WJJS (93.5

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 ...

) is a commercial FM radio station licensed to

Salem, Virginia Salem is an independent city in the U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 25,346. It is the county seat of Roanoke County, although the two are separate jurisdictions. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combine ...

, and serving the

Roanoke metropolitan area The Roanoke Metropolitan Statistical Area is a Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) in Virginia as defined by the United States Office of Management and Budget (OMB). The Roanoke MSA is sometimes referred to as the Roanoke Valley, even though the ...

. WJJS has a

rhythmic Top 40 The Rhythmic chart (also called Rhythmic Airplay, and previously named Rhythmic Songs, Rhythmic Top 40 and CHR/Rhythmic) is an airplay chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. The chart tracks and measures the airplay of songs played on ...

radio format A radio format or programming format (not to be confused with broadcast programming) describes the overall content broadcast on a radio station. The radio format emerged mainly in the United States in the 1950s, at a time when Radio broadcasting, ...

and is owned and operated by iHeartMedia, Inc. Programming is

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) ...

with co-owned 102.7

WJJX WJJX (102.7 hertz, MHz) is a commercial radio, commercial FM broadcasting, FM Radio broadcasting, radio station city of license, licensed to Appomattox, Virginia, and serving the Lynchburg metropolitan area and the Southside (Virginia), Southsid ...

Appomattox, Virginia Appomattox ( ) is a town in Appomattox County, Virginia, Appomattox County, Virginia, United States. The population was 1,733 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. It is the county seat of Appomattox County, Virginia, Appomattox County. ...

, serving the Lynchburg metropolitan area. The

radio studio A recording studio is a specialized facility for recording and mixing of instrumental or vocal musical performances, spoken words, and other sounds. They range in size from a small in-home project studio large enough to record a single sin ...

s and offices are on Old Forest Road in Lynchburg and its

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is located on Luckett Street near Shenandoah Ave in Roanoke. Most shows on WJJS and WJJX are voicetracked, outside of FCC-mandated public affairs programming on Sundays. The only syndicated shows aired on the station are ''The Tino Cochino Show'' and ''The Bootleg Kev Show.''

History

The station launched on March 7, 1969, with the callsign WJLM and carried a

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

format for 33 years, last branded as "J93.5, Today's Hot Country". Clear Channel purchased the station and at midnight on December 26, 2002, the format was flipped to Light

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 ...

, branded as "Sunny 93.5" and changed the callsign to WSNV. Just after noon on March 10, 2005, WSNZ at 102.7 FM became a simulcast of WSNV and changed the branding to "93.5 Roanoke, 102.7 Lynchburg; Sunny FM". At noon on December 17, 2007, WSNZ swapped calls and formats with WJJX at 101.7 FM. In March 2011, it was announced that WSNV would no longer be permitted to carry the station on more than one frequency due to broadcast laws. Therefore, at approximately 5:00 P.M. on March 25, 2011, WSNZ split from its simulcast with WSNV and began simulcasting WSFF at 106.1 FM. In late 2012, WSNV shifted more towards a Classic Hits format, slightly changing the branding back to "Sunny 93.5; Hits of the 60's, 70s and 80s" as it did from December 26, 2002, to March 10, 2005. On August 25, 2014, the slogan changed to "70's and 80's Hits". While the classic hits format was relatively successful, it did have quite a bit of overlap with sister station WSFF; combined with competition from rimshot simulcasters WHTU and WZZI, Sunny was not able to make more headway in the Roanoke market, and WSNV registered a 3.3 share in the Spring 2016 Nielsen Audio ratings, the last ratings book revealed during the format's run. As a result, following their Christmas music stint during the months of November and December, WSNV began stunting on December 27, 2016, with a "Wheel of Formats", running different format blocks that change with every few songs (such as classic

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

smooth jazz Smooth jazz is commercially oriented crossover jazz music. Although often described as a "genre", it is a debatable and highly controversial subject in jazz music circles. As a radio format, however, smooth jazz radio became the successor to e ...

, urban contemporary, and even all-

Elvis Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Presley's sexuall ...

) and asking listeners to vote for a new format on the website of sister station WJJS, with said new format debuting on January 3, 2017, at 10:00 A.M. At that time, after 10 hours of simulated construction sounds, the station flipped to Hot Adult Contemporary as "Mix 93.5; Roanoke's Best Variety". The first song on Mix was " Shut Up and Dance" by Walk the Moon. On May 1, 2019, WSNV changed their call letters to WJJS in anticipation of relocating the format from 104.9 FM, which concurrently changed its call letters to WSTV with the adult hits-formatted "Steve FM" to move from WSFF 106.1 FM Vinton/WSNZ 101.7 FM Lynchburg which were in the process of being sold to

Educational Media Foundation Educational Media Foundation (formerly EMF Broadcasting, abbreviated EMF) is an American nonprofit Christian media ministry based in Franklin, a suburb of Nashville. EMF is the parent company of K-LOVE and Air1—the world's largest contempor ...

. The frequency move was completed on May 30, 2019.iHeart Prepping Roanoke Format Moves
Radioinsight - May 23, 2019

References

External links

WJJS Online
{{IHeartMedia JJS (FM) Radio stations established in 1969 1969 establishments in Virginia Rhythmic contemporary radio stations in the United States IHeartMedia radio stations