WHAN is an

adult album alternative Adult album alternative (also triple-A, AAA, or adult alternative) is a radio format. See pages 9 and 10Mills, Joshua. "A New Radio Music Format: Rock for Prosperous Adults" New York Times, Feb 28 1994, p. 2. ProQuest. Web. Accessed September 4, ...

formatted

broadcast Broadcasting is the data distribution, distribution of sound, audio audiovisual content to dispersed audiences via a electronic medium (communication), mass communications medium, typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum (radio waves), ...

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 ...

licensed to

Ashland, Virginia Ashland is a town in Hanover County, Virginia, United States, located north of Richmond along Interstate 95 and U.S. Route 1. As of the 2020 census it had a population of 7,565, up from 7,225 at the 2010 census. Ashland is named after the L ...

, serving Ashland and

Hanover County, Virginia Hanover County is a County (United States), county in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 109,979. Its county seat is Hanover, Virginia, Hanover. Hanove ...

as well as the northern half of the Metro

Richmond, Virginia Richmond ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. Incorporated in 1742, Richmond has been an independent city (United States), independent city since 1871. ...

region. WHAN is owned by Stu-Comm, Inc. WHAN currently simulcasts

WNRN-FM WNRN-FM (91.9 FM) is a non-commercial, listener-supported radio station licensed to Charlottesville, Virginia, serving Central and Western Virginia. The station has a board of directors consisting of local community members and is incorporated a ...

History

On February 1, 2015,

Charlottesville Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city in Virginia, United States. It is the seat of government of Albemarle County, which surrounds the city, though the two are separate legal entities. It is named after Quee ...

-based

public broadcaster Public broadcasting (or public service broadcasting) is radio, television, and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service with a commitment to avoiding political and commercial influence. Public broadcasters receive ...

WTJU began simulcasting its programming on WHAN in an attempt to use its FM translator to reach the Richmond market. WTJU operated the station daily from to as part of a three-year

local marketing agreement In North American broadcasting, a local marketing agreement (LMA), or local management agreement, is a contract in which one corporation, company agrees to operate a radio station, radio or television station owned by another party. In essence, it ...

. Through a separate agreement with WTJU,

Virginia Commonwealth University Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) is a Public university, public research university in Richmond, Virginia, United States. VCU was founded in 1838 as the medical department of Hampden–Sydney College, becoming the Medical College of Virgin ...

webcaster WVCW broadcast on WHAN Monday through Thursday from to and Friday from to , with additional broadcasting time allowed for special events. Local programming filled the remaining timeslots on Fridays and on weekends. WTJU terminated the local marketing agreement effective August 16, 2017, citing financial reasons. WHAN returned to a locally programmed music format, branded "102.9 The Mater", which it described as a mix of classic

Southern rock Southern rock is a subgenre of rock music and a genre of Americana. It developed in the Southern United States from rock and roll, country and blues, and is focused generally on electric guitars and vocals. History 1950s and 1960s: origin ...

and 1990s

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

but has transitioned since 2018 to "The RVA's Best Music Variety" featuring artists and genres from the past 65 years. On August 10, 2020, Fifth Estate Broadcasting filed an agreement to donate WHAN and W275BQ to Stu-Comm, Inc., operator of Charlottesville-based

station

, which complements its existing Richmond pair of WFTH (1590 AM) and W203CB (88.5 FM). This action came less than a week after the

Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, internet, wi-fi, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains j ...

(FCC) repealed a longstanding rule that prevented co-owned AM stations with overlapping signals from broadcasting the same programming. The sale was completed on October 9, 2020. WHAN and W275BQ now simulcast WNRN-FM.

Translator

In addition to the main station, WHAN is relayed by an FM translator to rebroadcast the daytime signal of 1430 AM on the FM band 24 hours a day.

References

External links

WHAN Online
{{Richmond Radio 1962 establishments in Virginia Adult album alternative radio stations in the United States Community radio stations in the United States Radio stations established in 1962 HAN