WLHH (104.9 FM) is a

commercial Commercial may refer to: * (adjective for) commerce, a system of voluntary exchange of products and services ** (adjective for) trade, the trading of something of economic value such as goods, services, information or money * a dose of advertising ...

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 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 ...

Ridgeland, South Carolina Ridgeland is a town in Jasper and Beaufort counties, South Carolina, United States. The population was 3,749 at the 2020 census, a 7.1% decrease from 2010. It has been the county seat of Jasper County since the county's formation in 1912. Ridge ...

, and serving the Hilton Head Island - Bluffton area. It has a classic hits

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 by Saga Communications. The studios are on Westbury Park Way in Bluffton. WLHH is a Class C3 station. It 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 16,000

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

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 ...

tower A tower is a tall Nonbuilding structure, structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant factor. Towers are distinguished from guyed mast, masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting ...

is on Cherry Hill Road near Bridgetown Drive in Ridgeland.Radio-Locator.com/WLHH
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History

Oldies and Adult Alternative

In 1985, the 104.9 frequency was assigned as a

construction permit Planning permission or building permit refers to the approval needed for construction or expansion (including significant renovation), and sometimes for demolition, in some jurisdictions. House building permits, for example, are subject to bu ...

to Mattox-Guest Broadcasting. The

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 WXRY-FM. 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 . Once it debuted, the call letters were WZBZ. It became an

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 ...

station in 1990 as WSHG, known as "Shag FM". In 1997, Shag FM moved its format to what was then WHBZ (now

WXST WXST (99.7 FM, "Star 99.7") is a commercial radio station licensed to Hollywood, South Carolina, and serving the Charleston metropolitan area and the South Carolina Lowcountry. It airs an urban adult contemporary radio format and is owned by ...

). The 104.9 frequency became the original home of WGZR "The Gator", 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 ...

station. In 2003,

modern rock Modern rock is an umbrella term used to describe rock music that is found on college and commercial rock radio stations. Some radio stations use this term to distinguish themselves from classic rock, which is based in 1960s–1980s rock music. ...

WWVV, at 106.9 FM, traded frequencies with the Gator. Upon the station swap, WWVV ("Wave 104.9"), flipped formats and was a modern-based

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, ...

station. The station enjoyed a small yet loyal following in the

Savannah A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) biome and ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach th ...

and Hilton Head Island markets. Ratings were usually higher in Hilton Head due to some signal problems in Savannah.

Triad Broadcasting

WWVV was owned and operated by

Triad Broadcasting Triad Broadcasting Company, LLC was an owner of radio stations in small and medium markets in the United States. It is based in Monterey, California. At the end of November 2012, Triad announced the sale of its 32 radio stations in 5 markets to ...

. But locally it was known as "Adventure Radio," the name of the company that owned WWVV before Triad. Management at Triad did not want to scare off potential advertisers or listeners by announcing new station owners. WWVV and six other stations were bought by Triad in May 2000. In the Savannah/Hilton Head area, Triad also owns stations

WFXH-FM WFXH-FM (106.1 Hertz, MHz), known as "Rock 106.1", is an active rock radio station targeted to Savannah, Georgia. The station was a monitored reporter on the Alternative (Modern Rock) panel. Formerly, WFXH-FM reported as an Alternative station to ...

(Rock 106.1), WGCO-FM (BIG 98.3),

WUBB WUBB (106.9 FM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Bluffton, South Carolina, serving Savannah and Hilton Head. It is owned by Dick Broadcasting and it airs a country music format. In morning drive time, WUBB carries the syndicated ' ...

(Country 106.9),

WXYY WXYY (100.1 FM), known as G100.1, is a radio station broadcasting a rhythmic contemporary format. Licensed to Rincon, Georgia, US, the station serves the Savannah and Hilton Head areas. The station is owned by Dick Broadcasting, through licen ...

(Y-107.9), and

WHHW WHHW (1130 AM) is a radio station broadcasting a regional Mexican radio format. It is licensed to Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. The station is currently owned by Dick Broadcasting, through licensee Dick Broadcasting Company, Inc. of Tenne ...

(1130 The Island). On June 15, 2006, Triad purchased WVSC (103.1 The Drive) from Zip Communications. Triad had been operating WGZO under a

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 ...

(LMA) with Zip. In order to comply with FCC regulations, Triad decided to sell the company's lowest-powered radio station, WWVV-FM, to South Carolina-based Broomfield Broadcasting via the company's

subsidiary A subsidiary, subsidiary company, or daughter company is a company (law), company completely or partially owned or controlled by another company, called the parent company or holding company, which has legal and financial control over the subsidia ...

, JB Broadcasting.

John FM and The Surf

On November 21, 2006, the station began playing

Christmas music Christmas music comprises a variety of Music genre, genres of music regularly performed or heard around the Christmas and holiday season, Christmas season. Music associated with Christmas may be purely instrumental, or in the case of Christmas ...

as "104.9 John FM". It used a new call sign, WWJN-FM. A recorded male voice could be heard between songs stating "104.9 is John FM. John tells us what to play. Right now John wants to hear Christmas music so that's what we're playing. 104.9 John FM". JB Broadcasting sold the station to Low Country Radio LLC in January 2010. With the sale, John FM ended its Christmas music on January 25. Until the new station signed on the air on the 27th, the station stunted by broadcasting the sound of waves hitting the beach. JB Broadcasting's sale of the station closed on March 15, 2010. The station changed its call sign to WLHH (We Love Hilton Head) on March 16, 2010. On that date, it shifted the format to classic hits, calling itself "104.9 The Surf." In 2014, the station was sold again, this time to Apex Broadcasting, Inc. The purchase price was $682,500. The transaction was consummated on May 30, 2014. In early 2017, Apex Broadcasting sold their radio stations in Charleston and Hilton Head to Saga Communications for $23 million. The transaction was consummated on September 1, 2017.

References

External links

* {{coord, 32.436, N, 80.923, W, type:landmark_region:US_source:FCC, display=title LHH Radio stations established in 1988 1988 establishments in South Carolina Classic hits radio stations in the United States