WNOH

WNOH (105.3 MHz) is a commercial FM radio station licensed to Windsor, Virginia, serving the Hampton Roads radio market in Virginia and Northeastern North Carolina. WNOH is owned and operated by iHeartMedia.[1] It airs an African American-oriented all-news radio format, as an affiliate of the Black Information Network.

WNOH
CityWindsor, Virginia
Broadcast areaHampton Roads
Northeastern North Carolina
Frequency105.3 MHz (HD Radio)
BrandingBIN 105.3 Norfolk
SloganBecause Truth Matters
Programming
FormatAnalog/HD1: African American-oriented news
HD2: Hip hop/R&B
HD3: Contemporary Christian "K-Love"
Ownership
OwneriHeartMedia
(iHM Licenses, LLC)
Sister stationsWHBT-FM, WMOV-FM, WOWI
History
First air dateAugust 3, 1962 (as WXRI)
Former call signsWXRI (1962–1989)
WZCL (1989–1990)
WMXN (1990–1995)
WJCD (1995–2001)
WSVY-FM (2001–2004)
WKUS (2004–2010)
WVMA (2010–2013)
Call sign meaningW NOw Hampton Roads (former branding)
Technical information
Facility ID69570
ClassB
ERP50,000 watts
HAAT150 meters (490 ft)
Transmitter coordinates36°48′43.0″N 76°27′45.0″W
Translator(s)93.3 W227BR (Portsmouth)
97.9 W250BQ (Newport News)
Both relay HD3
Links
WebcastWNOH Webstream
Websitebinnewsnorfolk.com

WNOH's studios and offices are on Norfolk Square in Norfolk, Virginia.[2] The transmitter is off Nansemond Parkway in Suffolk, Virginia.[3] WNOH broadcasts at 50,000 watts, the maximum power for the Hampton Roads section of Virginia, although a few FM stations in the market are powered at 100,000 watts if their towers are located near or over the North Carolina state line. And 97.3 WGH-FM is grandfathered at 74,000 watts.

WNOH broadcasts in the HD Radio format. Its HD-2 subchannel carries hip hop/R&B music from iHeartRadio's "Master of the Mix" service. Its HD-3 subchannel carries "K-Love," a contemporary Christian format from the Educational Media Foundation.[4]

History

Early years as WXRI

On August 3, 1962, WXRI signed on the air on 104.5 MHz, licensed to Norfolk.[5] It was owned by the Christian Broadcasting Network, headed by Pat Robertson, and carried a Christian radio format for 27 years, but it started with an antiquated 3,000 watt transmitter located in an abandoned garage.[6] A year after signing on, it was approved to move to its present 105.3 MHz and increased its transmitter power to 50,000 watts.[7] CBN, then headquartered in Portsmouth, also owned WYAH-TV (channel 27, now WGNT), and the two stations shared studio facilities on Spratley Street in Portsmouth.

In 1981, the format was modified to what was described as a "sanitized secular format" in preparation for planned syndication throughout the U.S. by CBN's Continental Radio division.[8] The format mixed Christian contemporary songs with adult contemporary music and avoided any messages of heavy preaching.

Oldies WZCL and smooth jazz WJCD

The 1989 sale of WXRI to Win Communications severed CBN's ties to the station and prompted the station's call sign to change to WZCL. The Christian format initially moved to 96.1 WKSV, which received CBN's music library, hired most of its former DJs and even considered changing its call letters to WXRI.[9] WZCL went through a period of stunting with everything from album rock to beautiful music.[10] On May 19, the new WZCL became "Cool 105" with an oldies format.[11] On September 3, 1990, after briefly stunting with country music, WZCL became adult contemporary-formatted WMXN, "Mix 105".[12][13]

In 1995, ML Media Opportunity Partners sold WMXN to US Radio L.P., which owned AM 1350 WSVY and 102.9 WOWI.[14] The following year, WMXN and co-owned WOWI were acquired by Clear Channel Communications, a forerunner to current owner iHeartMedia, Inc.[15] Clear Channel switched the format to Smooth Jazz as WJCD on March 17, 1995.[16] On June 25, 2001, WJCD and sister WSVY-FM swapped formats and call letters, with smooth jazz WJCD moving to 107.7 FM, while WSVY's Urban AC format moved to 105.3, and rebranded as "Vibe 105.3".[17] On March 19, 2004, WSVY rebranded as "105.3 Kiss FM", and on March 29, the station became WKUS.[18][19][20]

Urban AC WKUS and classic hits WVMA

On October 11, 2010, WKUS' Urban AC format moved from 105.3 to the 92.1 and 107.7 signals to make room for the launch of WVMA, an AC-leaning Classic Hits format as "Magic 105.3". The move meant the end of the Oldies format on 92.1 and the Smooth Jazz format on 107.7.[21][22]

On April 5, 2012, WVMA changed format to Top 40 (CHR), branded as "The New 105.3".[23]

Top 40 and alternative WNOH

On January 25, 2013, WVMA rebranded as "Now 105.3".[24] Ten days later, WVMA shortened the branding to "Now 105".[25] On March 11, 2013, the station changed its call sign to the current WNOH. WNOH primarily competed with WNVZ and WVHT.

On October 31, 2017, at Midnight, after playing "Let Me Love You" by DJ Snake, WNOH began stunting with a loop of "Thriller" by Michael Jackson. At 2 p.m. that day, WNOH flipped to alternative, branded as "Alt 105.3." The syndicated programs moved to WVHT. The first song on "Alt" was "Feel It Still" by Portugal. The Man. The station primarily competed against Sinclair Communications-owned WROX-FM, as well as Saga Communications' active rock-formatted WNOR.[26][27]

BIN: Black Information Network

On June 29, 2020, fifteen iHeart stations in markets with large African American populations, including WNOH, began stunting with African American speeches, interspersed with messages such as "Our Voices Will Be Heard" and "Our side of the story is about to be told," with a new format slated to launch on June 30.[28][29] That day, WNOH, along with the other fourteen stations, became the launch stations for the Black Information Network, an African American-oriented all-news network.[30]

gollark: Oh dear.
gollark: I added a subtly incompatible implementation to some of my other stuff.
gollark: I should write something which uses the Hell Superset.
gollark: This is the internet. You can never escape scrutiny.
gollark: Ah, it shows a snapshot, excellent.

References
  1. "WNOH Facility Record". Federal Communications Commission, audio division.
  2. "WNOH - FM Station Profile - FCC Public Inspection Files". Publicfiles.fcc.gov. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
  3. "WNOH-FM Radio Station Coverage Map". Radio-locator.com. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
  4. "WNOH-FM 105.3 MHz - Windsor, VA". Radio-locator.com. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
  5. "Broadcasting Yearbook 1964 page B-166" (PDF). Americanradiohistory.com. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
  6. RCA Broadcast News No. 152 (February 1974, p.14)
  7. Broadcast Actions, Broadcasting 9 Dec. 1963
  8. Callahan, Jean (1981-02-07). "Fresh Radio Format Blends Pop, Religion". Billboard.
  9. Pryweller, Joseph (1989-05-13). "Local Radio Stations Switch Formats". Daily Press. Retrieved 2016-06-26.
  10. "Schaeffer PD at WZCL". Radio & Records. 1989-05-19.
  11. "Vox Jox". Billboard. 1989-05-27.
  12. "Radio & Record : Issue 856" (PDF). Americanradiohistory.com. September 7, 1990. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
  13. "WMXN 105.3 Norfolk VA 1990 commercial Mix 105". YouTube. 24 August 2016. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
  14. "Newsline". Billboard. 107 (9): 85. March 4, 1995.
  15. "Broadcasting Yearbook 1998 page D-462" (PDF). Americanradiohistory.com. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
  16. "FOR JAZZ STATION WJCD, RISE TO TOP WAS SMOOTH AS A HOT SAX RIFF.(DAILY BREAK)". Highbeam.com. 1996-01-21. Archived from the original on 2018-04-23.
  17. "Sound file" (MP3). Tophour.com. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
  18. "EX-WOWI PAIR ENJOY THEIR "HOT" REUNION.(DAILY BREAK)". Highbeam.com. 2004-04-04. Archived from the original on 2018-04-23.
  19. W82DD CH2 (3 February 2018). "WSVY 105.3 Kiss FM - Norfolk, VA (March 21, 2004)". YouTube. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
  20. "airwaves 2004 in review: local radio.(Daily Break)". Highbeam.com. 2004-12-30. Archived from the original on 2018-04-23.
  21. "Smooth jazz format dropped in Clear Channel radio shuffle" from Daily Press October 11, 2010
  22. "Three Way Format Change In Norfolk/Virginia Beach". RadioInsight.com. 2010-10-11. Retrieved 2018-04-22.
  23. "Magic 105.3 Norfolk Goes CHR - RadioInsight". Radioinsight.com. 4 April 2012. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
  24. "New Is Now In Norfolk - RadioInsight". Radioinsight.com. 25 January 2013. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
  25. "ALT 105.3 - Hampton Roads Alternative Rock". ALT 105.3. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
  26. "Now 105 Norfolk Flips To Alternative - RadioInsight". Radioinsight.com. 31 October 2017. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
  27. W82DD CH2 (31 October 2017). "WNOH Flip to Alt 105.3 - Norfolk, VA (October 31, 2017)". YouTube. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
  28. Fifteen iHeartMedia Stations Stunting Ahead Of New Network Launch
  29. "Several iHeartMedia Stations Stunting With Speeches, New Format To Be Announced Tomorrow". All Access. June 29, 2020. Retrieved June 30, 2020.
  30. iHeartMedia Launches Black Information Network
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