WTAR (850 AM) 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 ...

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Incorporated in 1705, it had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous city in Virginia after neighboring Virginia Be ...

, and serving the

Hampton Roads Hampton Roads is the name of both a body of water in the United States that serves as a wide channel for the James River, James, Nansemond River, Nansemond and Elizabeth River (Virginia), Elizabeth rivers between Old Point Comfort and Sewell's ...

(Norfolk-

Virginia Beach Virginia Beach is an independent city located on the southeastern coast of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The population was 459,470 at the 2020 census. Although mostly suburban in character, it is the most populous city ...

Newport News Newport News () is an independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. At the 2020 census, the population was 186,247. Located in the Hampton Roads region, it is the 5th most populous city in Virginia and 140th most populous city in the Uni ...

)

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 station, television and radio broadcasting, ra ...

. WTAR is owned and operated by Sinclair Telecable, Inc. It broadcasts a

hot 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, quiet ...

format as "96.5 Lucy FM". Until September 1, 2022, the station aired a

sports radio Sports radio (or sports talk radio) is a radio format devoted entirely to discussion and broadcasting of sporting events. A widespread programming genre that has a narrow audience appeal, sports radio is characterized by an often- boisterous on-ai ...

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 ...

, carrying the

Fox Sports Radio Fox Sports Radio is an American sports radio network. Based in Los Angeles, California, the network is operated and managed by Premiere Networks in a content partnership with Fox Corporation's Fox Sports division and iHeartMedia, parent company ...

Network most of the day, with a local afternoon

drive time Drive time is the daypart in which radio broadcasters can reach the most people who listen to car radios while driving, usually to and from work, or on public transportation. Drive-time periods are when the number of radio listeners in this c ...

show. The syndicated

Dan Patrick Show ''The Dan Patrick Show'' is a syndicated radio and television sports talk show, hosted by former ESPN personality Dan Patrick. It is currently produced by Patrick and is syndicated to radio stations by Premiere Radio Networks, within and indepe ...

was heard in late mornings. WTAR was part of the

Washington Commanders The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) E ...

Radio Network. WTAR's studios and offices are on Waterside Drive in Norfolk. The

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 off Track Lane in

Smithfield, Virginia Smithfield is a town in Isle of Wight County, in the South Hampton Roads subregion of the Hampton Roads region of Virginia in the United States. The population was 8,089 at the 2010 census. The town is most famous for the curing and production ...

. WTAR runs at 50,000

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 by day, the highest power permitted by the

Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdiction ...

for commercial AM stations. At night, to reduce interference to other stations on

AM 850 The following radio stations broadcast on AM frequency 850 kHz: 850 AM is a United States clear-channel A clear-channel station is an AM radio station in North America that has the highest protection from interference from other stations, ...

, mainly Class A KOA in Denver, Colorado, WTAR reduces power to 25,000 watts. It uses a

directional antenna A directional antenna or beam antenna is an antenna which radiates or receives greater power in specific directions allowing increased performance and reduced interference from unwanted sources. Directional antennas provide increased performance ...

at all times. WTAR programming is also heard on

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 ...

over 106.1 WUSH-HD2 and on FM

translator station 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 ...

W243DJ at 96.5 MHz in Norfolk and W243EK at 96.5 MHz in Hampton.Vintage 96.5 Quickly Gives Way to WTAR Simulcast
Radioinsight - September 15, 2017

History

On September 21, 1923, WTAR

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 at 780

kilocycle The cycle per second is a once-common English name for the unit of frequency now known as the hertz (Hz). The plural form was typically used, often written cycles per second, cycles/second, c.p.s., c/s, or, ambiguously, just cycles (Cy./Cyc.). The ...

s with 15 watts of power. It was the first radio station to go on the air in

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

. On July 6, 1934, WTAR became an affiliate of the

NBC Red Network The National Broadcasting Company's NBC Radio Network (known as the NBC Red Network prior to 1942) was an American commercial radio network which was in operation from 1926 through 2004. Along with the NBC Blue Network it was one of the first t ...

after dropping the

CBS Radio Network CBS News Radio, formerly known as CBS Radio News and historically known as the CBS Radio Network, is a radio network that provides news to more than 1,000 radio stations throughout the United States. The network is owned by Paramount Global. It ...

. At that time, the station was owned and operated by the parent company of the ''Norfolk Ledger-Star'' and ''

The Virginian-Pilot ''The Virginian-Pilot'' is the daily newspaper for Norfolk, Virginia. Commonly known as ''The Pilot'', it is Virginia's largest daily. It serves the five cities of South Hampton Roads as well as several smaller towns across southeast Virginia ...

''. By the late 1930s, WTAR got a power boost to 5,000 watts by day, 1,000 watts at night. In the 1940s, the nighttime power was increased to match the daytime power, 5,000 watts. WTAR added an FM counterpart in 1947, WTAR-FM (97.3), which mostly

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 ...

the AM station.Broadcasting Yearbook 1951 page 314
/ref> However, few people owned FM radios at that time, and WTAR gave up its FM license a couple of years later. The 97.3 frequency returned to the air in the mid-1950s as

WGH-FM WGH-FM (97.3 MHz) is a commercial radio station licensed to Newport News, Virginia, serving Hampton Roads. WGH-FM is owned and operated by Max Media and airs a country music radio format. It uses the branding "97.3 The Eagle." Studios and offi ...

. In 1950, WTAR signed on a TV station, WTAR-TV (Channel 4, now

WTKR WTKR (channel 3) is a television station licensed to Norfolk, Virginia, United States, serving the Hampton Roads area as an affiliate of CBS. It is owned by E. W. Scripps Company alongside Portsmouth-licensed CW affiliate WGNT (channel 27). Bo ...

on channel 3). Because WTAR was an NBC affiliate, the TV station primarily carried

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

-TV programs. As the first TV station in the Norfolk area, it also ran some shows from

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainmen ...

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

and the

DuMont Television Network The DuMont Television Network (also known as the DuMont Network, DuMont Television, simply DuMont/Du Mont, or (incorrectly) Dumont ) was one of America's pioneer commercial television networks, rivaling NBC and CBS for the distinction of being ...

. Within a year of the TV station's debut, both the TV and radio facilities moved into a new broadcasting center at 720 Boush Street. In 1961, WTAR management decided to return to FM broadcasting, and signed on a new WTAR-FM, this time at 95.7 MHz (now

WVKL WVKL (95.7 FM) – branded ''95-7 R&B'' – is a commercial urban adult contemporary radio station licensed to serve Norfolk, Virginia. Owned by Audacy, Inc., the station services the Hampton Roads region, and is the market affiliate for ''The S ...

). WTAR-FM aired

automated Automation describes a wide range of technologies that reduce human intervention in processes, namely by predetermining decision criteria, subprocess relationships, and related actions, as well as embodying those predeterminations in machines ...

beautiful music Beautiful music (sometimes abbreviated as BM, B/EZ or BM/EZ for "beautiful music/easy listening") is a mostly instrumental music format that was prominent in North American radio from the late 1950s through the 1980s. Easy listening, elevator musi ...

, separate from the AM station, which had a

full service Full service or Full Service may refer to: * Full-service radio, a wide range of programming * Full Service Network, a communications company Entertainment * "Full Service", a song by the New Kids on the Block from their album ''The Block'' * F ...

format of

middle of the road music Middle of the road (also known by its acronym MOR) is a commercial radio format and popular music genre. Music associated with this term is strongly melodic and uses techniques of vocal harmony and light orchestral arrangements. The format was even ...

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 ...

, news, sports and talk. By 1986 or 1987, WTAR switched their full-service format to an

oldies Oldies is a term for musical genres such as pop music, rock and roll, doo-wop, surf music (broadly characterized as classic rock and pop rock) from the second half of the 20th century, specifically from around the mid-1950s to the 1980s, as we ...

format and became an affiliate of CBS Radio News. In the early 1990s, the station stopped playing music and became a news/talk station, adding an affiliation with

CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by the M ...

as well as CBS Radio. Around the same time, rival talk station

WNIS WNIS (790 AM) is a commercial radio station in Norfolk, Virginia, and serving the Hampton Roads radio market. WNIS is owned and operated by Sinclair Telecable, Inc. It airs a talk radio format. WNIS has studios and offices on Waterside Drive in ...

got a big boost in power, going to 50,000 watts by day, 25,000 watts at night. Eventually, both stations would become co-owned, with Sinclair acquiring AM 850 in June 1997. The following month, on July 15, WTAR and its new

sister station In broadcasting, sister stations or sister channels are radio or television stations operated by the same company, either by direct ownership or through a management agreement. Radio sister stations will often have different formats, and somet ...

, WNIS, switched facilities. WNIS moved to

AM 790 The following radio stations broadcast on AM frequency 790 kHz: The Federal Communications Commission classifies 790 AM as a regional broadcast frequency. In Argentina * LR6 Mitre in Buenos Aires * LRA22 in San Salvador de Jujuy, Jujuy * ...

, while WTAR took over the 850 kHz spot on the dial. The move gave WTAR the stronger signal. It now provides at least secondary coverage to most of southeastern Virginia, as far as

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, ...

. At night, it reduces power to protect KOA in

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

, concentrating the signal in Norfolk,

, Hampton and

. WTAR flipped from talk radio to an all-sports format on February 5, 2006. On September 15, 2017, WTAR began simulcasting on WUSH-HD2 and FM

W243DJ at 96.5 MHz in Norfolk. The move allows WTAR listeners to hear the station on either AM or FM, although the FM translator signal is limited to Norfolk and surrounding communities due to its low power of 120 watts. The station also signed on another low-powered FM translator, W243EK in Hampton (on the same frequency of W243DJ), to improve its nighttime signal on the

Lower Peninsula The Lower Peninsula of Michigan – also known as Lower Michigan – is the larger, southern and less elevated of the two major landmasses that make up the U.S. state of Michigan; the other being the Upper Peninsula, which is separated by the S ...

and the HRBT's AM/FM rebroadcast system. On September 1, 2022, WTAR dropped its sports format and began stunting towards a new format with a loop of

Justin Timberlake Justin Randall Timberlake (born January 31, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He is one of the world's best-selling music artists, with sales of over 88 million records. Timberlake is the recipient of numerous awards and ac ...

's "

SexyBack "SexyBack" is a song recorded by American singer-songwriter Justin Timberlake for his second studio album, ''FutureSex/LoveSounds'' (2006). It was released on July 18, 2006, to US mainstream and rhythmic radio stationsRadio single releases . FMQ ...

" (as well as construction sound effects). However, on September 3, WTAR broke from the stunt to air a University of Virginia football game against Richmond. The 96.5 translators remained on the stunt during that time. On September 6, WTAR and its translators flipped to

, branded as "96.5 Lucy FM", modeled after its sister station in Austin, Texas. The 850 AM signal continues to break away from Lucy FM programming for the University of Virginia broadcasts. Lucy is Home in Norfolk
Radioinsight - September 6, 2022

Translators

Previous logo

References

External links

96.5 Lucy FM Online
* * {{Authority control 1952 establishments in Virginia Radio stations established in 1952

TAR Tar is a dark brown or black viscous liquid of hydrocarbons and free carbon, obtained from a wide variety of organic materials through destructive distillation. Tar can be produced from coal, wood, petroleum, or peat. "a dark brown or black bit ...

History

Translators

See also

Previous logo

References

External links