 | |
| Broadcast area | Atlanta metropolitan area |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 97.1MHz (HD Radio) |
| Branding | 97.1 The River |
| Programming | |
| Language | English |
| Format | Classic rock |
| Subchannels |
|
| Affiliations | Atlanta Gladiators |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| History | |
First air date | November 1, 1965; 59 years ago (1965-11-01) |
Former call signs |
|
Call sign meaning | Chattahoochee River |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 59970 |
| Class | C |
| ERP | 100,000 watts |
| HAAT | 483 meters (1,585 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 34°07′33″N83°51′32″W / 34.1257°N 83.8588°W /34.1257; -83.8588 |
| Translator(s) | |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast |
|
| Website | 971theriver |
WSRV (97.1FM) – branded97.1 The River – is acommercialradio stationlicensed toGainesville, Georgia, and servingMetro Atlanta. It is owned by theCox Media Group. WSRV broadcasts aclassic rockradio format. Thestudios and offices are in the Cox Television and Radio Facility on WestPeachtree Street near theBrookwood neighborhood of Atlanta.
WSRV has aneffective radiated power (ERP) of 100,000watts. Thetransmittertower is off Eagle Ranch Road inBraselton, at the northeastern edge ofMetro Atlanta.[2] WSRV uses theHD Radio technology. Its HD2digital subchannel carries analternative rock format known as "The Other Side of The River." The HD3 subchannelsimulcasts the talk format onWSB. The HD4 subchannelsimulcasts theLatin Pop format onWCHK.
On November 1, 1965, the stationsigned on as WWQT.[3] It was the FM counterpart toAM 1580 WLBA Gainesville (nowWPGYEllijay), and were owned by the Hall County Broadcasting Company. WWQT was powered at 100,000 watts but only using a 440-foot tower, so it wasn't heard over much of Metro Atlanta.
In 1972, it was bought by Radio Athens, Inc., and would adopt the WFOXcall sign.[4] WFOX initially aired aTop 40 format, still targeting the Gainesville area of Northeastern Georgia. In 1983, the station was acquired by Shamrock Broadcasting, which had plans to make it a large market station.
In 1985, Shamrock moved WFOX's tower closer to the more lucrative Atlantamedia market, flipped toadult contemporary, and increased their new tower height to 1,550 feet.[5] In 1989, Shamrock was acquired by Chancellor Media. From January 1989 to January 2003, the station aired anoldies format as "Fox 97."[6][7]
In 2000, AMFM (the former Chancellor Media) was bought byClear Channel Communications, which already owned several Atlanta stations. To meet federally mandated ownership limits,Cox Radio acquired the station.
On January 31, 2003, WFOX beganstunting by simulcasting several of its sister stations from across the country, includingWPYM inMiami,WAPE inJacksonville,KCCN inHonolulu,KKBQ inHouston,KHPT in Houston,WBLI onLong Island,WHZT inUpstate South Carolina,KINE in Honolulu andWDYL inRichmond.
On February 3, 2003, WFOX switched to an uptempoUrban AC format as "97.1 Jamz."[8] At first, the station ran with noDJs. Because co-ownedWALR-FM ("Kiss 104.1") was so popular in the Atlanta market playing a more traditional Urban AC format, "Jamz" primarily aired '80s/'90sR&B,hip-hop and current songs, targeting primarily 25- to 39-year-olds. The station's main competitors wereWVEE andWHTA, with whom it competed for the coveted 18 to 34demographic, the same demo thatrhythmic contemporary-formattedsister stationWBTS targeted.
On January 1, 2006, the station flipped to "97.1 The River," with a mix ofclassic hits andclassic rock, targeting people ages 25–54.[9] Theplaylist was familiar and hit-oriented, like most classic hits stations, but leaned towards primarily rock songs from the late 1960s, 70s and 80s, with no pop or dance music.
On April 17, 2006, WFOX changed its own call sign to WSRV, to match the "River" moniker, which is a nod to theChattahoochee River. TheWFOX call letters would move to another Cox Radio station, the former WEFX, inNorwalk, Connecticut.
WSRV would later move to a more standardclassic rock playlist, even though it still identifies itself on the air as "Classic Hits." In addition, WSRV plays a few 1990s titles but no2000s music. "Rock Blocks," which feature three songs in a row from the same artist/group, sometimes including deep cuts and live material, are featured during the day and on weekends.
On June 19, 2006, Lexie Kaye became the River's first female, on-air personality doing mornings solo every weekday from 5:30 am–8:30 am. Lexie was the only live on-air personality for the River, doing all remote broadcasts and concert promotions. Chris Miller was the program director for WSRV - FM.
In October 2011, rock singerEddie Money became the host of “Money in the Morning,” an experiment that lasted about three months.[10]
In September 2013, WSRV upgraded to an interactive radio station. Listeners can control the music by like/dislike the songs, and record themselves then send it to be played on the air. Whatever song has the most likes when the previous one finishes is next to play.
WSRV is currently broadcasting digital radio using theHD Radio system, and featuresadult alternative rock on its HD-2channel branded as "The Other Side of The River". Both stations stream live via WSRV's website.
WSRV'scity of license isGainesville, Georgia, inHall County. Itstransmitter is in the southern tip of Hall County, just across the line fromBraselton. WSRV can be considered a "move-in" station, since it originally concentrated on the Gainesville area. While still licensed to that city, its transmitter moved closer to Atlanta to target the larger Atlanta market.
WSRV'sbroadcast range covers almost all ofNortheast Georgia, even heard in a tiny portion ofUpstate South Carolina. Other cities covered includeAthens,Cartersville,Roswell andToccoa. Depending onradio propagation conditions, with a good radio andantenna, the station can be picked up as far away asKnoxville, Tennessee, and at times,Greenville, South Carolina. Due to WSRV's transmitter location, listeners may have some trouble picking up the signal in Atlanta suburbs south and west of the city. The station has asked the FCC to downgrade to Class C0 while moving its transmitter even closer to Atlanta.
WSRV'sHD2digital subchannel carries "The Other Side of the River," analternative rock format. It feeds twoFM translators: W249CK FM 97.7 inDuluth (transmitting with 75 watts), and W228CA FM 93.5Suwanee, transmitting with 230 watts. The translators are heard mainly inGwinnett and adjacent northeast metro counties.
WSRV was previously the primary station for W243CE 96.5 FM, a translator inWinder, Georgia.Licensed for just five watts ofeffective radiated power, it is owned by Davis Broadcasting of Atlanta. It was originally permitted in 2004 and started in 2007 by Radio Assist Ministry, a company that speculativelyfiled for thousands of translator stations and thenrented orresold them for profit.
The station had aconstruction permit to move to the WSRV/WSBBradio tower, increase to the maximum translator power of 250 watts, and exponentially increase itsheight from 4 to 392 meters (1,286 ft). This would give it thebroadcast range of aClass A station. Following a change in rules by the FCC, W243CE was instead moved all the way toColumbus, Georgia, in the west central part of the state, to give an FM signal toWOKS (AM 1340).
On April 16, 2018, WSRV-HD3 began simulcasting on translator W222AF 92.3 FM Marietta with an urban contemporary format, branded as "Power 92.3 Jamz."[11] Cox removed the W222AF programming in December 2018, due to a dispute with the programmer who was leasing the translator from its owner.[12]