WVBX (99.3 FM "Live 99.3") 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 ...

to Spotsylvania, Virginia and serving the Metro Fredericksburg area. WVBX is owned and operated by

Alpha Media Alpha Media LLC is a radio broadcasting company based in Portland, Oregon, and led by Bob Proffitt. The group does business under the Alpha Media name. It was formed from the merger of Alpha Broadcasting, L&L Broadcasting, and Main Line Broadc ...

LLC, through licensee Alpha Media Licensee LLC. It airs a

contemporary hit radio Contemporary hit radio (CHR, also known as contemporary hits, hit list, current hits, hit music, top 40, or pop radio) is a radio format common in many countries that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by the Top ...

format.

History

The station first launched on January 26, 1988, with 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 ...

WYND-FM. It aired a

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 ...

new age music New-age is a genre of music intended to create artistic inspiration, relaxation, and optimism. It is used by listeners for yoga, massage, meditation, and reading as a method of stress management to bring about a state of ecstasy rather than tra ...

format and was owned by Richard J. Hayes and Associates. On April 10, 1989, WYND-FM changed to WPLC, simulcasting the

urban contemporary Urban contemporary music, also known as urban music, urban pop, or just simply urban, is a music radio format. The term was coined by New York radio DJ Frankie Crocker in the early to mid-1970s as a synonym for Black music. Urban contemporary r ...

format of then- WPLZ in Petersburg, also on 99.3. It became WYSK on September 30, 1994. In 1994, the station was purchased by ''

The Free Lance–Star ''The Free Lance–Star'' is the principal daily newspaper distributed throughout Fredericksburg, Virginia, United States, with a circulation area including the city of Fredericksburg and all or parts of the counties of Spotsylvania, Stafford, ...

'', a daily newspaper in Fredericksburg. On July 16, 1996, WYSK modified its call letters to WYSK-FM, switching to an

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. On March 4, 2002, WYSK-FM flipped to

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 ...

, branded as "99.3 WYSK – The Rock Alternative". At noon on January 7, 2008, WYSK-FM dropped its alternative format and switched to

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 ...

with the station's first song being

Justin Timberlake Justin Randall Timberlake (born January 31, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, actor, record producer, and dancer. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Prince of Pop", ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' honored him as the b ...

's "

SexyBack "SexyBack" is a song recorded by American singer Justin Timberlake for his second studio album, '' FutureSex/LoveSounds'' (2006). It was released on July 18, 2006, to US mainstream and rhythmic radio stationsRadio single releases . FMQB.com. by ...

". The call letters were changed from WYSK to WWVB-FM on January 11, 2008, to go along with the new moniker "The Vibe". WVBX-FM 2014

On August 13, 2009, the call sign was changed from WWVB-FM to WVBX. On January 23, 2015,

"entered into a definitive agreement" to purchase WVBX and

sister station In broadcasting, sister stations or sister channels are radio or television stations operated by the same company, either by direct ownership or through a management agreement. Radio sister stations will often have different formats, and somet ...

WFLS-FM WFLS-FM is a country music formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Fredericksburg, Virginia, serving Northern Virginia, Central Virginia, and Southern Maryland. WFLS-FM is owned and operated by Alpha Media. History WFLS was founded, and i ...

WNTX WNTX (1350 AM) is a news/ talk/sports formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Fredericksburg, Virginia, serving metro Fredericksburg. WNTX is owned and operated by Alpha Media LLC, through licensee Alpha Media Licensee LLC. History It wa ...

, and

WWUZ WWUZ is a classic rock formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Bowling Green, Virginia, serving Metro Fredericksburg. WWUZ is owned and operated by Alpha Media LLC, through licensee Alpha Media Licensee LLC. History The station first too ...

from Free Lance-Star License, LLC. The purchase was consummated on May 1, 2015, at a price of $8.1 million. On June 1, 2018, WVBX rebranded as "Live 99.3". The station is now airing a more traditional contemporary hit radio playlist, moving away from the rhythmic format.

References

External links

Live 99.3 Online
* Contemporary hit radio stations in the United States VBX Radio stations established in 1988 Alpha Media radio stations {{Virginia-radio-station-stub