WVRT (97.7 FM) is an American

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

Mill Hall, Pennsylvania Mill Hall is a borough in Clinton County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 1,613 at the 2010 census. History The Nathan Harvey House was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985. Geography Mill Hall is located ...

with an output power of 6,000 watts. "V97" is owned by

iHeartMedia iHeartMedia, Inc., or CC Media Holdings, Inc., is an American mass media corporation headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It is the holding company of iHeartCommunications, Inc., formerly Clear Channel Communications, Inc., a company founded by ...

and plays Top 40 (CHR) music.

History

WVRT signed on the air November 6, 1995 at 6:00 a.m. as a

Hot AC 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, ...

station broadcasting from the Williamsport Chamber of Commerce building with AM

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 ...

WWPA. Williamsport Radio Corporation first owned Variety 97.7, and its format was chosen to sound more adult than

top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is a list of the 40 currently most popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "To ...

HOT-FM 103.9 WHTO but not as old as gold-based AC 102.7 KISS-FM

WKSB WKSB (102.7 FM, "Kiss 102-7") is a commercial radio station licensed to serve Williamsport, Pennsylvania. The station is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc., through licensee iHM Licenses, LLC, and broadcasts an adult contemporary format, switching to C ...

. WVRT used to be

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 ...

"3WD 97-7" with the callsign WWWD. In 1996, WHTO moved down the FM dial to 93.3 with 25,000 watts, an increase from the 6,000 watts it had had at 103.9 FM. With the increased power came a more watered-down Top 40 (CHR) format, sounding more like the

Variety 97.7 was playing. Falling ratings caused HOT-FM to switch to

in 1997. WVRT moved its studio to Third Street in Williamsport with KISS-FM and WRAK-AM & FM. The "point" was also left at the Chamber of Commerce building as WVRT would now be known as "Variety 97-7" keeping its

format. Due to corporate changes Variety 97.7 is now branded V97 "Central PA's Hit Music!" It also has adopted a new logo. WVRT is simulcast on co-owned

WVRZ WVRZ (99.7 FM) is a radio station located in Mount Carmel, Pennsylvania. It is a simulcast of Top 40 (CHR) formatted WVRT WVRT (97.7 FM broadcasting, FM) is an American radio station licensed to Mill Hall, Pennsylvania with an output pow ...

(99.7) in Mount Carmel. * The first song played on Variety 97.7 was "

If I Ever Lose My Faith In You "If I Ever Lose My Faith in You" is a song by English singer-songwriter Sting, released on 1 February 1993 by A&M Records as the lead single from his fourth studio album, ''Ten Summoner's Tales'' (1993). The song reached number 17 on the US ' ...

" by

Sting Stimulator of interferon genes (STING), also known as transmembrane protein 173 (TMEM173) and MPYS/MITA/ERIS is a regulator protein that in humans is encoded by the STING1 gene. STING plays an important role in innate immunity. STING induces typ ...

. * WVRT was the first station in Williamsport to use digital computer automation. Often the weekday DJs would record voice tracks for the weekend that sounded live, as if the DJ were in the studio. * Variety 97.7's original live remote broadcast vehicle was a Volkswagen

Vanagon The Volkswagen Type 2 (T3) is the third generation of the Volkswagen Transporter. It was marketed under various nameplates worldwide – including the Transporter or Caravelle in Europe and Australia, Type 25 (T25) in the UK, Microbus and Komb ...

mini-bus, which often had to be "jump started" just like the one in the movie ''

Little Miss Sunshine ''Little Miss Sunshine'' is a 2006 American tragicomedy road movie, road film directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris (in their directorial debut) from a screenplay written by Michael Arndt. The film stars an ensemble cast consisting of G ...

''. * As an April Fools' Day joke in 1998, John Patrick looped the end of the song "

Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin' "Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin" is a song by American rock group Journey released as a single in 1979 from the album ''Evolution''. Lyrically, the song is about a woman who is cheating on her boyfriend, the narrator, but at the end of the song the ...

" by Journey for almost an hour and played it on the air after the 7 a.m. news. Patrick took calls on the air about his "Compact Disc being stuck." *The original Variety 97.7 on-air line-up was: **John Patrick - Mornings **Jeff Austin - Middays **Mike Stevens - Afternoons **Troy Lee - Evenings **Overnights were board-oped until the computer automation was installed.

Current V-97 on-air lineup

Mornings: Elvis Duran Mid-days: On-Air with Ryan Seacrest Afternoons: Marlyn & DC Evenings: On Air Romeo Overnights: JoJo Wright Weekends: Boy Toy Jesse, Letty B, JoJo Wright, Romeo (

Most Requested Live Premiere Networks, Inc. (formerly Premiere Radio Networks, shortened as PRN) is an American media company, a subsidiary of iHeartMedia, for which it currently serves as its main original radio content distribution and production arm. It is th ...

), Tanya Rad & EJ ( The Vibe), and

Ryan Seacrest Ryan John Seacrest (born December 24, 1974) is an American television presenter and producer. Seacrest is the host of '' Wheel of Fortune'', having hosted since replacing long-time host Pat Sajak in September 2024. Seacrest co-hosted and ser ...

(

AT40 ''American Top 40'' (abbreviated to ''AT40'') is an internationally radio syndication, syndicated, independent song countdown radio programming, radio program created by Casey Kasem, Don Bustany, Tom Rounds, and Ron Jacobs (broadcaster), Ron Jaco ...

)

External links

* {{IHeartMedia VRT Radio stations established in 1987 IHeartMedia radio stations Contemporary hit radio stations in the United States