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| Broadcast area | Chattanooga metropolitan area |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 95.3MHz (HD Radio) |
| Branding | The Joy FM |
| Programming | |
| Format | Christian adult contemporary |
| Subchannels |
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| Ownership | |
| Owner | Radio Training Network, Inc. |
| History | |
First air date | February 27, 1980; 45 years ago (1980-02-27) (as WQNE) |
Former call signs |
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| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 66956 |
| Class | C3 |
| ERP | 3,400watts |
| HAAT | 275 meters (902 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 35°8′54″N85°1′22″W / 35.14833°N 85.02278°W /35.14833; -85.02278 |
| Translator(s) |
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| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast |
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| Website | |
WALV-FM (95.3MHz) is anon-commercial, listener-supportedradio stationlicensed toOoltewah, Tennessee, and serving theChattanooga metropolitan area. The station is owned byRadio Training Network based inPort Richey, Florida, and airs programming from RTN's "The Joy FM"Christian adult contemporary network.[2] The station seeks donations on the air and on its website.
WALV-FM is aClass C3 FM station. Itseffective radiated power (ERP) is 3,400watts. Thetransmitter andtower are along Taft Highway (U.S. Route 127) inSignal Mountain, Tennessee. WALV-FM broadcasts usingHD Radio technology. Itsdigital subchannels air formats ranging fromworship music toChristian contemporary hit radio toChristian talk and teaching shows. Those subchannels feed severalFM translators.
The station first signed on the air on February 27, 1980; 45 years ago (February 27, 1980).[3] The originalcall sign was WQNE. It had aChristian radio format until 1984, when it became anadult contemporary music station as WALV, known as "Alive 95". WALV was Chattanooga'saffiliate forRick Dees Weekly Top 40. The adult contemporary format continued throughout the 1980s and the 1990s. By the early 2000s, WALV picked up the tempo to become ahot adult contemporary station.
The "Alive 95" name was used for 22 years in total. In 2006, it began carrying thesyndicatedJack FMadult hits format. It used the slogan "Playing what we want." The call letters switched to WHJK.
On May 1, 2009, the station switched to anews-talk format using the name "Pulse News", with the Jack FM format relocating toWSAA 93.1 FM. The call letters on 95.3 changed to WPLZ. Pulse News was launched as a companion to the Brewer Media-owned alternativeweekly newspaperThe Chattanooga Pulse and featured longtime radio hosts Dale Deason in the morning and Zach Cooper in afternoons. Cooper served as the Publisher for theChattanooga Pulse. FormerWRCB-TV reporter Louis Lee served asNews Director for the entire run of the station.
A year after launching, WPLZ separated itself from theChattanooga Pulse editorially and changed its slogan to "News Talk 95.3 WPLZ". Among the hosts who worked on air at the station were Jay "The Jammer" Scott, Bobby Byrd, Max Hackett, Ed Ramsey, Logan Carmichael, Stuart James, and Gary Poole. Syndicated talk shows carried on WPLZ includedGlenn Beck,Clark Howard,Dennis Miller,Jason Lewis, andPhil Hendrie. The station had news affiliations with bothFox News Radio and theAssociated Press.
The news department won twoEdward R. Murrow awards for its longform coverage of gang issues, and received several honorable mentions for news reporting from the Associated Press. Among the reporters and anchors who worked at the station were Jeremy Lawrence, Misty Brandon, Lysa Greer, Chris Peddie, and Mike Chambers.
In March 2011, Jim Brewer II, station owner, revamped the lineup with Gary Poole and Louis Lee in morning drive, formerWGOW-FM host Robert T. Nash in early afternoons and WRCB-TV's David Karnes in afternoon drive. While the station started to show some modest ratings growth, Brewer felt that it wasn't growing fast enough to justify the expense, citing economics and inability to compete withClear Channel Communications (nowiHeartMedia) andCumulus Broadcasting as the reason.[4] In light of that, the station decided to let the entire staff go effective December 23, 2011.
On January 2, 2012, WPLZ changed its format tocountry music, branded as "Cat Country 95.3."[5] It adopted the branding previously used byWQMT.
On June 1, 2015, WPLZ and WPLZ-HD2/W295BI swapped format. The "Cat Country" sound moved to WPLZ-HD2 and W295BI 106.9.[6] Meanwhile WPLZ's main 95.3 frequency switched toclassic hits, branded as "Big 95.3".[7] "Cat Country 106.9" lasted just over five months, as the station began playingChristmas music on November 2, 2015, as "Santa 106.9". On December 28, WPLZ-HD2 and W295BI flipped tooldies as a spinoff from Big, "106.9 The Big Easy", playing hits from the 50s to 70s. This lasted until November 1, 2016, when WPLZ-HD2 and W295BI switched to Christmas music, again as "Santa 106.9".[8]
On December 26, 2016, WPLZ-HD2 and W295BI switched to Soft AC, branded as "Easy 106.9".[9] The station aired the softer hits from the 1970s through the early 2000s.
On September 1, 2021, WPLZ changed its format from classic hits (which continues on WPLZ-HD2/W295BI) tosports radio, branded as "ESPN Chattanooga." It returned to using the WALV-FM call sign (moving from 105.1 FM, which switched to American Family Radio asWUIE).[10]
On January 4, 2024, Brewer Media announced it would sell WALV-FM and its translators to theRadio Training Network. The price tag was $900,000.[11] The stations would switch to anon-commercial status.
The sale closed on March 15 and, on March 25, the stations changed to RTN's assorted Christian music outlets. WALV-FM flipped toChristian adult contemporary as "The Joy FM" and WALV-HD2 and W295BI began airingcontemporary worship music, carrying the "Joy Worship" network.[12]
On April 19, 2017, WPLZ added a news/talk format owned by Hot News Talk LLC. on its HD4 subchannel, and relays to a translator 92.7 (W224AZ) branded as NoogaRadio. The format moved from WSDT 1240 AMSoddy-Daisy, whose license wasdeleted by the FCC in September 2017.[13] It changed to Christmas music In October 2021.[14]
On September 7, 2022, WALV-FM HD4 changed its format from Christmas music toSpanish-languageContemporary, branded as "Tu Radio 92.7".[15]
Following the sale of WALV-FM to Radio Training Network, the station ended the "Tu Radio" format and flipped toChristian contemporary hit radio under RTN's "LF Radio" network.[16]