WVVR (100.3 FM, "The Beaver") is a radio station licensed to serve
Hopkinsville, Kentucky
Hopkinsville is a list of cities in Kentucky, home rule-class city in and the county seat of Christian County, Kentucky, United States. The population at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census was 31,180.
History
Early years
The area of p ...
. The station is owned by Saga Communications through licensee Saga Communications of Tuckessee, LLC, and operates as part of its Five Star Media Group. It airs 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 ...
The station's construction permit was issued by the FCC on February 27, 1960. It went on the air on September 17, 1960, as WKOF under ownership of Pennyrile Broadcasting Company. It was a part-time simulcast of WKOA (1480 AM), which was previously owned by the ''
Kentucky New Era
The ''Kentucky New Era'' is the major daily newspaper in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, in the United States.
History
The paper was founded in 1869 by John D. Morris and Asher Graham Caruth, as the ''Weekly Kentucky New Era.''
In 1994, the station was purchased by WRUS, Inc., of
Russellville, Kentucky
Russellville is a home rule-class city in Logan County, Kentucky, in the United States. It is the seat of its county. The population was 6,960 at the time of the 2010 census.
History
Local historian Alex C. Finley has claimed the area was fi ...
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 ...
, but changed call letters to the current WVVR on July 1, 1994, when it joined forces with WBVR-FM 96.7 to simulcast the latter's
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. Prior to this, WBVR-FM (originally broadcast at 101.1 MHz) in Russellville was considered to be the "Original Beaver" radio station, with the hook phrase "The Beaver 1-oh-1 FM". That station had far less power and was separate until its purchase later on after the Beaver Branding was reallocated onto the former WMJM (96.7 MHz). That changed after the tower and frequency were sold to Clear Channel in
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...
; although the license for the 101.1 MHz frequency remains licensed in Russellville, the frequency is now in use by Nashville-based
hip hop
Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...
station WUBT. This is when WBVR-FM (now licensed to nearby Auburn as of 2001) adopted the 96.7 FM frequency in Bowling Green after the closure of WMJM's previous operations. Afterward, the Hopkinsville station adopted a new branding, "The Beaver 100.3". Beaver Country programming was fed to both WBVR and WVVR from its Russellville studio. This ended in the late 1990s, when the station moved out of its studios in Russellville, Kentucky, and split operations between new studios located in both Bowling Green and downtown
Hopkinsville, Kentucky
Hopkinsville is a list of cities in Kentucky, home rule-class city in and the county seat of Christian County, Kentucky, United States. The population at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census was 31,180.
History
Early years
The area of p ...
. The Beaver branding is still used by both WVVR and the current WBVR-FM 106.3, under separate ownership. After the sell off from Forever Broadcasting in the 2000s, the station was moved to a brand new location in
Clarksville, Tennessee
Clarksville is a city in Montgomery County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. The city had a population of 166,722 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tennessee, fifth-most populo ...
, along with the other main Clarksville stations including WCVQ.
Former on-air personalities
* Scooter Davis (d. 6/24/2016)
* Myla Thomas (currently mornings at WBVR in Bowling Green)
* Radio Rusty (Engineer for WFGS in Murray, KY)
* Steve Meredith aka "Roy Calhoun"
* Dylan "The Country Music Thriller" Miller
* Bailey Brooks (currently at WVVR as morning show co-host)
* Cheyenne Rivers
* Michael Davis (currently at WFGS in Murray, Kentucky)
* Marc Green
* Shannon Presley (currently at WBVR in Bowling Green)
* Alan Austin (currently at WBVR in Bowling Green)
* Tony Pratt aka "Kaptain Kicks" (currently at Nashville Country Television Network in Nashville, TN)