WLVP (870AM) is a radio station broadcasting anadult standards andoldies format. Licensed toGorham, Maine, United States, it serves southern Maine, includingPortland. Established in 1980 as WDCI, the station is owned by the estate of Robert Bittner through licensee Blue Jey Broadcasting Co..

The station went on the air March 3, 1980,^[2] as WDCI on 1590.^[3] In the intervening years, the station would change its call letters to WASY and then WJBQ, the latter after coming into common ownership withWLAM (1470 AM) and WKZS (99.9 FM; nowWTHT).^[3] WJBQ moved to 870 kHz in 1988;^[3] on this frequency, the station became WKZN on November 28, 1989, and then swapped call letters with WLAM on December 26, 1990.^[4] The two stations eventually began simulcasting astandards format.^[5] On April 2, 1993, WLAM began simulcasting onWJTO inBath under alocal marketing agreement;^[6][7] the arrangement ended in August 1995.^[8]

Wireless Talking Machine Company sold WLAM, 1470 (by then WZOU), and WLAM-FM (106.7 FM, which had launched in 1996 as an FM simulcast of the stations;^[5] it is nowWXTP), along with 99.9 (by then WMWX) and WTHT (107.5 FM; nowWFNK) to Harron Communications, then-owner ofWMTW-TV, in 1999.^[9] On May 7, 2001, Harron converted 870 and 106.7 tonews/talk as WMTW.^[10] The WLAM call letters were then returned to 1470, which initially retained the standards format; on November 26, the station was switched to a simulcast of WMTW.^[11] Shortly afterwards, talk programming was removed from the stations in favor of anall-news format, mainly from theAssociated Press's All-News Radio service.^[12]

After Harron sold its Maine radio stations toNassau Broadcasting Partners in 2004,Newsradio WMTW was discontinued that April. Nassau introduced three separate formats to the stations,^[13] with WMTW switching toprogressive talk fromAir America Radio under the call letters WLVP.^[14] Nassau first attempted to drop progressive talk forESPN Radio in September 2004; this sparked listener protest, prompting Nassau to initially postpone the format change to November 8^[15] before canceling it entirely.^[16] However, after significant changes occurred at Air America (including the departure ofAl Franken), WLVP began airing ESPN Radio on June 1, 2007.^[17]

WLVP and WLAM dropped ESPN Radio on February 2, 2009, and switched tooldies.^[18] In conjunction with the change, the stations began to simulcastWCSH's morning and early evening newscasts, a move made to continue the newscasts' availability via radio even after WCSH's own 87.7 MHz audio was discontinued following theshutdown of analog television signals.^[18][19]

Initially locally programmed, in early 2010 WLVP and WLAM became affiliates ofThe True Oldies Channel.^[20] Additionally, on August 2, the station addedThe Jeff Santos Show fromWWZN inBoston (marking a partial return to progressive talk programming).^[21] The stations' format was modified once more on August 6, 2011, whensports talk was readded to the weekend schedule via locally-produced shows from the Maine Sports Network (which previously provided some weekend programming toWJJB-FM).^[22]

WLVP, along with 16 other Nassau stations in northern New England, was purchased at bankruptcy auction by WBIN Media Company, a company controlled byBill Binnie, on May 22, 2012. Binnie already ownedWBIN-TV inDerry, New Hampshire.^[23][24] The deal was completed on November 30, 2012.^[25] In June 2014, WLVP and WLAM switched toCumulus Media'sGood Time Oldies service after Cumulus ended distribution of The True Oldies Channel.^[26]

On December 9, 2015, Binnie agreed to sell WLAM and WLVP to Blue Jey Broadcasting Company, controlled by Bob Bittner, for $135,000; the deal made WLVP a sister station to WJTO in Bath.^[27] The sale to Blue Jey Broadcasting was consummated on February 17, 2016. Upon takeover of WLVP and WLAM, the stations' format evolved to a playlist similar to (but separate from) WJTO,^[28] and the simulcast of WCSH news programming was discontinued. By 2021, WLVP and WLAM had become separately programmed andautomated from their transmitter sites, though continuing to feature a similar playlist ofsoft adult contemporary and standards to Bittner's flagship network of WJTO,WJIB inCambridge, Massachusetts, andWBAS onCape Cod.^[29]

Owner Bob Bittner died in May 2023.^[30] WLVP wentsilent in October 2024; its suspension of operations came several months before operator Bob Perry announced a subsequently-postponed April 2025 closure of sister stations WJTO and WLAM.^[31]

• Facility details for Facility ID 24994 (WLVP) in theFCC Licensing and Management System
• WLVP inNielsen Audio's AM station database

FM translator

• Facility details for Facility ID 202494 (W286DR) in theFCC Licensing and Management System
• W286DR at FCCdata.org

• 1980 establishments in Maine
• Adult standards radio stations in the United States
• Gorham, Maine
• Oldies radio stations in the United States
• Radio stations established in 1980
• Radio stations in Maine
• Radio stations in Portland, Maine

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