WHAV-LP (97.9 FM) – branded ''97.9 WHAV'' – is a

non-commercial A non-commercial (also spelled noncommercial) activity is an activity that does not, in some sense, involve commerce, at least relative to similar activities that do have a commercial objective or emphasis. For example, advertising-free community ...

low-power

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 serve Haverhill,

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

. Owned by Public Media of New England, Inc., WHAV-LP services the immediate

Merrimack Valley The Merrimack Valley is a bi-state region along the Merrimack River in the U.S. states of New Hampshire and Massachusetts. The Merrimack is one of the larger waterways in New England and has helped to define the livelihood and culture of those l ...

and considers itself the successor station to the original WHAV (1490 AM), also licensed to Haverhill, and transmits from WHAV's original 1947 transmitter site; however, the original WHAV continues operations to this day as WCCM. Besides a standard

analog transmission Analog transmission is a transmission method of conveying information using a continuous signal which varies in amplitude, phase, or some other property in proportion to that information. It could be the transfer of an analog signal, using an ana ...

, WHAV-LP's audio is also carried, in part, by a number of

public, educational, and government access Public-access television is traditionally a form of non-commercial mass media where the general public can create content television programming which is narrowcast through cable television specialty channels. Public-access television was crea ...

(PEG)

cable television Cable television is a system of delivering television programming to consumers via radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted through coaxial cables, or in more recent systems, light pulses through fibre-optic cables. This contrasts with broa ...

stations, and is available online.

History

What had been the original WHAV (1490 AM) changed formats and call signs on September 8, 2002, when owner Costa-Eagle Radio Ventures Limited Partnership—a partnership between Pat Costa and ''

The Eagle-Tribune ''The Eagle-Tribune'' (and ''Sunday Eagle-Tribune'') is a seven-day morning daily newspaper covering the Merrimack Valley and Essex County, Massachusetts, and southern New Hampshire. It is the largest-circulation daily newspaper owned by Communi ...

''—completed a complicated three-way format and call letter swap between their three AM stations in the region. WCCM (800 AM) moved to the WHAV frequency at 1490 kHz, WNNW moved to WCCM’s 800 kHz frequency and WHAV’s programming moved to WNNW’s 1110 kHz frequency and became known as WCEC.Sunday Eagle-Tribune, September 8, 2002 During the summer of 2007, another frequency swap occurred and WCCM moved to 1110 kHz and WCEC moved to 1490 kHz. In a series of legal filings, the right to the WHAV name was assumed by COCO+CO., Inc.’s Xelocast division, using it to launch a new English-language

Internet radio Online radio (also web radio, net radio, streaming radio, e-radio, IP radio, Internet radio) is a digital audio service transmitted via the Internet. Broadcasting on the Internet is usually referred to as webcasting since it is not transmitted ...

station January 3, 2004 at whav.net. Since that time, a number of cable television stations have also agreed to carry its locally oriented programming. WHAV also broadcasts at low power on 1640 AM for the Haverhill area. ''The Eagle-Tribune'' and its associated ventures, including the ''

Haverhill Gazette The ''Haverhill Gazette'' (est. 1821) is a weekly newspaper in Haverhill, Massachusetts, owned by Community Newspaper Holdings Inc. of Montgomery, Alabama. For at least part of its history, it was a daily. In 1998 the paper was bought by the E ...

'' (which owned the original WHAV from 1947 to 1954), were sold in December 2005 to

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fr ...

-based Community Newspaper Holdings Inc., leaving the new WHAV as the last 100 percent locally owned news medium in the region. In 2012, ''The Eagle-Tribune'' and ''Haverhill Gazette'' offices in Haverhill closed. In the fall of 2013, Public Media of New England, Inc. submitted WHAV’s application to the Federal Communications Commission for an LPFM license at 98.1 MHz. This was later changed to 97.9 MHz, and a construction permit was granted on January 9, 2015, with the callsign WHAV-LP.FCC database, application ref. no. BNPL-20131113AKZ

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Whav HAV Mass media in Essex County, Massachusetts Haverhill, Massachusetts Community radio stations in the United States Radio stations established in 2016 2016 establishments in Massachusetts HAV-LP

History

See also

References

External links