WTAR

WTAR (850 kHz "Sports Radio 850 AM and 96.5 FM") is a commercial AM radio station licensed to Norfolk, Virginia, and serving the Hampton Roads (Norfolk-Virginia Beach-Newport News) radio market.[1] WTAR is owned and operated by Sinclair Telecable, Inc.[2]

WTAR
CityNorfolk, Virginia
Broadcast areaHampton Roads
Frequency850 AM kHz
BrandingSports Radio 850 AM and 96.5 FM
Programming
FormatSports
AffiliationsFox Sports Radio
Ownership
OwnerSinclair Communications
(Sinclair Telecable, Inc.)
Sister stationsWNIS, WNOB, WROX-FM, WUSH, WUSH-HD2
History
First air dateSeptember, 21 1923 (on 780 kHz)
Technical information
Facility ID60472
ClassB
Power50,000 watts daytime
25,000 watts nighttime
Transmitter coordinates37°3′36.0″N 76°41′26.0″W
Translator(s)96.5 W243DJ (Norfolk)
96.5 W243EK (Hampton)
Repeater(s)106.1-2 WUSH-HD2
Links
WebcastWTAR Webstream
WebsiteWTAR.com

The station airs a sports radio format, carrying the Fox Sports Radio Network most of the day, with a local afternoon drive time show. The syndicated Dan Patrick Show is heard in late mornings. WTAR is part of the Washington Nationals Radio Network and the Washington Redskins Radio Network.

WTAR's studios and offices are on Waterside Drive in Norfolk.[3] The transmitter is off Track Lane in Smithfield, Virginia.[4] WTAR runs at 50,000 watts by day, the highest power permitted by the Federal Communications Commission for commercial AM stations. At night, to reduce interference to other stations on AM 850, mainly Class A KOA in Denver, Colorado, WTAR reduces power to 25,000 watts. It uses a directional antenna at all times. WTAR programming is also heard on HD Radio over 106.1 WUSH-HD2 and on FM translator station W243DJ at 96.5 MHz in Norfolk and W243EK at 96.5 MHz in Hampton.[5]

History

On September 21, 1923, WTAR signed on the air at 780 kilocycles with 15 watts of power.[6] It was the first radio station to go on the air in Virginia. On July 6, 1934, WTAR became an affiliate of the NBC Red Network after dropping the CBS Radio Network. At that time, the station was owned and operated by the parent company of the Norfolk Ledger-Star and The Virginian-Pilot.[7]

WTAR Translator on a SPARC HD Radio with RDS.

By the late 1930s, WTAR got a power boost to 5,000 watts by day, 1,000 watts at night.[8] In the 1940s, the nighttime power was increased to match the daytime power, 5,000 watts.

WTAR added an FM counterpart in 1947, 97.3 WTAR-FM, which mostly simulcast the AM station.[9] But few people owned FM radios at that time and WTAR gave up its FM license a couple of years later. The 97.3 frequency returned to the air in the mid-1950s as WGH-FM.

In 1950, WTAR signed on a TV station, Channel 4 WTAR-TV (now Channel 3 WTKR).[9] Because 790 WTAR was an NBC affiliate, the TV station primarily carried NBC-TV programs. As the first TV station in the Norfolk area, it also ran some shows from CBS, ABC and the DuMont Television Network. Within a year of the TV station's debut, both the TV and radio facilities moved into a new broadcasting center at 720 Boush Street.

In 1961, WTAR management decided to return to FM broadcasting, and signed on a new WTAR-FM, this time at 95.7 MHz (now WVKL).[10] WTAR-FM aired automated beautiful music, separate from the AM station, which had a full service format of middle of the road music, news, sports and talk.

In the mid-1980s, WTAR switched to oldies music and became an affiliate of CBS Radio News. In the early 1990s, the station stopped playing music and became a news/talk station, adding an affiliation with CNN as well as CBS Radio.[11] Around the same time, rival talk station WNIS got a big boost in power, going to 50,000 watts by day, 25,000 watts at night. Eventually both stations would become co-owned, with Sinclair acquiring AM 850 in June 1997.

The following month, on July 15, WTAR and its new sister station, WNIS, switched dial positions. WNIS moved to AM 790, while WTAR took over the 850 kHz spot on the dial.[12][13] The move gave WTAR the stronger signal.

WTAR flipped from talk radio to an all-sports format on February 5, 2006.[14][15] On September 15, 2017, WTAR began simulcasting on 106.1 WUSH-HD2 and FM translator station W243DJ at 96.5 MHz in Norfolk.[5] The move allows WTAR listeners to hear the station on either AM or FM, although the FM translator signal is limited to Norfolk and surrounding communities due to its low power of 120 watts.[16]

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See also

References
  1. "Arbitron Station Information Profiles". Nielsen Audio/Nielsen Holdings. Retrieved November 19, 2014.
  2. "WTAR Facility Record". Federal Communications Commission, audio division. Retrieved November 19, 2014.
  3. WTAR.com/contact
  4. Radio-Locator.com/WTAR
  5. Vintage 96.5 Quickly Gives Way to WTAR Simulcast Radioinsight - September 15, 2017
  6. "WTAR-TV Marks Its First Year" (PDF). Broadcasting. April 30, 1951. p. 62. Retrieved 8 August 2016.
  7. "WTAR Joins the NBC" (PDF). Broadcasting. July 15, 1934. Retrieved 7 December 2014.
  8. Broadcasting Yearbook 1940 page 162
  9. Broadcasting Yearbook 1951 page 314
  10. Broadcasting Yearbook 1971 page B-217
  11. Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 1993 page B-376
  12. HighBeam
  13. Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 1998 page D-461
  14. HighBeam
  15. Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 2007 page D-533
  16. Radio-Locator.com/W243DJ
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