WFVA
Broadcast areaMetro Fredericksburg
Frequency1230 kHz
BrandingNewsTalk 1230 WFVA
Programming
FormatTalk[1]
AffiliationsABC News Radio
Fox News Radio
Premiere Networks
Salem Radio Network
Westwood One
The Weather Channel
Ownership
Owner
WBQB
History
First air date
September 8, 1939[2]
Former frequencies
1260 kHz (1939–1945)[3]
Call sign meaning
Fredericksburg, Virginia
Technical information
Facility ID41813
ClassC
Power1,000 watts unlimited
Transmitter coordinates
38°16′50.0″N 77°26′11.0″W / 38.280556°N 77.436389°W / 38.280556; -77.436389
Links
WebcastWFVA Webstream
Websitenewstalk1230.net

WFVA (1230 AM) is a commercial radio station in Fredericksburg, Virginia.[1] WFVA is owned and operated by Centennial Broadcasting.[4] It airs a talk radio format. The studios, offices and transmitter are on Mimosa Street in Fredericksburg.[5] The call sign stands for Fredericksburg, Virginia. It has kept the same call letters for its eight decades of broadcasting.

The station has a local talk and information show in weekday morning drive time. The rest of the day is made up of nationally syndicated talk shows from Glenn Beck, Michael Savage, Laura Ingraham, Mark Levin, John Batchelor, Coast to Coast AM with George Noory, and This Morning, America's First News with Gordon Deal. Most hours begin with ABC News Radio.

WFVA was scheduled to broadcast all Fredericksburg Nationals baseball games in the 2020 baseball season[6] before the season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[7]

History

On September 8, 1939, WFVA first signed on.[8] It was originally owned by the Fredericksburg Broadcasting Company. The station was powered at 250 watts and broadcast at 1260 kHz. It was the first radio station in Fredericksburg.

By the late 1940s, it had moved to its current dial position, 1230 kHz. It was a network affiliate of ABC.

In the 1950s, Richard Field Lewis Jr. bought 60% and added it to his Richard Field Lewis Jr. Stations network.[9][10][11][12]

In 1960, it signed on an FM radio station at 101.5 MHz, WFVA-FM.[13] Now known as WBQB, it is still WFVA's sister station.

Through the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, WFVA carried a full service format, airing middle of the road music, news and talk. By the 1990s, it transitioned to a full-time talk format, airing shows from the ABC Talkradio Network.[14] WFVA is still affiliated with ABC News Radio.

References

  1. ^ a b "Arbitron Station Information Profiles". Nielsen Audio/Nielsen Holdings. Retrieved July 16, 2015.
  2. ^ Broadcasting Yearbook 2010 (PDF). ProQuest, LLC/Reed Publishing (Nederland), B.V. 2010. p. D-564. Retrieved July 16, 2015.
  3. ^ "WFVA History Grid". FCCData.
  4. ^ "WFVA Facility Record". Federal Communications Commission, audio division. Retrieved July 16, 2015.
  5. ^ Radio-Locator.com/WFVA-AM
  6. ^ "Fredericksburg Nationals ink radio deal". Potomac Local. Potomac Local Media, LLC. February 28, 2020. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
  7. ^ "2020 Minor League Baseball Season Shelved". Minor League Baseball. June 30, 2020. Retrieved August 22, 2020.
  8. ^ Broadcasting Yearbook 1940 page 162
  9. ^ "Lewis, Multiple AM Owner, dies" (PDF). Broadcasting. 28 October 1957. p. 74. Retrieved 18 December 2018.
  10. ^ "Obituary" (PDF). Television Digest. October 1957. p. 6. Retrieved 18 December 2018.
  11. ^ "Marion P. Lewis". Free Lance-Star. 14 April 2001. Retrieved 18 December 2018.
  12. ^ "WLXW Purchase: Lewis Buys for $70,000" (PDF). Telecasting Yearbook. 1956. p. 340. Retrieved 18 December 2018.
  13. ^ Broadcasting Yearbook 1967 page B-170
  14. ^ Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 1994 page B-386

External links

Radio stations in the Fredericksburg, Virginia area
News/Talk radio stations in the Commonwealth of Virginia
Categories