WVMX (107.9 FM, "Mix 107.9") is a

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 ...

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

format. Licensed to the suburb of Westerville,

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

, it serves the

Columbus Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio Columbus may also refer to: Places ...

metropolitan area. It first began broadcasting in

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...

under 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 ...

WCEZ. The station is currently owned by the Columbus Radio Group subsidiary of Saga Communicaitons through licensee Franklin Communications, Inc. Its studios are located in

Upper Arlington Upper Arlington, often known by its initials U.A., is a city in Franklin County, Ohio, United States, on the northwest side of the Columbus metropolitan area. The Old Arlington neighborhood is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. ...

and the transmitter site is west of Sunbury.

History

The station was first assigned the WCEZ call sign on April 5, 1991 (as "Easy 108"). On April 11, 1997, the station changed the call sign to WLYR (as "Lite Rock 108").

WXST

107.9 operated as WXST "Star 107.9" from May 1998 until July 24, 2001, under owners Stop 26/Riverbend and played primarily

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 ...

-based 1980s music. WXST was widely credited as the first radio station in the

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

to broadcast a 1980s-based

format Format may refer to: Printing and visual media * Text formatting, the typesetting of text elements * Paper formats, or paper size standards * Newspaper format, the size of the paper page Computing * File format, particular way that informatio ...

full-time. The web site for "Star 107.9" has been restored and now operates as a tribute site to the original WXST "Star 107.9", once again streaming 1980s hits, along with voice overs by the original DJs, biographies and detailed history of WXST "Star 107.9". The call sign was changed briefly to WJHT on April 23, 2001, but changed back to WXST less than a month later on May 16. The station was rumored to be switching to a CHR/Pop station as "Hot 107.9" at the time. Before committing to 1980s music, WXST '

stunted Stunted growth is a reduced growth rate in human development. It is a primary manifestation of malnutrition (or more precisely undernutrition) and recurrent infections, such as diarrhea and helminthiasis, in early childhood and even before birth, ...

' briefly by airing a freeform mix of music promoted on-air as the "Wheel of Formats". The station switched to satelitte-based oldies after Columbus station

WBNS-FM WBNS-FM (97.1 MHz) – branded ''97.1 The Fan'' – is a commercial sports radio station licensed to serve Columbus, Ohio, and services the Columbus metropolitan area. Owned by Tegna Inc., it and WBNS (1460 AM) are the only two radio stations cu ...

switched from oldies to hot adult contemporary. This switch left no FM oldies station in the Columbus metro area, so WXST quickly moved to fill this void. In the process, the Columbus area lost its only 1980s station. The WXST call letters now are assigned to STAR 99.7 in Charleston, South Carolina, but licensed by the FCC to the town of Hollywood. STAR 99.7 is an Urban Adult Contemporary formatted station. The station was later sold to Saga Communications, which also owns AC

WSNY WSNY (94.7 FM) is a commercial radio station in Columbus, Ohio. It airs an adult contemporary radio format and is owned by the Columbus Radio Group subsidiary of Saga Communications. From mid-November until the Christmas holidays, WSNY switches ...

94.7 "Sunny 95",

WNND WNND (formerly WSWZ) and WNNP are two FM radio stations serving the Columbus, Ohio market. Owned by the Columbus Radio Group subsidiary of Saga Communications, WNND broadcasts on 103.5 MHz from Pickerington, Ohio, and WNNP broadcasts on 104.3 ...

103.5, and

WNNP WNND (formerly WSWZ) and WNNP are two FM radio stations serving the Columbus, Ohio market. Owned by the Columbus Radio Group subsidiary of Saga Communications, WNND broadcasts on 103.5 MHz from Pickerington, Ohio, and WNNP broadcasts on 104.3 ...

104.3.

WODB

WVMX previously broadcast 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 as "B-107.9" playing music from the 1960s, 1970s, and occasionally 1980s (as WODB). The station also operated briefly as "Oldies 107.9" and "Oldies 108". The station's most recent slogan was "BIG Hits B-107.9", replacing the previous slogan "Feel Good Oldies All the Time." At first, WODB was playing songs from the late 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s with most of the music from the 1970s and 1980s. But not long after the switch they added more 1960s and early 1970s songs in the playlist and cut back on the 1980s songs. On January 27, 2009 at Noon, Big Hits B-107.9 switched from a Classic Hits format to a Hot AC format, calling itself Mix 107.9, playing 5,000 songs in a row. The switch was made the day after former MIX 97.1 (

) switched to a Sports simulcast of its AM sister station WBNS 1460 The Fan. The switch makes Saga the majority owner of the AC format in Columbus, with the exception of rival Clear Channel's Gold-Based AC WLZT "Lite 93.3".

WVMX

On February 2, 2009, the

and BIG Hits format returned, at 104.3 FM in

Richwood Richwood may refer to: Places ;United States * Richwood, Georgia * Richwood, Kentucky * Richwood, Louisiana * Richwood Township, Minnesota * Richwood, New Jersey * Richwood, Ohio * Richwood, Texas * Richwood, West Virginia * Richwood, Wisconsin ...

. On February 6, 2009, "Mix 107.9" changed call sign to WVMX with the WODB being reunited with the "BIG Hits" format on 104.3 FM. During the summer of 2009, WVMX's city of license changed from

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...

to Westerville. Power was increased to 3000 watts while transmitter height was lowered slightly. As the station is transmitting from the same tower as before, there was no change in coverage area. On February 2, 2009, Mix 1079 re-positioned as "Today's Best Mix" and eliminated the 1980s from their playlist. This gave Mix a more adult top 40 sound competing against WNCI, while sister stations WODB/WJZA would later flip to "Rewind 103.5/104.3" WNND/WNNP, featuring a 1980s-based classic hits format (in effect returning the format WXST once pioneered back into the market).

References

External links

Corporate WebsiteMix 107.9Star 107.9 America's First 80's Radio Station''Billboard'': '80s mania reaches new heights with the unveiling of Columbus' Star 107.9
* {{Saga Communications Adult top 40 radio stations in the United States VMX