WJJS (93.5

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 ...

) 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 ...

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 A license (or licence) 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 party (licensee) as an element of an agreeme ...

Salem, Virginia Salem is an independent city in the U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 25,346. It is the county seat of Roanoke County, although the two are separate jurisdictions. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combin ...

, and serving the

Roanoke metropolitan area The Roanoke Metropolitan Statistical Area is a Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) in Virginia as defined by the United States Office of Management and Budget (OMB). The Roanoke MSA is sometimes referred to as the Roanoke Valley, even though the ...

. WJJS has a

rhythmic contemporary Rhythmic contemporary, also known as 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 hits. Rhythmic contemporary never uses ...

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, ...

and is owned and operated by

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Programming is

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 102.7

WJJX WJJX (102.7 MHz) is a commercial FM radio station licensed to Appomattox, Virginia, and serving the Lynchburg metropolitan area and the Southside. WJJX has a rhythmic contemporary radio format and is owned and operated by iHeartMedia, Inc. P ...

in Appomattox, Virginia, serving the Lynchburg metropolitan area. The radio studios and offices are on Old Forest Road in Lynchburg and its

transmitter In electronics and telecommunications, a radio transmitter or just transmitter is an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna (radio), antenna. The transmitter itself generates a radio frequency alternating current, which i ...

is located on Luckett Street near Shenandoah Ave in Roanoke. Most shows on WJJS and WJJX are either syndicated or voicetracked. Syndicated shows include ''

Elvis Duran and the Morning Show Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the " King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. His ener ...

'', ''

On Air with Ryan Seacrest ''On Air with Ryan Seacrest'' is a weekday syndicated radio program hosted by Ryan Seacrest. It was launched in 2004 as a drive time show at the same time on Los Angeles Top 40 station 102.7 KIIS-FM as the television show with the same name, ...

'' in middays and ''The Tino Cochino Radio Show'' heard evenings.

History

The station launched on March 7, 1969, with the callsign WJLM and carried a

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, ...

format for 33 years, last branded as "J93.5, Today's Hot Country". Clear Channel purchased the station and at midnight on December 26, 2002, the format was flipped to Light

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 ...

, branded as "Sunny 93.5" and changed the callsign to WSNV. Just after noon on March 10, 2005, WSNZ at 102.7 FM became a simulcast of WSNV and changed the branding to "93.5 Roanoke, 102.7 Lynchburg; Sunny FM". At noon on December 17, 2007, WSNZ swapped calls and formats with WJJX at 101.7 FM. In March 2011, it was announced that WSNV would no longer be permitted to carry the station on more than one frequency due to broadcast laws. Therefore, at approximately 5:00 P.M. on March 25, 2011, WSNZ split from its simulcast with WSNV and began simulcasting WSFF at 106.1 FM. In late 2012, WSNV shifted more towards a

Classic Hits Classic hits is a radio format which generally includes songs from the top 40 music charts from the late 1960s to the early 2000s, with music from the 1980s serving as the core of the format. Music that was popularized by MTV in the early 1980s ...

format, slightly changing the branding back to "Sunny 93.5; Hits of the 60's, 70s and 80s" as it did from December 26, 2002, to March 10, 2005. On August 25, 2014, the slogan changed to "70's and 80's Hits". While the classic hits format was relatively successful, it did have quite a bit of overlap with sister station WSFF; combined with competition from rimshot simulcasters

WHTU WHTU (103.9 FM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Big Island, Virginia, and serving Lynchburg, Bedford, and Buena Vista. WHTU broadcasts a classic hits radio format. The station is owned by Gary Burns' 3 Daughters Media, through licens ...

and WZZI, Sunny was not able to make more headway in the Roanoke market, and WSNV registered a 3.3 share in the Spring 2016 Nielsen Audio ratings, the last ratings book revealed during the format's run. As a result, following their Christmas music stint during the months of November and December, WSNV began stunting on December 27, 2016, with a "Wheel of Formats", running different format blocks that change with every few songs (such as classic

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, while the ...

smooth jazz Smooth jazz is a genre of commercially-oriented crossover jazz and easy listening music that became dominant in the mid 1970s to the early 1990s. History Smooth jazz is a commercially oriented, crossover jazz which came to prominence in the 19 ...

, urban contemporary, and even all-

Elvis Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the " King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. His ener ...

) and asking listeners to vote for a new format on the website of sister station WJJS, with said new format debuting on January 3, 2017, at 10:00 A.M. At that time, after 10 hours of simulated construction sounds, the station flipped to Hot Adult Contemporary as "Mix 93.5; Roanoke's Best Variety". The first song on Mix was " Shut Up and Dance" by

Walk the Moon Walk the Moon (stylized as WALK THE MOON) is an American rock band based in Cincinnati, Ohio. Lead singer Nicholas Petricca started the band in 2006, while a student at Kenyon College, deriving the band's name from the song "Walking on the M ...

. On May 1, 2019, WSNV changed their call letters to WJJS in anticipation of relocating the format from 104.9 FM, which concurrently changed its call letters to WSTV with the adult hits-formatted "Steve FM" to move from WSFF 106.1 FM Vinton/WSNZ 101.7 FM Lynchburg which were in the process of being sold to

Educational Media Foundation Educational Media Foundation (formerly EMF Broadcasting, abbreviated EMF) is an American nonprofit Christian media ministry based in Franklin, Tennessee, a suburb of Nashville. EMF is the parent company of K-LOVE and Air1—the world's largest ...

. The frequency move was completed on May 30, 2019.iHeart Prepping Roanoke Format Moves
Radioinsight - May 23, 2019

References

External links

WJJS Online
* {{IHeartMedia JJS (FM) Radio stations established in 1969 1969 establishments in Virginia Contemporary hit radio stations in the United States IHeartMedia radio stations