WVSP-FM
| Broadcast area | The Peninsula, Middle Peninsula and Southside of Hampton Roads |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 94.1 MHz (HD Radio) |
| Branding | Priority Auto Sports Radio 94.1 ESPN |
| Programming | |
| Format | Sports radio |
| Subchannels | HD2: Sports radio (WGH simulcast) |
| Affiliations | ESPN Radio Baltimore Orioles Radio Network Norfolk Tides Old Dominion University Sports |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| WGH, WGH-FM, WTWV-FM, WVBW-FM | |
| History | |
First air date | 1975 |
Former call signs | |
Call sign meaning | "Virginia Sports" |
| Technical information[3] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 19836 |
| Class | B |
| ERP | |
| HAAT | 162 meters (531 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 37°12′33.5″N 76°32′33.8″W / 37.209306°N 76.542722°W |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | espnradio941.com |
WVSP-FM (94.1 MHz, "Priority Auto Sports Radio 94.1 ESPN") is a sports formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Yorktown, Virginia, United States, serving The Peninsula, Middle Peninsula and Southside of Hampton Roads. WVSP-FM is owned and operated by Max Broadcast Group Holdings, LLC.[5] WVSP's studios are located on Greenwich Road in Virginia Beach, while its transmitter is located in Newport News Park in York County near Colonial National Historical Park.
History
The station signed on in 1975 as WYVA-FM, serving Yorktown, Virginia, with a country format.[6] In 1986, it changed call letters to WKEZ while retaining the country format.[7] On October 14, 1991, it began a time-brokered simulcast with then AAA-formatted WKOC "The Coast" in Norfolk. The next year, the simulcast was ended and the station switched to adult contemporary as WXEZ, "EZ94".[8] The transmitter tower was moved to give the station a better signal over the Tidewater area. The station was sold in the mid 1990s to Barnstable Broadcasting and switched to an urban gospel music format as "Star 94.1" in August 2000.[9] Barnstable later sold its Tidewater market stations to locally-based Max Media.
On October 5, 2009, WXEZ swapped formats with WGH (1310 AM) and became a sports radio station, and at that time changed their call letters to WVSP-FM. With this change, there are now two sports stations on the FM dial in Hampton Roads. ESPN Radio also gained an improved coverage area much greater than when they were located on 1310 AM. The black gospel format moved to 1310 AM.[10]
On February 1, 2023, the station rebranded as "Priority Auto Sports Radio 94.1", as part of a naming rights deal with local automotive dealer chain Priority Automotive, one of the few such deals involving a radio station's branding. WVSP-FM's programming, including its ESPN Radio affiliation, did not change.[11]
References
- ^ "Call letters" (PDF). Broadcasting. May 15, 1978. p. 60.
- ^ "Call letters" (PDF). Broadcasting. April 12, 1982. p. 112.
- ^ "Facility Technical Data for WVSP-FM". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
- ^ "Full Power FM Digital Notification Application [WVSP-FM]". fcc.gov. Federal Communications Commission. July 29, 2022. Retrieved September 14, 2022.
- ^ "WVSP Facility Record". Federal Communications Commission, audio division.
- ^ http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC-YB/1976/C-2%20%20Broadcasting%20Yearbook%201976.pdf [dead link]
- ^ http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC-YB/1987/B2-BC-YB-1987.pdf [dead link]
- ^ http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC-YB/1993/B-Radio-AL-NE-Ter-YB-1993-B&W.pdf [dead link]
- ^ HighBeam
- ^ "Press Release: ESPN Radio 94.1-FM (Formerly 1310-AM) Launches October 5" (PDF). MAX Media Hampton Roads. September 18, 2009. Retrieved September 18, 2009.
- ^ WVSP Sells Naming Rights, Becoming Priority Auto Sports 94.1
External links
- ESPN Radio 94.1 Online
- Facility details for Facility ID 19836 (WVSP-FM) in the FCC Licensing and Management System
- WVSP-FM in Nielsen Audio's FM station database