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| Frequencies | |
| Branding | WVTF Music |
| Programming | |
| Format | Classical music |
| Affiliations | NPR |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
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| WVTF,WISE-FM | |
| History | |
First air date |
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Former call signs |
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| Technical information[3][4] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID |
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| Power |
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| HAAT |
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Transmitter coordinates | |
| Translator(s) | See § Low-powered translators |
| Links | |
Public license information |
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| Webcast | Listen live |
| Website | www |
WWVT (1260AM) andWWVT-FM (89.9FM) are a pair ofnon-commercialradio stations servingSouthside Virginia: WWVT is licensed toChristiansburg, Virginia, United States, and WWVT-FM is licensed toFerrum, Virginia, United States.[5] They broadcast aclassical music format and are owned and operated byVirginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.[6] WWVT-FM is the flagship ofWVTF Music, a companion service toWVTF, Southwestern Virginia'sNPR member news and information station. WWVT-AM-FM have their studios at WVTF's facility inside the WVTF Public Radio Broadcast Center on Kingsbury Lane inRoanoke.
WWVT-FM's transmitter is sited on Waidsboro Road in Ferrum, while WWVT's transmitter is sited on Walton Road at Caboose Road inRadford. Programming is also heard on a series of rebroadcasters andFM translators around Southwest Virginia.
The station signed on the air in January 1989.[7][1] The original call sign was WFFC, the student station ofFerrum College. Its power at the time was only 100 watts.
In 2003, theVirginia Tech Foundation launched a secondary all-news and talk service, Radio IQ, onWWVT (1260 AM inChristiansburg). This schedule contrasted with WVTF's full-service schedule of music and news. As WWVT was only licensed to broadcast during the day at the time, WFFC joined Radio IQ in order to give it a 24-hour signal. The Virginia Tech Foundation also intended to have WFFC feed Radio IQ to extraFM translators that it owned. Since FCC rules prevent a station from feeding translators viamicrowave that are not co-owned, Ferrum sold WFFC to the foundation in November of that year.[8][9][10]
This arrangement lasted until July 10, 2017, when Radio IQ became the Virginia Tech Foundation's primary service and moved to WVTF's more powerful signal and repeater network. As WVTF covers WFFC's entire broadcast area, it dropped Radio IQ to become the flagship of WVTF Music. The station changed its call sign to the current WWVT-FM in the same month.[11][12][13] Due to the relatively modest coverage areas of the WWVT stations and their translators, WVTF Music is simulcast on the secondHD Radio channels of all full-power Radio IQ stations exceptWRIQ inRichmond.[13]
AM 1260 signed on in October 1954. Its original call sign was WBCR and it was adaytimer, required to leave the air at night. It was later known as "Triple J" WJJJ. It competed in the 1960s and 1970s with Virginia Tech's student radio station,WUVT, for the localTop 40 market.[14][15]
The station became WNNI in 1995. Bocephus Broadcasting purchased eight stations in the Blacksburg-Christiansburg market in 1997, after which it donated WNNI to the Virginia Tech Foundation.[16]
In 2003, Virginia Tech launched the original incarnation of Radio IQ on the rechristened WWVT.[17] WWVT was originally adaytimer that was required to go off the air at sunset to prevent interference toWCHV andWKXR on the same channel. After more than 50 years of daytime-only operation, WWVT added 25 watts of night power in 2005.
WWVT left Radio IQ and joined the WVTF Music network in 2017, in order to take advantage of its Blacksburg-based FM translator W238BN (95.5 FM).
Much of the network's weekday programming isclassical music, from midnight to early evenings. Weeknights are devoted tojazz music. Weekends include blocks ofalbum adult alternative (AAA),bluegrass,Americana andopera. National and regional shows includeMetropolitan Opera radio broadcasts,Sunday Baroque,Mountain Stage,The Thistle and Shamrock,All Songs Considered,Pipedreams andAmerican Routes.[18]
| Call sign | Frequency | City of license | FID | ERP (W) | Class | FCC info | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W201CN | 88.1FM | Afton, Virginia | 93681 | 10 | D | LMS | RelaysWVTU-HD2 |
| W208AP | 89.5FM | Lynchburg, Virginia | 84544 | 10 | D | LMS | Relays WWVT-FM |
| W208BX | 89.5FM | Roanoke, Virginia | 70342 | 250 | D | LMS | RelaysWVTF-HD2 |
| W209AA | 89.7FM | Charlottesville, Virginia | 70343 | 250 | D | LMS | RelaysWVTW-HD2 |
| W211BE | 90.1FM | Lebanon, Virginia | 92700 | 8.5 | D | LMS | Relays WWVT-FM |
| W211BF | 90.1FM | Big Stone Gap, Virginia | 92702 | 8 | D | LMS | RelaysWISE-FM-HD2 |
| W215BJ | 90.9FM | Saint Paul, Virginia | 122133 | 1 | D | LMS | Relays WWVT-FM |
| W238BN | 95.5FM | Blacksburg, Virginia | 156071 | 250 | D | LMS | Relays WWVT |
| W270BJ | 101.9FM | Lexington, Virginia | 145668 | 25 | D | LMS | RelaysWIQR-HD2 |
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