WBOP (95.5 FM) is a

Contemporary Christian Contemporary history, in English-language historiography, is a subset of modern history that describes the historical period from approximately 1945 to the present. Contemporary history is either a subset of the late modern period, or it is o ...

formatted

broadcast Broadcasting is the distribution of audio or video content to a dispersed audience via any electronic mass communications medium, but typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum (radio waves), in a one-to-many model. Broadcasting began wi ...

radio station Radio broadcasting is transmission 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 radio ...

licensed to Buffalo Gap, Virginia, serving

Staunton, Virginia Staunton ( ) is an independent city in the U.S. Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 25,750. In Virginia, independent cities are separate jurisdictions from the counties that surround them, so the government off ...

and

Augusta County, Virginia Augusta County is a county in the Shenandoah Valley on the western edge of the Commonwealth of Virginia. The second-largest county of Virginia by total area, it completely surrounds the independent cities of Staunton and Waynesboro. Its count ...

. WBOP is owned and operated by

Liberty University Liberty University (LU) is a private Baptist university in Lynchburg, Virginia. It is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Conservatives of Virginia ( Southern Baptist Convention). Founded in 1971 by Jerry Falwell Sr. and Elmer L. Towns, Lib ...

History

The station first took the callsign WSPV on September 25, 1986 and was officially launched in 1988.

WSKO

Easy Radio Inc. bought the station and on March 24, 1989, the callsign was changed to WSKO and carried a

Country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, whi ...

format, branded as "Super Country". In 1992, the format was changed to

Hot 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 present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quiet ...

WSXI/WZXI

On March 10, 1995, the callsign was originally changed from WSKO to WSXI, but changed to WZXI that same day. In October 1997, WZXI dropped the

format for News/Talk. Sometime in September 2005, the News/Talk format was dropped and the station was completely silent for about a month. Vox Communication bought the station and on October 7, 2005, WZXI became an Adult Hits format, branded as "Sam 95.5; Simply about music". On August 16, 2006, the Adult/Variety Hits format on 95.5 FM was dropped when WBOP moved its format and callsign from 106.3 FM to 95.5 FM, and resumed its

Oldies Oldies is a term for musical genres such as pop music, rock and roll, doo-wop, surf music (broadly characterized as classic rock and pop rock) from the second half of the 20th century, specifically from around the mid-1950s to the 1980s, as w ...

format as "Magic 95.5; Classic Top 40", while the 106.3 FM frequency went silent. 95.5 FM continued to keep the WZXI callsign until two weeks later on September 1, when the WBOP callsign officially moved from 106.3 FM to 95.5 FM. The 106.3 facility was moved to

Charlottesville Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is the county seat of Albemarle County, which surrounds the city, though the two are separate legal entities. It is named after Queen ...

and is now

WCNR WCNR (106.1 FM broadcasting, FM) is an adult album alternative formatted Broadcasting, broadcast radio station licensed to Keswick, Virginia, serving Charlottesville, Virginia, Charlottesville, Albemarle County, Virginia, Albemarle and Western F ...

Format flip - 2008

At 9:00 A.M. on March 30, 2008, WBOP swapped its

format for Rockin' Country, branded as "Rebel 95.5; A New Kind of Country".

Format flip - 2010

In February 2010, WBOP began stunting by playing a mix of

and

, with a new

format to follow. The station would continue to use the branding "Rebel 95.5". At midnight on February 26, 2010, WBOP officially dropped "Rockin'" Country for

and began using the branding "My 95.5; New music all day" and then changed the slogan to "The Valley's Alternative" in late 2011.

Format flips - 2012

At midnight, on March 1, 2012, WBOP switched from a

format to

Sports Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, ...

as "95-5 The Zone". At midnight, on November 27, 2012, WBOP changed the format again from Sports to

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 present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quie ...

under the branding "95-5 WBOP; Today's Hits and Yesterday's Favorites". WBOP picked up programming from the

Hits & Favorites Hits & Favorites, also known as ABC AC, was a 24-hour music format produced by Cumulus Media Networks (now Westwood One). ABC AC combined a highly researched Adult Contemporary music mix targeted to women aged 25–49. Citadel Broadcasting purch ...

network from Cumulus Media Networks. On December 31, 2012, WBOP and seven other properties were sold by Vox Radio to Gamma Broadcasting, LLC at a purchase price of $4,403,500.

Format flip - 2015

Effective August 31, 2015, Gamma consummated their donation of WBOP to

and started simulcasting

WRVL WRVL is a Contemporary Christian formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Lynchburg, Virginia, serving the New River Valley. WRVL is owned and operated by Liberty University. History WRVL went on the air in July 1981 and faced a series of ...

format in Lynchburg, Virginia on September 1 as "The Journey".

References

External links

The Journey Online
* {{Liberty University 1988 establishments in Virginia Contemporary Christian radio stations in the United States Radio stations established in 1988 BOP Liberty University BOP