WPZZ
Encyclopedia
WPZZ is a Black Gospel formatted broadcast
radio station
licensed to Crewe, Virginia
, serving the Southside
and the Richmond
/Petersburg
metro area. WPZZ is owned and operated by Radio One.
sister WSVS. It broadcast just west of Crewe with a power of 14,000 watt monural signal. In the late 1970s, the station upgraded to a class C1 station with 100,000 watts of power, which gave it an adequate signal that could be received in most of the Central Virginia area. With better revenues from the increased coverage area, the station was able to upgrade their equipment. WSVS-FM had studios that could be compared to top-market stations, equipped with a music computer, satellite link for news delivery and brand new production equipment. In 1988, they moved to their current tower location to not only send a better signal into Richmond, but also to make it more desirable to sell. It was at that time WSVS-FM became "Power Country 104.7," with all programming separate from WSVS-AM. In 1991, the station was sold to ABS Communications in Richmond and became "104.7 The Bear," with the call of WKIK. The FM studios were moved out of Crewe and co-located in with ABS's Richmond based headquarters. ABS owned the only other country stations in the Richmond market with "K-95" and "The Bear." "The Bear" was designed to be a classic country format, while "K-95" was to be the new country format.
During the middle of the grunge era, Richmond did not have a modern rock
station. ABS flipped WKIK to modern rock on August 23, 1995 at 5 p.m. as "104.7 The Buzz, Richmond's New Rock Alternative." The success of this station caused Richmond's AAA
station WVGO to lose listeners. ABS later purchased WVGO (and its sister station WLEE-FM), changed WVGO's AAA format (and ended the local broadcast of the "The Howard Stern Show") and moved "The Buzz" and the WBZU call to 106.5, while 104.7 became a satellite
-fed oldies
station as "Oldies 104.7" (the WVGO call letters were moved to 104.7). In 1998, the station was sold to Fifteen Forty Broadcasting,then owners of Adult Urban WSOJ at 100.3 and local gospel station WREJ-AM,who began a simulcast of WSOJ(South Of the James) on both 100.3 and 104.7. The WVGO calls were later dropped and the station became WKJS, Kiss 104.7. Radio One later purchased both 104.7 and 100.3 from Fifteen Forty in 1999. The 104/100.3 simulcast ended and Radio One began simulcasting their then-country station, WJRV "The River" on 100.3 with a new call, WARV. ( WARV has been thru a plethora of owners and is now owned by Main Line Broadcasting and simulcast the Oldies format on co-owned WBBT/107.3 ). In 2004, Radio One swapped formats, putting the former "Praise 99.3" on to 104.7, while "Kiss FM" simulcasted on 105.7 and 99.3(this caused Urban Gold WJMO to sign off).
baseball, NASCAR
, and Washington Redskins
football simultaneously. When ABS communications bought 104.7, they chose not to keep sports on the station, so WSVS-AM kept the affiliations with NASCAR and the Redskins. When Farmville
-based Colonial Broadcasting purchased WSVS-AM, they took the Redskins broadcasting affiliation and put it on their flagship FM station, WFLO-FM. In 1998, they chose not to renew the contract due to a lack of advertising interest. NASCAR is still on WSVS-AM to this day.
- The original tower in Crewe still holds the original 14,000 watt transmitter
, feed line, and antenna (removed from the tower in 1995 to help the signal of WSVS-AM)
- Studio B, a long time local music show, started in December, 1995 on WBZU with Michele Ravera and Jay Smack. It is now on active rock station WRXL
.
Broadcasting
Broadcasting is the distribution of audio and video content to a dispersed audience via any audio visual medium. Receiving parties may include the general public or a relatively large subset of thereof...
radio station
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
licensed to Crewe, Virginia
Crewe, Virginia
Crewe is a town in Nottoway County, Virginia, United States. The population was 2,378 at the 2000 census. It was founded in 1888 as a central location to house steam locomotive repair shops for the Norfolk and Western Railroad which has a rail yard there for east-west trains carrying Appalachian...
, serving the Southside
Southside (Virginia)
Traditionally, the term Southside refers to the portion of Virginia east of the Blue Ridge Mountains and south of the James River, the geographic feature from which the term derives its name....
and the Richmond
Richmond, Virginia
Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
/Petersburg
Petersburg, Virginia
Petersburg is an independent city in Virginia, United States located on the Appomattox River and south of the state capital city of Richmond. The city's population was 32,420 as of 2010, predominantly of African-American ethnicity...
metro area. WPZZ is owned and operated by Radio One.
History
104.7 started in 1948 as WSVS-FM, a complement to its AMAM broadcasting
AM broadcasting is the process of radio broadcasting using amplitude modulation. AM was the first method of impressing sound on a radio signal and is still widely used today. Commercial and public AM broadcasting is carried out in the medium wave band world wide, and on long wave and short wave...
sister WSVS. It broadcast just west of Crewe with a power of 14,000 watt monural signal. In the late 1970s, the station upgraded to a class C1 station with 100,000 watts of power, which gave it an adequate signal that could be received in most of the Central Virginia area. With better revenues from the increased coverage area, the station was able to upgrade their equipment. WSVS-FM had studios that could be compared to top-market stations, equipped with a music computer, satellite link for news delivery and brand new production equipment. In 1988, they moved to their current tower location to not only send a better signal into Richmond, but also to make it more desirable to sell. It was at that time WSVS-FM became "Power Country 104.7," with all programming separate from WSVS-AM. In 1991, the station was sold to ABS Communications in Richmond and became "104.7 The Bear," with the call of WKIK. The FM studios were moved out of Crewe and co-located in with ABS's Richmond based headquarters. ABS owned the only other country stations in the Richmond market with "K-95" and "The Bear." "The Bear" was designed to be a classic country format, while "K-95" was to be the new country format.
During the middle of the grunge era, Richmond did not have a modern rock
Modern rock
Modern rock is a rock format commonly found on commercial radio; the format consists primarily of the alternative rock genre...
station. ABS flipped WKIK to modern rock on August 23, 1995 at 5 p.m. as "104.7 The Buzz, Richmond's New Rock Alternative." The success of this station caused Richmond's AAA
Adult album alternative
Adult album alternative is a radio format. A spinoff from the album-oriented rock format, its roots trace to the 1960s and 1970s from the earlier freeform and progressive formats....
station WVGO to lose listeners. ABS later purchased WVGO (and its sister station WLEE-FM), changed WVGO's AAA format (and ended the local broadcast of the "The Howard Stern Show") and moved "The Buzz" and the WBZU call to 106.5, while 104.7 became a satellite
Satellite
In the context of spaceflight, a satellite is an object which has been placed into orbit by human endeavour. Such objects are sometimes called artificial satellites to distinguish them from natural satellites such as the Moon....
-fed oldies
Oldies
Oldies is a term commonly used to describe a radio format that concentrates on music from a period of about 15 to 55 years before the present day....
station as "Oldies 104.7" (the WVGO call letters were moved to 104.7). In 1998, the station was sold to Fifteen Forty Broadcasting,then owners of Adult Urban WSOJ at 100.3 and local gospel station WREJ-AM,who began a simulcast of WSOJ(South Of the James) on both 100.3 and 104.7. The WVGO calls were later dropped and the station became WKJS, Kiss 104.7. Radio One later purchased both 104.7 and 100.3 from Fifteen Forty in 1999. The 104/100.3 simulcast ended and Radio One began simulcasting their then-country station, WJRV "The River" on 100.3 with a new call, WARV. ( WARV has been thru a plethora of owners and is now owned by Main Line Broadcasting and simulcast the Oldies format on co-owned WBBT/107.3 ). In 2004, Radio One swapped formats, putting the former "Praise 99.3" on to 104.7, while "Kiss FM" simulcasted on 105.7 and 99.3(this caused Urban Gold WJMO to sign off).
Trivia
- 104.7 was once the home to Baltimore OriolesBaltimore Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland in the United States. They are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's American League. One of the American League's eight charter franchises in 1901, it spent its first year as a major league...
baseball, NASCAR
NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is a family-owned and -operated business venture that sanctions and governs multiple auto racing sports events. It was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1947–48. As of 2009, the CEO for the company is Brian France, grandson of the late Bill France Sr...
, and Washington Redskins
Washington Redskins
The Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,...
football simultaneously. When ABS communications bought 104.7, they chose not to keep sports on the station, so WSVS-AM kept the affiliations with NASCAR and the Redskins. When Farmville
Farmville, Virginia
Farmville is a town in Prince Edward and Cumberland counties in the U.S. state of Virginia. The population was 6,845 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Prince Edward County....
-based Colonial Broadcasting purchased WSVS-AM, they took the Redskins broadcasting affiliation and put it on their flagship FM station, WFLO-FM. In 1998, they chose not to renew the contract due to a lack of advertising interest. NASCAR is still on WSVS-AM to this day.
- The original tower in Crewe still holds the original 14,000 watt transmitter
Transmitter
In electronics and telecommunications a transmitter or radio transmitter is an electronic device which, with the aid of an antenna, produces radio waves. The transmitter itself generates a radio frequency alternating current, which is applied to the antenna. When excited by this alternating...
, feed line, and antenna (removed from the tower in 1995 to help the signal of WSVS-AM)
- Studio B, a long time local music show, started in December, 1995 on WBZU with Michele Ravera and Jay Smack. It is now on active rock station WRXL
WRXL
WRXL is an Alternative Rock formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Richmond, Virginia, serving Central Virginia. WRXL is owned and operated by Clear Channel Communications.-External links:*...
.