WBAV-FM (101.9

MHz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), often described as being equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose formal expression in terms of SI base u ...

, ''"V 101.9"'') is an

urban adult contemporary Urban adult contemporary, often abbreviated as urban AC or UAC, (also known as adult R&B,) is the name for a format of radio music, similar to an urban contemporary format. Radio stations using this format usually would not have hip hop music on ...

radio station Radio broadcasting is the broadcasting of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based rad ...

serving the

Charlotte metropolitan area The Charlotte metropolitan area is a metropolitan area of the U.S. states of North and South Carolina, containing the city of Charlotte, North Carolina. The metropolitan area also includes the cities of Gastonia, Concord, Huntersville, and ...

(Metrolina). Owned by

Beasley Broadcast Group Beasley Broadcast Group, Inc., based in Naples, Florida, is an owner/operator of radio stations in the United States. , the company owns 57 stations under the Beasley Media Group name. History The company was founded in 1961 by George G. Bea ...

, WBAV's

studio A studio is a space set aside for creative work of any kind, including art, dance, music and theater. The word ''studio'' is derived from the , from , from ''studere'', meaning to study or zeal. Types Art The studio of any artist, esp ...

s and offices are on South Boulevard in Charlotte's South End. In morning

drive time Drive time is the daypart in which radio broadcasters can reach the most people who listen to car radios while driving, usually to and from work, or on public transportation. Drive-time periods are when the number of radio listeners in this c ...

, it carries the syndicated ''

Steve Harvey Morning Show ''The Steve Harvey Morning Show'' is a national radio program which is currently broadcast from Los Angeles. The nationally syndicated show features host Steve Harvey and a team of comedians and commentators. The show runs approximately four ...

''. WBAV-FM has an

effective radiated power Effective radiated power (ERP), synonymous with equivalent radiated power, is an IEEE standardized definition of directional radio frequency (RF) power, such as that emitted by a radio transmitter. It is the total power in watts that would ha ...

(ERP) of 100,000

watt The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of Power (physics), power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantification (science), quantify the rate of Work ...

s, the maximum for most American FM stations. The

transmitter In electronics and telecommunications, a radio transmitter or just transmitter (often abbreviated as XMTR or TX in technical documents) is an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna (radio), antenna with the purpose of sig ...

is on

Crowder's Mountain Crowders Mountain is one of two main peaks within Crowders Mountain State Park, the other peak being The Pinnacle. The park is located in the Western Piedmont of North Carolina between the cities of Kings Mountain and Gastonia or about we ...

, along McSwain Groves Road in Gastonia (its

city of license In U.S., Canadian, and Mexican broadcasting, a city of license or community of license is the community that a radio station or television station is officially licensed to serve by that country's broadcast regulator. In North American broadcast ...

). The station broadcasts using

HD Radio HD Radio (HDR) is a trademark for in-band on-channel (IBOC) digital radio broadcast technology. HD radio generally simulcast, simulcasts an existing analog radio station in digital format with less noise and with additional text information. HD R ...

technology. It carries

sports Sport is a physical activity or game, often competitive and organized, that maintains or improves physical ability and skills. Sport may provide enjoyment to participants and entertainment to spectators. The number of participants in ...

from

Fox Sports Radio Fox Sports Radio is an Radio in the United States, American Sports radio, sports radio network. Based in Los Angeles, California, the network is operated and managed by Premiere Networks in a content partnership with Fox Corporation's Fox Sports ...

on its HD-2

subchannel In broadcasting, digital subchannels are a method of transmitting more than one independent program stream simultaneously from the same digital radio or television station on the same radio frequency channel. This is done by using data compressi ...

. It carries all-

podcasts A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. Typically, a podcast is an episodic series of digital audio files that users can download to a personal device or stream to listen to at a time of their ...

on its HD-3 subchannel.

History

WGNC-FM, WZXI and WLIT

The station

signed on A sign-on (or start-up in Commonwealth countries except Canada) is the beginning of operations for a radio broadcasting, radio or television station, generally at the start of each day. It is the opposite of a sign-off (or closedown in Commonw ...

the air in . The original

call sign In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign (also known as a call name or call letters—and historically as a call signal—or abbreviated as a call) is a unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be formally as ...

was WGNC-FM and it had a power of 11,100 watts, a fraction of its current output. It was locally owned by the McSwain Family. WGNC-FM was a full

simulcast Simulcast (a portmanteau of "simultaneous broadcast") is the broadcasting of programs or events across more than one resolution, bitrate or medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at exactly the same time (that is, simultaneously) ...

of co-owned WGNC

1450 AM The following radio broadcasting, radio stations broadcast on AM broadcasting, AM frequency 1450 kHz: 1450 AM is a Regional and Local broadcast frequency. Argentina * LRJ211 in San Juan. * LRI203 El Sol in Buenos Aires. Bermuda *VSB Canada ...

. The stations normally ran a broadcast day of 5:00 AM to 12:00 midnight until the late 1970s, when it began operating 24 hours daily. WGNC-AM-FM were

network affiliate In the broadcasting industry (particularly in North America, and even more in the United States), a network affiliate or affiliated station is a local broadcaster, owned by a company other than the owner of the network, which carries some or a ...

s of

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

. In 1976, WGNC-FM broke off from its AM sister station's programming and began airing a

soft adult contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul ...

format. The call letters were changed to WZXI in 1978. The station was one of three soft AC stations in the Charlotte

radio market A media market, broadcast market, media region, designated market area (DMA), television market area, or simply market is a region where the population can receive the same (or similar) television and radio station offerings, and may also incl ...

. Protests over the programming change were launched by WEZC in December 1982. That led WZXI to change to beautiful music. In 1987, WZXI became WLIT and later switched to a satellite-delivered Middle of the Road (MOR) format.

WCKZ

On January 22, 1988, shortly after

Beasley Broadcasting Beasley Broadcast Group, Inc., based in Naples, Florida, is an owner/operator of radio stations in the United States. , the company owns 57 stations under the Beasley Media Group name. History The company was founded in 1961 by George G. Beas ...

bought the station, WLIT became WCKZ, better known as "Kiss 102". "Kiss" aired a "

Rhythmic Contemporary Hit Radio Rhythmic contemporary, also known as Rhythmic Top 20, Rhythmic Top 30, Rhythmic Top 40, Rhythmic CHR or rhythmic crossover, is a primarily American music-radio format that includes a mix of EDM, upbeat rhythmic pop, hip-hop and upbeat R&B hits. ...

" format (commonly known as "CHURban," a precursor to what is today

Rhythmic Contemporary Rhythmic contemporary, also known as Rhythmic Top 20, Rhythmic Top 30, Rhythmic Top 40, Rhythmic CHR or rhythmic crossover, is a primarily American music-radio format that includes a mix of EDM, upbeat rhythmic pop, hip-hop and upbeat R&B hit ...

). Artists included

Lionel Richie Lionel Brockman Richie Jr. (born June 20, 1949) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and television personality. He rose to fame in the 1970s as a songwriter and the co-lead singer of the Motown group Commodores; writing and recor ...

Shalamar Shalamar () is an American R&B and soul music vocal group created by Dick Griffey and Don Cornelius in 1977 and active throughout the 1980s. Shalamar's classic lineup on the SOLAR label consisted of Howard Hewett, Jody Watley, and Jeffrey D ...

Whitney Houston Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer, actress, film producer, model, and philanthropist. Commonly referred to as "Honorific nicknames in popular music, the Voice", she is List of awards and no ...

Lisa Lisa Lisa Velez (born January 15, 1966), better known by her stage name Lisa Lisa, is an American singer. She rose to fame in the 1980s as one-third of the band Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam. Early life According to ''Spin'' magazine, Velez was born in 1 ...

Phil Collins Philip David Charles Collins (born 30 January 1951) is an English musician, songwriter, record producer and actor. He was the drummer and later became the lead singer of the rock band Genesis (band), Genesis and had a successful solo career, ac ...

and

Jody Watley Jody Vanessa Watley (born January 30, 1959) is an American singer, songwriter and producer whose music crosses genres including pop, R&B, jazz, dance and electronic soul.Paoletta, Michael (February 22, 2003) "Watley Relaxes In The Setting of The ...

. The station also increased its transmitter's power on

and moved its studio from Gastonia to Charlotte. However, due to rival

WPEG WPEG (97.9 FM, "Power 98") is a mainstream urban radio station serving the Charlotte, North Carolina, market. It is owned by Beasley Broadcast Group. The station's studios are located on South Boulevard in the city's South End, and a transmit ...

's increase in power, as well as increased competition from WAQQ, the station began falling in the ratings. That, along with financial troubles, resulted in the station filing for

bankrupt Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the de ...

cy in 1992. In late 1993, Beasley announced it would sell WCKZ to Broadcasting Partners Inc. (BPI), which recently purchased WPEG. A local group, Citizens for Broadcasting in the Public Interest, started a petition to stop the sale, but the sale was approved in mid-January 1994. BPI decided to merge WCKZ's rhythmic format with WPEG in order to eliminate the competition between the two stations. (The "

Kiss-FM KISS-FM (99.5 MHz) is a commercial radio station in San Antonio, Texas. It airs a mainstream rock format and is owned by Cox Media Group. The studios and offices are located on Datapoint Drive in Northwest San Antonio near the South Texas M ...

" moniker, with a more

Mainstream Top 40 Pop Airplay (also called Mainstream Top 40, Pop Songs, and Top 40/contemporary hit radio, CHR) is a 40-song music chart published weekly by Billboard (magazine), ''Billboard'' Magazine that ranks the most popular songs of pop music being played o ...

format, was relaunched on 95.1 FM in May 1996.)

WBAV-FM

On January 25, 1994, at 2 p.m., WCKZ flipped to

Urban AC Urban adult contemporary, often abbreviated as urban AC or UAC, (also known as adult R&B,) is the name for a format of radio music, similar to an urban contemporary format. Radio stations using this format usually would not have hip hop music on ...

, branded as "V 101.9." New WBAV-FM call letters were adopted the day prior to the flip. The WBAV call letters were assigned on February 11 to co-owned station

WGIV WGIV (1370 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station licensed to Pineville, North Carolina, and serving the Charlotte metropolitan area. It airs an mainstream urban radio format. WGIV is owned by Frank Neely, but the station is operated by Steve ...

. Following a format change, the AM station returned to the WGIV call letters in May 1997. Broadcasting Partners merged with Evergreen Media in May 1995. In December 1996, as part of a multi-market swap, WBAV-FM, along with Evergreen's four other Charlotte stations, were traded to

EZ Communications EZ Communications, Inc. was a corporation with its headquarters in Fairfax, Virginia. In the 1970s, the small company was one of the pioneers of the easy listening on the FM broadcasting radio spectrum with 2 stations in Manassas and Richmond. Wi ...

(owners of

WSOC-FM WSOC-FM (103.7 MHz) is a commercial radio station in Charlotte, North Carolina. It is owned by Beasley Broadcast Group and airs a country music radio format, calling itself "Country 103.7". Its primary country competitor is iHeartMedia's WKK ...

and WSSS.

WRFX WRFX (99.7 FM broadcasting, FM) is a commercial radio, commercial radio station City of license, licensed to Kannapolis, North Carolina and serving the Charlotte metropolitan area. Owned by iHeartMedia, it airs a classic rock radio format, and ...

then went to SFX Broadcasting, with Evergreen receiving EZ Communications' Philadelphia stations

WIOQ WIOQ (102.1 FM broadcasting, FM) is a commercial radio, commercial radio station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The station broadcasts a contemporary hit radio radio format, format and is owned by iHeartMedia. The radio studio, studios and off ...

and

WUSL WUSL (98.9 FM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It carries a mainstream urban radio format and is owned by iHeartMedia The studios and offices are on Presidential Boulevard in Bala Cynwyd. WUSL is a ...

in return. In July, EZ Communications was bought by American Radio Systems. ARS was bought out by

Infinity Broadcasting Infinity Broadcasting Corporation was a radio company that existed from 1972 until 2005. It was founded by Michael A. Wiener and Gerald Carrus. It became associated with popular radio personalities like Howard Stern, Opie and Anthony, Don Im ...

on September 19, 1997. Infinity changed its name to CBS Radio in December 2005 as part of the spin-off of CBS' motion picture and cable television assets under a relaunched

Viacom Viacom, an abbreviation of Video and Audio Communications, may refer to: * Viacom (1952–2005), a former American media conglomerate * Viacom (2005–2019), a former company spun off from the original Viacom * Viacom18, a joint venture between Pa ...

. On January 22, 2004, WBAV-FM dropped the syndicated

Tom Joyner Thomas Joyner (born November 23, 1949) is an American radio personality, host, philanthropist and former musician. Joyner is the former host of the nationally syndicated '' The Tom Joyner Morning Show'', and also founder of Reach Media Inc., the ...

morning show, which would move to

WQNC WFNZ-FM (92.7 MHz) is a sports radio station in Charlotte, North Carolina, owned and operated by Radio One. The station's studios are located at 1 Julian Price Place just off Morehead Street in Charlotte, and its transmitter site is in Charlot ...

. Joyner was replaced by ''

The Steve Harvey Morning Show ''The Steve Harvey Morning Show'' is a national radio program which is currently broadcast from Los Angeles. The nationally syndicated show features host Steve Harvey and a team of comedians and commentators. The show runs approximately four ...

''. WBAV-FM was one of only three

Urban Adult Contemporary Urban adult contemporary, often abbreviated as urban AC or UAC, (also known as adult R&B,) is the name for a format of radio music, similar to an urban contemporary format. Radio stations using this format usually would not have hip hop music on ...

stations owned by CBS Radio, the other two being

KTWV KTWV (94.7 FM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Los Angeles, California, and broadcasting to the Greater Los Angeles area. The station is owned by Audacy, Inc., and airs a rhythmic adult contemporary radio format. KTWV has studios ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

and the now defunct WJBW/WNEW-FM/WUUB in

West Palm Beach West Palm Beach is a city in and the county seat of Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. It is located immediately to the west of the adjacent Palm Beach, Florida, Palm Beach, which is situated on a barrier island across the Lake Worth Lag ...

. Charlotte was also the only market where CBS Radio operated two full-powered urban stations, WBAV-FM and WPEG. On October 2, 2014, CBS Radio announced that it would trade all of the company's

Tampa Tampa ( ) is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Tampa's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and t ...

and Charlotte stations (including WBAV), as well as WIP in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

to the

in exchange for five stations located in

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

and Philadelphia.CBS And Beasley Swap Philadelphia/Miami For Charlotte/Tampa
from Radio Insight (October 2, 2014) The swap was completed on December 1, 2014. The trade brought the 101.9 frequency back to its former owners for the first time since 1993.

References

External links

WBAV-FM Website
* {{coord, 35.233, N, 81.276, W, type:landmark_region:US_source:FCC, display=title BAV-FM BAV-FM Radio stations established in 1947 Urban adult contemporary radio stations in the United States 1947 establishments in North Carolina BAV-FM