | C3 |
| ERP | 20,000 watts |
| HAAT | 100 meters (330 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 37°27′0.0″N79°4′29.0″W / 37.450000°N 79.074722°W /37.450000; -79.074722 |
| Translator | 98.5 W253BT (Madison Heights) |
| Repeater | 97.7 WVBB (Elliston-Lafayette) |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen live |
| Website | thevibe.fm |
WVBE-FM (100.1FM, "The Vibe") is a commercialradio station licensed toLynchburg, Virginia, United States, and servingMetro Lynchburg. It is owned by Mel Wheeler, Inc., with studios and offices on Electric Road in Roanoke. WVBE-FM andWVBB inElliston-Lafayette, Virginia, simulcast anurban adult contemporary format, with WVBB serving theRoanoke metropolitan area.
WVBE-FM's transmitter is sited on Country Living Lane inMadison Heights, nearU.S. Route 29 (Monacan Parkway).[2] WVBE-FM broadcasts inHD Radio; the HD-2digital subchannel carries anactive rock format, simulcastingWZZU.
The station signed on the air in 1948 as the first FM station in Lynchburg. Its original call sign was WWOD-FM, powered at just 940 watts. It simulcast the programming of its sister station, WWOD 1390 AM, nowWPLI. WWOD 1390 went on the air the year before, as Lynchburg's second AM radio station afterWLVA. WWOD-AM-FM were network affiliates of theMutual Broadcasting System.
As network programming moved from radio to television, WWOD-AM-FM began broadcasting afull service radio format ofmiddle of the road andcountry music plus news and sports with someChristian radio shows on the schedule.[3] FM 100.1's power was boosted to 3,000 watts.
FM 100.1 started its own format, becoming WKZZ, on May 12, 1979. WKZZ playedautomated country music. On April 1, 1984, it became a locally programmedTop 40 station. It kept that format for seven years.
On November 21, 1991, the station was purchased by Aylett Coleman of Roanoke and began a simulcast withCHR - Top 40 station 92.3WXLK "K92" in Roanoke. The simulcast was designed to provide an improved signal for K92 in Metro Lynchburg. It took the call sign WLYK, which stood for "Lynchburg's K92." The following year, WLYK boosted power to 20,000 watts, going from a Class A to Class C3 station. WLYK and WXLK were sold a few years after Coleman's death to Mel Wheeler Inc.
On April 19, 2001, the station became Vibe 100, with anR&B format. It changed its call letters to WVBE-FM on March 13, 2002. The change was necessitated by the addition of 610 AM as a Roanoke-based simulcast signal for "Vibe 100", which took the callsWVBE. In 2016, the simulcast ended when WVBE 610 AM flipped tosports.[4][5][6] WVBE-FM got a new simulcast partner in the Roanoke area whenWVBB 97.7 started airing the same Urban AC programming.
On January 20, 2016, WVBE-FM started usingHD Radio technology in its broadcasts.[7][8] The HD-2 subchannel began carrying "The Rock Channel," amainstream rock format.