WWVT-FM (89.9 FM) is a

Public radio Public broadcasting involves radio, television and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service. Public broadcasters receive funding from diverse sources including license fees, individual contributions, public financing ...

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 ...

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

Ferrum, Virginia Ferrum is a census-designated place (CDP) in Franklin County, Virginia, United States. The population was 2,043 at the 2010 census, an increase of over fifty percent from the 1,313 reported in 2000. Ferrum is home to Ferrum College and its Blue R ...

, serving Roanoke, Rocky Mount, and Martinsville. WWVT-FM is owned and operated by

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and informally VT, or VPI) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. It also has educational facilities in six regi ...

. It is the flagship station of WVTF Music, a music-focused companion service to

WVTF WVTF is the National Public Radio affiliate serving most of southwestern Virginia. The station is licensed to Roanoke, Virginia, and owned by Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) through its fundraising arm, the ...

, southwestern Virginia's flagship

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

member station. It is operated out of WVTF's facility in Roanoke.

History

WWVT-FM was originally WFFC, the student station of

Ferrum College , mottoeng = Not Self, But Others , established = , type = Private college , president = David L. Johns , city = Ferrum, Virginia , country = U.S. , c ...

. In 2003, the

Virginia Tech Foundation The Virginia Tech Foundation (VTF) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit nonstock corporation established in 1948 to receive, manage, and disburse private gifts in support of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University programs. The purpose of the fou ...

launched a secondary all-news and talk service, Radio IQ, on

WWVT WWVT-FM (89.9 FM) is a Public radio formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Ferrum, Virginia, serving Roanoke, Rocky Mount, and Martinsville. WWVT-FM is owned and operated by Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. It is t ...

(1260 AM in Christiansburg). This schedule contrasted with WVTF's full-service schedule of music and news. As WWVT was only licensed to broadcast during the day at the time, WFFC joined Radio IQ in order to give it a 24-hour signal. The Virginia Tech Foundation also intended to have WFFC feed Radio IQ to extra FM translators that it owned. Since FCC rules prevent a station from feeding translators via

microwave Microwave is a form of electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths ranging from about one meter to one millimeter corresponding to frequencies between 300 MHz and 300 GHz respectively. Different sources define different frequency ran ...

that are not co-owned, Ferrum sold WFFC to the foundation in November of that year. This arrangement lasted until July 10, 2017, when Radio IQ became the Virginia Tech Foundation's primary service and moved to WVTF's more powerful signal and repeater network. As WVTF covers WFFC's entire broadcast area, it dropped Radio IQ to become the flagship of WVTF Music. The station changed callsigns to the current WWVT-FM in the same month. Due to the relatively modest coverage areas of the WWVT stations and their translators, WVTF Music is simulcast on the second

HD Radio HD Radio (HDR) is a trademark for an in-band on-channel (IBOC) digital radio broadcast technology. It generally simulcasts an existing analog radio station in digital format with less noise and with additional text information. HD Radio is used ...

channels of all full-power Radio IQ stations except

WRIQ WRIQ (89.7 MHz) is a National Public Radio formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Charles City, Virginia, serving the Richmond/ Petersburg area. WRIQ is part of the Radio IQ network, simulcasting the NPR news and talk programming o ...

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

WWVT

WBCR signed on in 1954 on 1260 AM from Christiansburg. Later known as "Triple J" WJJJ, it competed in the 1960s and 1970s with Virginia Tech's student radio station,

WUVT WUVT-FM (90.7 FM) is a freeform broadcast radio station located in Blacksburg, Virginia, serving Blacksburg and Montgomery County, Virginia. WUVT-FM is licensed to Virginia Tech and is operated by The Educational Media Company at Virginia T ...

, for the local

rock music Rock music is a broad genre of popular music that originated as " rock and roll" in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of different styles in the mid-1960s and later, particularly in the United States an ...

market. The station became WNNI in 1995. Bocephus Broadcasting purchased eight stations in the Blacksburg-Christiansburg market in 1997, after which it donated WNNI to the Virginia Tech Foundation. In 2003, Virginia Tech launched the original incarnation of Radio IQ on the rechristened WWVT. WWVT was originally a

daytimer A clear-channel station is an AM radio station in North America that has the highest protection from interference from other stations, particularly concerning night-time skywave propagation. The system exists to ensure the viability of cross-coun ...

that was required to go off the air at sunset to prevent interference to WCHV and

WKXR WKXR (1260 AM) is a radio station broadcasting a classic country music format. Licensed to Asheboro, North Carolina, United States, the station is owned by South Triad Broadcasting Corp. and features programming from AP Radio and Jones Radio Net ...

on the same channel. After more than 50 years of daytime-only operation, WWVT added 25 watts of night power in 2005. WWVT left Radio IQ and joined the WVTF Music network in 2017, in order to take advantage of its Blacksburg-based FM translator W238BN (95.5 FM).

Programming

WWVT-FM is the FM flagship station of ''WVTF Music''. Much of the network's weekday programming is

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also ...

, with 20 hours Monday through Thursday and 18 hours on Fridays. Weekends include blocks of bluegrass,

Americana Americana may refer to: *Americana (music), a genre or style of American music *Americana (culture), artifacts of the culture of the United States Film, radio and television * ''Americana'' (1992 TV series), a documentary series presented by J ...

, and

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

. National and regional shows include the

Metropolitan Opera radio broadcasts The Metropolitan Opera radio broadcasts are a regular series of weekly broadcasts on network radio of full-length opera performances. They are transmitted live from the stage of the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. The Metropolitan Opera In ...

, '' Across the Blue Ridge'', '' The Thistle and Shamrock'' and ''

Live From Here ''Live from Here'', formerly known as ''A Prairie Home Companion with Chris Thile'', is an American variety radio show known for its musical guests, tongue-in-cheek radio drama, and relaxed humor. Hosted by Chris Thile, it aired live on Saturda ...

'' (formerly ''

A Prairie Home Companion ''A Prairie Home Companion'' is a weekly radio variety show created and hosted by Garrison Keillor that aired live from 1974 to 2016. In 2016, musician Chris Thile took over as host, and the successor show was eventually renamed ''Live from He ...

'').

Network stations

Full-powered stations

Notes:

Low-powered translators

References

External links

WWVT-FM Online
{{NPR Virginia 1989 establishments in Virginia Public radio stations in the United States NPR member stations Radio stations established in 1989 WVT-FM