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WGH-FM

WGH-FM
Broadcast areaHampton Roads
Frequency97.3 MHz (HD Radio)
Branding97.3 The Eagle
Programming
FormatCountry[1]
SubchannelsHD2: Business talk "MoneyTalk Radio"
Ownership
Owner
WGH, WTWV-FM, WVBW-FM, WVSP-FM
History
First air date
November 1948
(76 years ago) (1948-11)[2]
Former call signs
  • WGH-FM (1948–1983)
  • WNSY (1983–1985)
  • WRSR (1985–1986)[3]
Former frequencies
96.5 MHz (1948–1955)[4]
Call sign meaning
"World's Greatest Harbor"[5]
Technical information[6]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID72102
ClassB
ERP74,000 watts
HAAT120 meters (390 ft)
Transmitter coordinates
36°57′47.5″N 76°24′40.8″W / 36.963194°N 76.411333°W / 36.963194; -76.411333
Links
Public license information
WebcastListen live
Website973eagle.com

WGH-FM (97.3 MHz) is a commercial radio station licensed to Newport News, Virginia, serving Hampton Roads.[1] WGH-FM is owned and operated by Max Media and airs a country music radio format.[7] It uses the branding "97.3 The Eagle".

Studios and offices are on Greenwich Road in Virginia Beach, Virginia.[8] The transmitter is on Newport News Point, near Interstate 664.[9]

Station history

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WGH-FM first signed on the air in November 1948, one of the first FM stations in Virginia.[10] It broadcasts at 74,000 watts in an area of the country where today the maximum power for FM radio stations should be 50,000 watts. But, because the station dates back to 1948, before the Federal Communications Commission set rules for FM power levels, it is grandfathered at the higher power.

The call letters for WGH-FM and its sister station WGH (1310 AM) stand for "World's Greatest Harbor", a slogan for the Hampton Roads or Tidewater area of Virginia, where there is a large shipbuilding industry and both commercial and military ports.[11] WGH and WGH-FM are the only stations in Virginia to operate with three-letter call signs.[12]

For many years in its early days, WGH-FM was a classical music station.[13] On September 1, 1983, after Commcor bought the station, the classical format was abruptly dropped and flipped to soft rock as WNSY-FM, "Sunny 97".[14] A year later, it flipped to Top 40 as "Y-97".[15] The next year, after Susquehanna Broadcasting took over, the station changed call letters to WRSR and rebranded as "97 Star" during the week of September 10, 1985, while keeping the current format.[16] The WGH-FM calls would return on December 15, 1986.

On August 29, 1990, the Top 40 format was dropped and the station began stunting with all-Elvis Presley. On September 3, it flipped to its current country format as "Eagle 97.3".[17][18]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Arbitron Station Information Profiles". Nielsen Audio/Nielsen Holdings. Retrieved July 18, 2015.
  2. ^ Broadcasting Yearbook 2010 (PDF). ProQuest, LLC/Reed Publishing (Nederland), B.V. 2010. p. D-567. Retrieved July 18, 2015.
  3. ^ "Call Sign History". Federal Communications Commission, audio division. Retrieved July 18, 2015.
  4. ^ "FCC History Cards for WGH-FM".
  5. ^ "Call Letter Origins: Key and Listing". Bob Nelson. Retrieved July 18, 2015.
  6. ^ "Facility Technical Data for WGH-FM". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  7. ^ "WGH Facility Record". Federal Communications Commission, audio division. Retrieved July 18, 2015.
  8. ^ "5589 Greenwich Rd · 5589 Greenwich Rd, Virginia Beach, VA 23462". google.com.
  9. ^ "WGH-FM Radio Station Coverage Map". radio-locator.com.
  10. ^ Broadcasting Yearbook 1977 pg. C-220
  11. ^ History of Newport News, Virginia
  12. ^ White, Thomas. "Three-Letter Roll Call". earlyradiohistory.us.
  13. ^ "20All-4" (PDF). americanradiohistory.com. Retrieved January 28, 2024.
  14. ^ "RR-1983-09-09" (PDF). americanradiohistory.com. Retrieved January 28, 2024.
  15. ^ "Radio-All-BC-YB-1985" (PDF). americanradiohistory.com. Retrieved January 28, 2024.[dead link‍]
  16. ^ "Radio-All-BC-YB-1986" (PDF). americanradiohistory.com. Retrieved January 28, 2024.[dead link‍]
  17. ^ "RR-1990-09-07" (PDF). americanradiohistory.com. Retrieved January 28, 2024.
  18. ^ "Radio NE MT 1991 B&W.pdf" (PDF). americanradiohistory.com. Retrieved January 28, 2024.
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