WAFX
Broadcast areaHampton Roads
Northeastern North Carolina
Frequency106.9 MHz (HD Radio)
Branding106.9 The Fox
Programming
FormatClassic rock[1]
Ownership
Owner
  • Saga Communications
  • (Tidewater Communications, LLC.)
WNOR
History
First air date
December 12, 1983 (as WTID)[2]
Former call signs
WTID (1981-1987)
WSKX (1987-1989)[3]
Call sign meaning
W A FoX (The Fox)
Technical information
Facility ID67082
ClassC
Power100,000 watts
HAAT300 meters (980 ft)
Transmitter coordinates
36°48′9.0″N 76°45′19.0″W / 36.802500°N 76.755278°W / 36.802500; -76.755278
Links
WebcastListen Live
Website1069thefox.com

WAFX (106.9 FM, "106.9 The Fox") is a commercial radio station licensed to Suffolk, Virginia. It serves the Hampton Roads (Norfolk-Virginia Beach-Newport News) radio market.[1] WAFX is owned and operated by Saga Communications.[4] It airs a classic rock radio format.

WAFX broadcasts in the HD Radio (hybrid) format.[5] Studios and offices are on Greenbrier Circle in Chesapeake.[6] Most FM stations in the market are powered at 50,000 watts or less, but WAFX runs at 100,000 watts. It is a Class C FM station, with its transmitter off U.S. Route 258 in Windsor, Virginia, just far enough west to be in the Class C zone.[7] Eastern Virginia is in the Class B zone, which limits the effective radiated power of FM stations closer to the Atlantic coast. WAFX's signal covers most of Southeastern Virginia and Northeastern North Carolina, and is audible from the suburbs of Richmond, Virginia, to Elizabeth City, North Carolina.

History

WAFX as seen on SPARC HD Radio with one HD sub-channel.

In 1981, Voice of The People, Inc., received a construction permit from the Federal Communications Commission to construct and operate a new FM broadcast station at Suffolk, Virginia, on the frequency 106.9 MHz. Voice of The People chose WTID for the call sign, which stood for the Tidewater region of Virginia. The station signed on the air in November 1982.[8] WTID aired a Christian radio format. In April 1985, the station was sold to Southern Starr Broadcasting Group, Inc., of Altamonte Springs, Florida.

In 1987, Downs Radio, Inc., acquired WTID. Its call letters were changed to WSKX and it aired a country music format. The KX in the call sign stood for "Kicks." The station struggled against the market's long-time country leader, 100.5 WCMS-FM (now urban adult contemporary WVBW-FM). WSKX left the country format in 1989, becoming classic rock WAFX "The Fox."

Radio Ventures, Inc., acquired the station for $10 million in 1990.[9] In 1994, Saga Communications bought WAFX for $4 million.[10] Saga, which already owned album rock WNOR, continued WAFX's classic rock format, while moving WNOR-FM to a more current-based, harder-edged active rock format. As of today, WAFX's playlist has expanded to playing popular and historic 1990s alternative and grunge into their playlist, while WNOR has since moved all their classic and harder songs from the 1970s and 1980s to WAFX.

References

  1. ^ a b "Arbitron Station Information Profiles". Nielsen Audio/Nielsen Holdings. Retrieved December 10, 2015.
  2. ^ Broadcasting Yearbook 2010 (PDF). ProQuest, LLC/Reed Publishing (Nederland), B.V. 2010. p. D-572. Retrieved December 10, 2015.
  3. ^ "Call Sign History". Federal Communications Commission, audio division. Retrieved December 10, 2015.
  4. ^ "WAFX Facility Record". Federal Communications Commission, audio division. Retrieved December 10, 2015.
  5. ^ https://hdradio.com/stations/ Radio Guide for Norfolk, Virginia Beach and Newport News
  6. ^ FM99.com/contact-us
  7. ^ Radio-Locator.com/WAFX-FM
  8. ^ Broadcasting Yearbook 1984 page B-271
  9. ^ Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 1991 page B-349
  10. ^ Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 2001 page D-477

External links

Radio stations in the Hampton Roads, Virginia, metropolitan area
Classic rock radio stations in the state of Virginia
Saga Communications, Inc.
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