WGH-FM

WGH-FM
City Newport News, Virginia
Broadcast area Hampton Roads
Branding "97-3 The Eagle"
Slogan "Hampton Roads Country Station"
Frequency 97.3 FM MHz
First air date November, 1948[1]
Format Country[2]
Power 74,000 Watts
HAAT 120 meters (390 ft)
Class B
Facility ID 72102
Transmitter coordinates 36°57′47.0″N 76°24′42.0″W / 36.963056°N 76.411667°W / 36.963056; -76.411667
Callsign meaning World's Greatest Harbor[3]
Former callsigns WGH-FM (1948-1984)
WNSY (1984-1985)
WRSR (1985-1986)
WGH-FM (1986-Present)[4]
Affiliations MRN Radio
PRN Radio
Owner Max Media
(MHR License, LLC)
Sister stations WGH, WVBW, WVHT, WVSP
Webcast WGH-FM Webstream
Website WGH-FM Online

WGH-FM (97.3 MHz) is a commercial FM radio station licensed to Newport News, Virginia, serving Hampton Roads.[2] WGH-FM is owned and operated by Max Media and airs a country music radio format.[5] It uses the slogan "97.3 The Eagle."

Studios and offices are on Greenwich Road in Virginia Beach, Virginia.[6] The transmitter is on Newport News Point, near Interstate 664.[7]

Station History

WGH-FM first signed on the air in November 1948, one of the first FM stations in Virginia.[8] It broadcasts at 74,000 watts in an area of the country where today the maximum power for FM radio stations should be 50,000 watts. But because the station dates back to 1948, before the Federal Communications Commission set rules for FM power levels, it is grandfathered at the higher power. The call letters for WGH-FM and its sister station WGH 1310 AM stand for World's Greatest Harbor, a slogan for the Hampton Roads or Tidewater area of Virginia, where there is a large shipbuilding industry and both commercial and military ports.[9]

For many years in its early days, WGH-FM was a classical music station.[10] On September 1, 1983, after Commcor bought the station, the classical format was abruptly dropped and flipped to soft rock as WNSY-FM, "Sunny 97."[11] A year later, it flipped to Top 40 as "Y-97".[12] The next year, after Susquehanna Broadcasting took over, the station changed call letters to WRSR and rebranded as "97 Star", while keeping the current format.[13] The WGH-FM calls would return on December 15, 1986.

On August 29, 1990, the Top 40 format was dropped and the station began stunting with all-Elvis Presley. On September 3rd, it flipped to its current country format as "Eagle 97.3."[14][15]

References

  1. ↑ Broadcasting Yearbook 2010 (PDF). ProQuest, LLC/Reed Publishing (Nederland), B.V. 2010. p. D-567. Retrieved July 18, 2015.
  2. 1 2 "Arbitron Station Information Profiles". Nielsen Audio/Nielsen Holdings. Retrieved July 18, 2015.
  3. ↑ "Call Letter Origins: Key and Listing". Bob Nelson. Retrieved July 18, 2015.
  4. ↑ "Call Sign History". Federal Communications Commission, audio division. Retrieved July 18, 2015.
  5. ↑ "WGH Facility Record". Federal Communications Commission, audio division. Retrieved July 18, 2015.
  6. ↑ https://www.google.com/maps/place/5589+Greenwich+Rd,+Virginia+Beach,+VA+23462/@36.8441949,-76.182162,17.58z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x89ba9609946c7bb1:0x40382729fb5bfc12!8m2!3d36.8426693!4d-76.1801071
  7. ↑ http://radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/patg?id=WGH-FM
  8. ↑ Broadcasting Yearbook 1977 pg. C-220
  9. ↑ History of Newport News, Virginia
  10. ↑ http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC-YB/1982/C%20Radio%20NE%20to%20Terr%20BC%20YB%201982%20All-4.pdf
  11. ↑ http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-RandR/1980s/1983/RR-1983-09-09.pdf
  12. ↑ http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC-YB/1985/B-Radio-NE-to-Ter-B-Radio-All-BC-YB-1985.pdf
  13. ↑ http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC-YB/1986/B-Radio-NE-to-Ter-B-Radio-All-BC-YB-1986.pdf
  14. ↑ http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-RandR/1990s/1990/RR-1990-09-07.pdf
  15. ↑ http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC-YB/1991/B-Radio-NE-MT-1991-B&W.pdf


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