| Broadcast area | Delaware Valley |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 99.5MHz (HD Radio) |
| Branding | VCY America |
| Programming | |
| Format | Christian radio |
| Subchannels | HD2: VCY Spanish |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | VCY America, Inc. |
| History | |
First air date | January 31, 1957 (68 years ago) (1957-01-31) |
Former call signs |
|
Call sign meaning | VCY America Wilmington |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 14374 |
| Class | B |
| ERP | |
| HAAT | 152 meters (499 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 39°50′2.4″N75°31′25.7″W / 39.834000°N 75.523806°W /39.834000; -75.523806 |
| Translator(s) | See§ Translators |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen live |
| Website | www |
WVCW (99.5MHz) is anon-commercialFMradio stationlicensed toWilmington, Delaware. Owned byVCY America, the station serves theDelaware Valley, includingPhiladelphia.[3] The WVCW transmitter is located 8 miles north of downtown Wilmington on Bellows Drive, less than 1/4 mile from the Pennsylvania state line.[4] Besides a standardanalog transmission, WVCW broadcasts overHD Radio. The station is best known for its 67-year legacy as WJBR and WJBR-FM, a Delaware-targetedadult contemporary station, which was consistently rated as one of the top stations in the Wilmington area, even amidst competition from Philadelphia stations.
On January 31, 1957, WJBR signed on as a stand-alone FM station, with no AM counterpart.[5] It was founded by a father and son team, John B. Reynolds Sr. and John B. Reynolds Jr.[6] Thecall sign was based on the founders' initials. John Sr. began the radio station because his son was "a strong believer in the future of FM".[6] The station originally broadcast aclassical and light music format.[7] WJBR's format eventually evolved intobeautiful music and the station was branded asJBR 100.[7] It used the slogan "Just Beautiful Radio".
In 1976, the Reynolds family acquired another Wilmington radio station, WTUX, to combine with WJBR.[8] WTUX was a 1,000 wattdaytimer, carrying amiddle of the road music format. In 1978, WJBR's call sign was changed to WJBR-FM. WTUX'scall sign was then switched to WJBR, and the format flipped to beautiful music, to give WJBR listeners the choice of hearing the station on AM or FM. Over time, the station's power was increased to 2,500 watts in the daytime and nighttime service was added at 32 watts.
In the early 1980s, WJBR-AM-FM added more soft vocals to attract a younger audience. John B Reynolds Jr. sold WJBR-AM-FM in 1985 to CRB Broadcasting, which completed the transition from easy listening to an all-vocalsoft adult contemporary sound. CRB changed its name to Commodore Media and was eventually purchased by Capstar Broadcasting.
In March 2000, Capstar sold WJBR-FM to theNextMedia Group for $32.4 million.[9] Capstar retained WJBR, and later merged into Clear Channel Communications, which was renamediHeartMedia. The AM station is now aFox Sports Radio station,WWTX, and remains owned by iHeartMedia.
In February 2007,Beasley Broadcast Group acquired WJBR-FM from NextMedia for a reported $42 million.[10]
In August 2023, Beasley agreed to sell WJBR-FM toVCY America for $5 million, marking VCY's entrance into both the Philadelphia/Wilmington area.[11] The final day for the on-air staff was October 4; two staffers, Justin Franiak and Eric Johnson, remained with Beasley in Philadelphia atWXTU andWMGK respectively.[12] An automated version of WJBR-FM's programming would continue on the station's website and the secondHD Radio channel ofWBEN-FM in Philadelphia;[12][13] Beasley also moved the WJBR call sign toan AM radio station inSeffner–Tampa, Florida,[14] while VCY America relaunched 99.5 as WVCW,[13] a call sign that took effect on October 7.
As WJBR-FM, the station's second HD Radio channel formerly broadcast aSpanish rhythmic / tropical format branded asMaxima 104.1, which was simulcast on atranslator inMillville, New Jersey, W281CM (104.1). Its third channel broadcast agospel format branded asPhilly's Favor 100.7, which was simulcast on a translator inMount Holly, New Jersey, W264BH (100.7 FM), which broadcast to the Philadelphia radio market.[15] After the sale, the station turned off the HD channels. But the HD2 subchannel was turned back on with VCY Spanish programming.