| |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Richmond, Virginia–Petersburg, Virginia |
| Frequency | 89.7MHz |
| Programming | |
| Format | News/talk |
| Network | Radio IQ |
| Affiliations | BBC World Service National Public Radio Public Radio International |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | |
| WVTF,WWVT-FM,WISE-FM | |
| History | |
First air date | 2000[1] |
Former call signs | WAUQ (1997–2015) WLRJ (2015–2017) WNVU (2017–2020)[2] |
Call sign meaning | Richmond IQ |
| Technical information[3] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 82970 |
| Class | B |
| ERP | 27,000Watts |
| HAAT | 69.6 meters (228 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 37°31′40.50″N77°22′46.90″W / 37.5279167°N 77.3796944°W /37.5279167; -77.3796944 |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | WRIQ Webstream |
| Website | WRIQ Online |
WRIQ (89.7 MHz) is aNational Public Radio formattedbroadcastradio station licensed toCharles City, Virginia, serving theRichmond–Petersburg area.[4] WRIQ is part of theRadio IQ network, simulcasting the NPR news and talk programming of flagshipWVTF. WRIQ is owned byVirginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) through its fundraising arm, theVirginia Tech Foundation.[5]
American Family Association launched the station asWAUQ in 2000,[1] relaying itsAmerican Family Radio network which featured a mix of Christian teaching andContemporary Christian music.[6][7]
On August 18, 2015,Educational Media Foundation purchased the station from theAmerican Family Association for $1.25 million.[8][9][10] EMF began relaying its K-Love network on the station, and changed the station's call letters toWLRJ.[2]
On April 17, 2017, WLRJ began stunting with a continuously repeating informational loop informing listeners thatK-Love in Richmond had moved, and directing listeners to EMF's recently acquired stations on 98.9 FM (WLFV) and 100.3 FM (WKYV).[11]
On April 26, 2017, WLRJ began relaying EMF'sRadio Nueva Vida network.[12] The station changed its call sign to WNVU on December 22, 2017.
On October 10, 2019, EMF reached a deal to sell WNVU to the Virginia Tech Foundation for $2.15 million. EMF had floated Virginia Tech intended to make WNVU part of its main NPR news and talk service, Radio IQ, as part of its effort to expand its reach outside its base in southwestern Virginia.[13][14] The sale closed on December 27, 2019, and the station began simulcasting Radio IQ programming on January 15, 2020. That same day, the call sign WRIQ was moved from a co-owned Radio IQ station inLexington, Virginia, which became WIQR.
Since 2009, WVTF had aired its programming on a low-powered translator at 92.5 FM, which is fed by the thirdHD Radio subchannel of commercial radio stationWURV. The purchase of WRIQ gave WVTF a full-powered signal in the Richmond area for the first time, giving much of the area an alternative source for NPR programming alongside Richmond's established NPR member,WCVE-FM. WRIQ operates at only 27,000 watts from a short (by modern broadcasting standards) 228-foot tower east of Richmond, resulting inPetersburg and other close-in suburbs only getting a Grade B signal. Nonetheless, with the addition of WRIQ, the Radio IQ network now provided at least secondary coverage fromWise in the southwestern corner of the Commonwealth to the fringes ofHampton Roads.[14]