WKEY (1340

kHz 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 uni ...

) was an American

AM radio AM broadcasting is radio broadcasting using amplitude modulation (AM) transmissions. It was the first method developed for making audio radio transmissions, and is still used worldwide, primarily for medium wave (also known as "AM band") transmi ...

station

licensed A license (American English) or licence (Commonwealth English) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit). A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another part ...

to serve the community of

Covington, Virginia Covington is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 5,737, making it the second-least populous city in Virginia. It is surrounded by Alleghany County, of which it is also the county seat ...

. The station, which began broadcasting in 1941, was owned and operated by Todd P. Robinson, Inc. The WKEY

broadcast license A broadcast license is a type of spectrum license granting the licensee permission to use a portion of the radio frequency spectrum in a given geographical area for broadcasting purposes. The licenses generally include restrictions, which va ...

was held by WVJT, LLC. The station had

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), ...

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 Format may refer to: Printing and visual media * Text formatting, the typesetting of text elements * Paper formats, or paper size standards * Newspaper format, the size of the paper page Computing * File format, particular way that informatio ...

to the Covington/ Clifton Forge area. WKEY was branded, along with its

broadcast translator A broadcast relay station, also known as a satellite station, relay transmitter, broadcast translator (U.S.), re-broadcaster (Canada), repeater (two-way radio) or complementary station (Mexico), is a broadcast transmitter which repeats (or tran ...

W278BF (103.5 FM, Covington), as "103.5 Big Country".

History

WKEY began broadcasting on May 23, 1941, as WJMA with 250 watts of power. WJMA was owned by John Arrington Jr. and his wife, Marcia. On May 26, 1942, WJMA was sold to Earl M. Key and the callsign changed to WKEY in 1943. By 1964, the station's power increased to 1,000 watts during the day, while the nighttime power remained at 250 watts. On June 1, 1973, WKEY was sold to WKEY, Inc., headed by E.H. Barr, for an undisclosed amount. WKEY increased its nighttime power in 1987, to 1,000 watts, matching its daytime power. On December 20, 2002, WKEY was acquired by Quorum Radio Partners of Virginia, Inc. for $650,000. During 2002, WKEY switched from its longtime

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, ...

format to

oldies Oldies is a term for musical genres such as pop music, rock and roll, doo-wop, surf music from the second half of the 20th century, specifically from around the mid-1950s to the 1980s, as well as for a radio format playing this music. Since 2 ...

. On April 20, 2005, Quorum Radio Partners of Virginia, Inc. filed for bankruptcy and WKEY placed into

debtor-in-possession A debtor in possession or DIP in United States bankruptcy law is a person or corporation who has filed a bankruptcy petition, but remains in possession of property upon which a creditor has a lien or similar security interest. A debtor becomes th ...

status pending a sale. On January 1, 2006, WKEY was sold to Todd P. Robinson, Inc., for $100,000. On May 1, 2008, the station changed its format from oldies to southern gospel, under "The Cross" branding. On January 14, 2012, WKEY began

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) ...

ing sister station

WIQO-FM WIQO-FM (100.9 FM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Forest, Virginia, and serving the Lynchburg metropolitan area. It simulcasts a talk radio format with sister station 106.3 WMNA-FM in Gretna, Virginia. They are owned and operated ...

, after its move to

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, and away from Covington. On August 9, 2012, WKEY began simulcasting full-time on translator station W278BF (103.5 FM), located in Covington, with the country format that was previously heard on WIQO. On November 18, 2013, WKEY began streaming its signal live on the internet. 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 ...

cancelled the station's license on November 14, 2024; WKEY's programming remains on W278BF and the second

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 ...

channel of WJVR.

Programming

WKEY carried a mix of local and syndicated programming. Weekdays began with a locally produced morning show called "Highway 64 with Big Al". The station also had a news department which prepared and broadcast local news reports on weekdays. The bulk of the broadcast day's programming came from

Dial Global Westwood One, Inc. is an American radio network owned by Cumulus Media. The company syndicates talk, music, and sports programming. The company takes its name from an earlier network also named Westwood One, a company founded in 1976. The c ...

's Mainstream Country network. Nationally syndicated programs aired on WKEY included the "Tim White Bluegrass Show" and "zMAX Racing Country". The station carried a one-minute newscast from

Fox News Radio Fox News Radio is an American radio network owned by Fox News. It is syndicated to over 500 AM and FM radio stations across the United States. It also supplies programming for three channels on Sirius XM Satellite Radio. History In 2003, ...

at the top of each hour. WKEY had broadcast live football games from Covington High School in the Fall. WKEY was an

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of the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...

's Virginia Sports Network, which carried the school's

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

and

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

games.

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. It is considered to be one of the top ranked motorsports organizations in ...

Sprint Cup Series The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the NASCAR, National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR), the most prestigious stock car racing series in the United States. The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, ...

races could also be heard on WKEY with live coverage provided by the

Motor Racing Network Motor Racing Network (MRN) is an American radio network that syndicates broadcasts of auto racing events, particularly NASCAR. MRN was founded in 1970 by NASCAR founder Bill France, Sr. and broadcaster Ken Squier, and is a wholly owned subsidiary ...

and the

Performance Racing Network The Performance Racing Network or PRN for short is a radio syndication network controlled by Speedway Motorsports (SMI) founded in 1981. PRN airs NASCAR Cup Series and Xfinity Series events held at Speedway Motorsports owned tracks. PRN fi ...

. On Sunday mornings, WKEY aired an assortment of

religious programming Religious broadcasting, sometimes referred to as faith-based broadcasts, is the dissemination of television and/or radio content that intentionally has religious ideas, religious experience, or religious practice as its core focus. In some coun ...

. The programming began with one half hour of locally produced

Gospel music Gospel music is a traditional genre of Christian music and a cornerstone of Christian media. The creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of gospel music vary according to culture and social context. Gospel music is compo ...

program, after which the station aired the syndicated programs ''

In Touch Ministries In Touch Ministries is a Christian evangelical organization that produces and distributes media and resources, including radio and television programs, podcasts, articles, and books, with the goal of spreading the message of the Gospel and help ...

'' and ''

Focus on the Family Focus on the Family (FOTF or FotF) is an American Christian fundamentalism, Evangelical Protestant organization founded in 1977 in Southern California by James Dobson, based in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The group is one of a number of Evangel ...

'', rounding out the block with a live local church service broadcast.

Translator

In addition to the main station, WKEY was relayed by an FM translator to widen its broadcast area.

References

External links

103.5 Big Country Online
* *
FCC History Cards for WKEY
{{VirginiaHighlands Radio KEY Radio stations established in 1941 1941 establishments in Virginia Radio stations disestablished in 2024 2024 disestablishments in Virginia Defunct radio stations in the United States KEY (AM) Covington, Virginia