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|---|---|
| Broadcast area | |
| Frequency | 590kHz |
| Branding | News Talk 97.3 FM WVLK |
| Programming | |
| Format | News/talk |
| Network | Fox News Radio |
| Affiliations | |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
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| History | |
First air date | November 26, 1947; 77 years ago (1947-11-26) |
Call sign meaning | "Versailles, Lexington, Kentucky"[1] |
| Technical information[2] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 27418 |
| Class | B |
| Power |
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Transmitter coordinates | 38°6′42.3″N84°34′38.8″W / 38.111750°N 84.577444°W /38.111750; -84.577444 |
| Translator | 97.3 W247CT (Lexington) |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen live |
| Website | www |
WVLK (590kHz) is acommercialAM radio station inLexington, Kentucky. It is owned byCumulus Media and airs anews/talkformat. The studios are insideKincaid Towers on West Vine Street in downtown Lexington.
By day, WVLK is powered at 5,000 watts. At night, to protect other stations on590 AM from interference, power is reduced to 1,000 watts. The station uses adirectional antenna with a four-tower array. Thetransmitter is on Leestown Road (U.S. Route 421) in the northwest part of Lexington.[3] Programming is also heard on 250-wattFM translatorW247CT on 97.3MHz in Lexington.
Weekdays on WVLK begin withLexington's Morning News with Jack Pattie. Two other local programs are heard on weekdays,Larry Glover Live in early afternoons andKruser & Krew in late afternoons. The rest of the schedule isnationally syndicated programs, mostly from co-ownedWestwood One:The Chris Plante Show,The Mark Levin Show,The Ben Shapiro Show,The Matt Walsh Show,America in the Morning andRed Eye Radio.
Weekends feature specialty shows on money, health, gardening, movies, real estate, travel, technology, food and wine. Syndicated programs includeThe Kim Komando Show and repeats of some weekday shows. Most hours begin with an update fromFox News Radio.
WVLKsigned on the air on November 26, 1947.[4] Its originalcity of license wasVersailles, Kentucky. It was powered at 1,000 watts and was anetwork affiliate of theMutual Broadcasting System, carrying its news, sports, dramas and comedies during the "Golden Age of Radio". WVLK was owned by Bluegrass Broadcasting Company, whose president was formergovernor and U.S. SenatorA.B. Chandler. Offices were originally in Versailles, with an additional office in Lexington.
In 1951, the offices and studios were moved to Lexington, first to the Lafayette Hotel.[5] The studios were later relocated to the Phoenix Hotel on Main Street in downtown.[6]
In the 1960s, WVLK became aTop 40 station, playing the top hits of the day. But by the 1980s, most young people had shifted from AM to FM stations for their music. In 1981, WVLK shifted tomiddle of the road music, with news and sports. By the late 80s, the music tempo was stepped up toadult contemporary music.
From 1968 until the 1990s, WVLK was theflagship radio station of theUniversity of KentuckyWildcatsmen's basketball andfootball games. They were broadcast from theUK Sports Radio Network.[1] Before that network was established, stations had to produce their own individual broadcasts of Kentucky Wildcats football and basketball games, and WVLK andWLAP630 AM were the primary Lexington-area radio outlets for the games before the network began.[6]
In 2015, WVLK signed on anFM translator station, W266AN inLawrenceburg, at101.1MHz.[7] On June 20, W266AN was forced off the air due to interference with WSGS in the Central Kentucky area. Effective June 13, 2017, the translator was licensed to Lexington at 97.3 FM, as W247CT.
On January 1, 2020, WVLK begansimulcasting onWCYN-FM 102.3. The simulcast on WCYN-FM ended a year later.
The station's AM signal provides at least secondary coverage to most of central Kentucky, as well as parts of the Louisville radio market, and as far south as theLake Cumberland area.
Among the early voices at WVLK, US RepresentativeHarold Rogers was a disc jockey at the station in 1959, while he was a student at the University of Kentucky.[citation needed]
During the period from 1959 through 1963, the DJ 'crew' at WVLK included Arty Kay, Bob McDonald, Jim Chadwick, Sam Combs, Charles Lancaster, Jim Richmond, and Darrel Evans. At that time, WVLK was a longtime Top 40 station, and was the highest-rated station in the market, with more listeners than all of the other stationscombined (Pulse, Hooper, Nielson ratings). The sportscaster (both HS and UK sports) wasClaude Sullivan.<Jim Chadwick>