 | |
| |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Greater Richmond Region |
| Frequency | 107.3MHz |
| Branding | VPM Music |
| Programming | |
| Format | Public radio;classical music;jazz |
| Affiliations |
|
| Ownership | |
| Owner | VPM Media Corporation |
| WWLB,WCVE-FM | |
| History | |
First air date | June 21, 1999 (26 years ago) (1999-06-21)[1] |
Former call signs | WXNC (1999)[2] |
Call sign meaning | "Beat" (former branding) |
| Technical information | |
| Facility ID | 31859 |
| Class | A |
| ERP | 1,400watts |
| HAAT | 207 meters (679 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 37°30′16.5″N77°42′13″W / 37.504583°N 77.70361°W /37.504583; -77.70361 |
| Links | |
| Webcast | Listen live |
| Website | vpm |
WBBT-FM (107.3FM) is anon-commercialradio station licensed toPowhatan, Virginia, and serving theGreater Richmond Region.[3] WBBT-FM is owned and operated byVPM Media Corporation.[4] It airs an eclectic music format, focusing onclassical music on weekdays,jazz in the evening and diverse musical genres on weekends, includingworld music,opera andblues. It carries programming fromNPR,Classical 24 and theWFMT Jazz Network.
Along withsimulcast partnerWWLB inEttrick, Virginia, WBBT is branded asVPM Music, and is asister station to the area'sNPR news and informationaffiliate, 88.9WCVE-FM. WBBT serves the northern part of the Richmondradio market, while WWLB serves the southern portion.
WBBT-FM studios and offices are on Sesame Street in Richmond. Thetransmitter is off Dry Bridge Road inMidlothian, Virginia.[5]
WBBT-FM signed on June 21, 1999, as WXNC, and airing arhythmic oldies format as "107.3 The Beat, Richmond's Dancin' Oldies".[6] The station adopted the current WBBT-FM calls on August 6. However, by November 2000, the station shifted to a dance-leaningrhythmic AC as "Dance Hits 107.3".[7]
In June 2001, WBBT flipped toall-1980s hits as "Star 107.3" (which would evolve to an 1980s/1990s hybrid as "Star 107").[8]
On January 21, 2004, at 7:07 a.m., after a day ofstunting as "Elvis 107", the station flipped to 1960s/1970soldies as "Oldies 107.3". At the same time, recently purchased sister stationWARV-FM (100.3), whose tower is in Petersburg, flipped from "ESPN Richmond" to a simulcast of WBBT, giving the new oldies format some new coverage in Southside Virginia where 107.3's signal is weak.[9][10]
In December 2005, WBBT and WARV, along with sister stationsWWLB andWLFV, were purchased by Philadelphia-basedMain Line Broadcasting.[11]
On September 27, 2007, the station rebranded as "107.3 BBT". The playlist was widened at the time slightly to include a few early 1980s rock hits, but the station continued to focus on 1964 to 1979. The positioner changed again on December 4, 2009, to "Big Oldies 107.3".
On July 1, 2014, Main Line Broadcasting sold its Richmond stations to L&L Broadcasting, with the combined entity taking the nameAlpha Media.[12]
On March 22, 2017, WBBT shifted its format from classic hits to 1980s hits.[13] Starting with the 2016-17 season, WBBT also carried theUniversity of Richmond Spidersfootball andmen's basketball games.
On December 20, 2017, Commonwealth Public Broadcasting Corporation announced that they would acquire WBBT and sister station, WWLB, with the intention of movingWCVE-FM's music programming to the stations.[14][15]
The switch took place on February 15, 2018, at 1:00 p.m. Eastern. The last song of the classic hits format wasEurope'sThe Final Countdown.
On June 1, 2018, WBBT-FM and WWLB broke off the simulcast of WCVE-FM to air a new format, "WCVE Music", which took over and augmented WCVE-FM's music programming. On August 5, 2019, WBBT-FM and WWLB were both rebranded as "VPM Music".