WDVH (980
kHz
The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose expression in terms of SI base units is s−1, meaning that on ...
) is a
commercial
Commercial may refer to:
* a dose of advertising conveyed through media (such as - for example - radio or television)
** Radio advertisement
** Television advertisement
* (adjective for:) commerce, a system of voluntary exchange of products and s ...
AM 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 ...
in
Gainesville, Florida
Gainesville is the county seat of Alachua County, Florida, Alachua County, Florida, and the largest city in North Central Florida, with a population of 141,085 in 2020. It is the principal city of the Gainesville metropolitan area, Florida, Gaine ...
, broadcasting to the Gainesville-
Ocala
Ocala ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Marion County within the northern region of Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city's population was 63,591, making it the 54th most populated city in Florida.
Home to ...
radio market
A media market, broadcast market, media region, designated market area (DMA), television market area, or simply market is a region where the population can receive the same (or similar) television and radio station offerings, and may also incl ...
. It is owned by MARC Radio and broadcasts an
Urban oldies
Urban adult contemporary, often abbreviated as urban AC or UAC, (also known as adult R&B,) is the name for a format of radio music, similar to an urban contemporary format. Radio stations using this format usually would not have hip hop music on ...
-leaning
urban adult contemporary
Urban adult contemporary, often abbreviated as urban AC or UAC, (also known as adult R&B,) is the name for a format of radio music, similar to an urban contemporary format. Radio stations using this format usually would not have hip hop music on ...
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, ...
, mainly focusing on
R&B hits from the 1970s, 80s and 90s, while also playing some newer songs. It calls itself "R&B 94.1."
By day, WDVH is powered at 5,000
watt
The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of 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 quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named after James Wa ...
s,
non-directional; to protect other stations on
980 AM 98 may refer to:
* 98 (number)
* Windows 98, a Microsoft operating system
Years
* 98 BC
* AD 98
* 1798
* 1898
* 1998
* 2098
See also
* Californium (atomic number), a chemical element
* 98 Degrees
98 Degrees (stylized as 98°) is an American p ...
from interference, at night it greatly reduces power to 166 watts. Programming is also heard on 250 watt
FM translator
A broadcast relay station, also known as a satellite station, relay transmitter, broadcast translator (U.S.), re-broadcaster (Canada), repeater (two-way radio) or complementary station (Mexico), is a broadcast transmitter which repeats (or tran ...
W231DH at 94.1
MHz
The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose expression in terms of SI base units is s−1, meaning that one he ...
in Gainesville.
History
WDVH
signed on
Signing may refer to:
* Using sign language
* Signature
A signature (; from la, signare, "to sign") is a handwritten (and often stylized) depiction of someone's name, nickname, or even a simple "X" or other mark that a person writes on do ...
the air on in October 1955 from its current transmitter location on SE 27th Street (formerly known as Kincaid Road). 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 assigne ...
stands for the three partners who launched the station, Toby Dowdy, Rob Vaughn and Tom Hanson. Toby Dowdy was a country radio musician, Rob Vaughn owned the land and Tom Hanson was a radio station manager. Initially WDVH was a
daytime-only station, required to go off the air at sunset.
In the mid-1950s, it became a
Top 40
In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 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. "Top 40" or " con ...
hits outlet and added a second tower to give it night time service to much of Gainesville. Around 1968, both towers collapsed in a storm and only one tower was replaced, making it a non-directional daytime station again.
WDVH was sold in 1969 to Roy Danner (of
Shoney's
Shoney's is an American restaurant chain headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee. It operates restaurants in 17 states, primarily in the South with additional locations in the Midwest and lower Mid-Atlantic states.
Founder Alex Schoenbaum opene ...
restaurant fame) and Larry Edwards. On May 1, 1970, the format changed to
country music
Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...
.
On June 30, 1980, the studio building burned down due to an electrical fire. Temporary studios were installed next to the transmitting tower in a double wide trailer while a new permanent studio building was built in place of the old one.
In April 1988, WWLO (1430 AM, now
WTMN
WTMN (1430 Hertz, kHz) is a commercial radio, commercial AM radio, AM radio station in Gainesville, Florida. It is owned by MARC Radio Gainesville, LLC, and broadcasts to the Gainesville, Florida, Gainesville-Ocala, Florida, Ocala media market, r ...
) was diplexed onto the WDVH tower. WWLO first went on the air with 2.5 kW daytime only. That station increased its power to 10 kW daytime, 45 watts nighttime in July 2003.
WDVH was sold again, this time to Bill Morris, who in turn sold it to Crystal which became Pinnacle AM Broadcasting, Inc. The format changed to
Adult Standards and the call letters were changed to WLUS in 1996 (US98). In 2000, the transmitter and computer automation equipment was seized by the Alachua County Sheriff's department for failure to pay unrelated business debts. This equipment was bought at auction by morning show host, Jim Brand with the hopes that it could be re-installed, quickly returning the station to the air.
When station ownership had more financial problems, the transmitter was sold to a religious broadcaster in
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...
. The station remained
dark
Darkness, the direct opposite of lightness, is defined as a lack of illumination, an absence of visible light, or a surface that absorbs light, such as black or brown.
Human vision is unable to distinguish colors in conditions of very low lu ...
for nearly eight months while a sale was arranged to
Pamal Broadcasting
Pamal Broadcasting, Ltd. is a family-owned radio group with twenty-three stations in medium-to-small markets in the Northeast. Based in the Albany suburb of Latham, New York, Pamal Broadcasting was founded in 1987 as Albany Broadcasting Company, w ...
. This sale was consummated in late 2000 after Pinnacle installed a new transmitter.
When Pamal Broadcasting took over, it combined the studios of
WKZY
WKZY (92.9 FM broadcasting, FM) is an American radio station, licensed to Chilton, Wisconsin, and transmitting from the Lake Winnebago community of Stockbridge, Wisconsin, Stockbridge to provide a city-grade signal to both Oshkosh, Wisconsin, Osh ...
and
WHHZ in the WDVH studio building. WDVH's format remained Adult Standards until 2004, when it was changed to
Classic Country
Classic country is a music radio format that specializes in playing mainstream country and western music hits from past decades.
Repertoire
The radio format specializes in hits from the 1950s through the early 1980s, and focus primarily on innov ...
. It was
simulcast
Simulcast (a portmanteau of simultaneous broadcast) is the broadcasting of programmes/programs or events across more than one resolution, bitrate or medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at exactly the same time (that is, simultane ...
with co-owned 101.7
WDVH-FM
WDVH-FM is an FM radio station licensed to Trenton, Florida and broadcasting to the Gainesville- Ocala, Florida radio market on 101.7 MHz. It is owned by the Radio Training Network and airs a Contemporary Christian radio format known as The Joy ...
under the slogan "WDVH Country legends, 101.7 FM and 980 AM".
In 2005 the studios were moved across town to the Sunshine Broadcasting building on 100 NW 76th Drive (Tower Hill office park) along with
WTMN
WTMN (1430 Hertz, kHz) is a commercial radio, commercial AM radio, AM radio station in Gainesville, Florida. It is owned by MARC Radio Gainesville, LLC, and broadcasts to the Gainesville, Florida, Gainesville-Ocala, Florida, Ocala media market, r ...
,
WTMG
WTMG (Magic 101.3) is a commercial radio station in Williston, Florida, broadcasting to the Gainesville, Florida, Gainesville-Ocala, Florida area on 101.3 FM Broadcasting, FM.
WTMG has been in its current format since 1994, playing Hip Hop music, ...
,
WKZY
WKZY (92.9 FM broadcasting, FM) is an American radio station, licensed to Chilton, Wisconsin, and transmitting from the Lake Winnebago community of Stockbridge, Wisconsin, Stockbridge to provide a city-grade signal to both Oshkosh, Wisconsin, Osh ...
,
WHHZ and
WDVH-FM
WDVH-FM is an FM radio station licensed to Trenton, Florida and broadcasting to the Gainesville- Ocala, Florida radio market on 101.7 MHz. It is owned by the Radio Training Network and airs a Contemporary Christian radio format known as The Joy ...
. For the next six years, WDVH continued with Classic Country and
tradio
Tradio is a type of talk radio show format, though now considered archaic, where listeners call in to buy or sell items. The concept is analogous to classified ads in local newspapers and most prevalent in the south and midwest.
"Tradio" is a p ...
shows on weekends.
In late October 2011, WDVH became "Florida's Fox News Radio 980 & 720" changing format to
talk radio
Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues and consisting entirely or almost entirely of original spoken word content rather than outside music. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often featur ...
with
Fox News Radio
Fox News Radio is an American radio network owned by Fox News. It is syndicated to over 500 AM and FM radio stations across the United States. It also supplies programming for three channels on Sirius XM Satellite Radio.
History
In 2003, ...
updates.
On May 1, 2016, WDVH changed its format back to a simulcast of classic country-formatted
WDVH-FM
WDVH-FM is an FM radio station licensed to Trenton, Florida and broadcasting to the Gainesville- Ocala, Florida radio market on 101.7 MHz. It is owned by the Radio Training Network and airs a Contemporary Christian radio format known as The Joy ...
. On September 6, 2016, WDVH rebranded as "I am Country 94.1 & 101.7".
WDVH Adds Translator as Hank Branding Exits
Radioinsight - September 7, 2016
On August 14, 2017, WDVH rebranded as "I am Country 106.9", after the format and "I am Country" branding relocated on FM to WPLL
WPLL (106.9 Hertz, MHz) is a commercial radio, commercial FM radio, FM radio station city of license, licensed to Cross City, Florida, and broadcasting to the Gainesville, Florida, Gainesville area. The station is owned by MARC Radio Gainesville ...
. (WDVH-FM was sold at that time to the Radio Training Network, becoming a simulcast of Bradenton
Bradenton ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Manatee County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city's population is 55,698.
History
Late 18th and early 19th centuries
A settlement established by Maroons or escaped sl ...
station WJIS
WJIS 88.1 FM, known on air as The JOY FM, is a Christian adult contemporary station serving North, Central and Southwest Florida, including the Sarasota/Bradenton and Tampa Bay areas, and is owned by the Radio Training Network.
Network
On ...
.)
On October 16, 2019, WDVH/W231DH split from its FM sister and flipped to Urban Oldies
Urban adult contemporary, often abbreviated as urban AC or UAC, (also known as adult R&B,) is the name for a format of radio music, similar to an urban contemporary format. Radio stations using this format usually would not have hip hop music on ...
as "R&B 94.1," with an emphasis on R&B/Hip-Hop hits from the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s.
Previous logo
References
External links
R & B 94.1 Facebook
Marc Radio Website
*
*
{{Gainesville/Ocala Radio
DVH
Radio stations established in 1955
1955 establishments in Florida
Urban oldies radio stations in the United States