WPLY (AM)

For the Plymouth, Wisconsin radio station that held the WPLY call sign from 1954-1991, seeWGXI.

WPLY

Roanoke, Virginia
Broadcast area	Southwest Virginia New River Valley
Frequency	610kHz
Branding	Sports Radio Virginia
Programming
Format	Sports
Affiliations	Fox Sports Radio Carolina Panthers Radio Network
Ownership
Owner	Mel Wheeler, Inc.
Sister stations	WFIR,WPLI,WSLC-FM,WSLQ,WVBB,WVBE-FM,WXLK,WZZU
History
First air date	October 1, 1940(1940-10-01)
Former call signs	WSLS (1940–1972) WSLC (1972–2002) WVBE (2002–2016)
Call signmeaning	PLaY
Technical information
Licensing authority	FCC
Facility ID	41111
Class	B
Power	5,000watts(day) 1,000 watts (night)
Transmitter coordinates	37°18′11.0″N80°2′33.0″W
Translator(s)	101.1W266CY (Roanoke)
Repeater(s)	1390WPLI(Lynchburg)
Links
Public license information	Public file LMS
Webcast	Listen Live
Website	sportsradiova.com

WPLY(610kHz) is acommercialAMradio stationlicensedtoRoanoke, Virginia,and servingSouthwest Virginiaand theNew River Valley.WPLYsimulcastsasports radioformatwithWPLI1390 AMinLynchburg.Both stations are owned and operated by Mel Wheeler, Inc.Most programming is supplied byFox Sports Radio.

By day, WPLY transmits 5,000watts,but at night (when radio waves travel farther) it reduces power to 1,000 watts to protect other stations on610 AM.WPLY has adirectional antenna,using a five-tower array.Thetransmitteris at the end of Newman Drive inSalem.Programming is also heard on 175-wattFM translatorW266CYat 101.1MHzin Roanoke.

History

WSLC Country

Just before noon on October 1, 1940(1940-10-01),the stationsigned on.The originalcall signwas WSLS.During the "Golden Age of Radio,"the station carried programs from theNBC Blue Network,dramas, comedies, news, sports,soap operas,game showsandbig bandbroadcasts. (The Blue Network later becameABC.) A partner FM station, 99.1WSLS-FM,launched in 1947, largelysimulcastingthe AM station.WSLS-TVfollowed five years later on Channel 10.

As network programming moved from radio to television, 610 WSLS switched to afull service,Country musicformat. In 1969,Park Communicationspurchased WSLS-AM-FM-TV. Due to FCC ownership restrictions, Park kept the television station and sold the radio stations to Bass Brothers Telecasters. As the stations could no longer share a call sign after the purchase, the AM became WSLC at midnight on August 1, 1972, keeping its country sound. The FM switched toalbum-oriented rockand briefly became WSLC-FM before settling on current call signWSLQ.Only the TV station still carries the original call letters.Mel Wheeler purchased the two stations in 1976.

Urban AC and Sports

At noon on May 25, 2000, WSLC began simulcasting with its newsister station94.9WSLC-FM,formerlyeasy listeningturnedclassic rockstation WPVR, after that station was purchased by Mel Wheeler Inc. This continued until March 13, 2002, when the country format moved full-time to WSLC-FM. 610 WSLC was flipped to new call letters as WVBE, simulcasting co-owned 100.1WVBE-FMLynchburg, and broughturban adult contemporaryandR&Bmusic full-time to Roanoke.

Former logo

On January 20, 2016, the station dropped its Urban AC format forsports talkwith the new call sign WPLY. The station became an affiliate ofFox Sports Radio.

External links

• WPLY Online
• Facility details for Facility ID 41111 (WPLY)in theFCCLicensing and Management System
• WPLYinNielsen Audio's AM station database
• Facility details for Facility ID 148906 (W266CY)in theFCCLicensing and Management System
• W266CYat FCCdata.org