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WKAV

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Coordinates:38°1′49.0″N78°29′22.0″W/ 38.030278°N 78.489444°W/38.030278; -78.489444
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
WKAV
Broadcast areaCharlottesville, Virginia
Albemarle County, Virginia
Frequency1400kHz
Branding94.1 The Oasis
Programming
FormatChristian adult contemporary[1]
Ownership
Owner
WCHV,WCHV-FM,WCYK-FM,WHTE-FM,WHUK
History
First air date
October 31,1957(as WELK at 1010)[2]
Former call signs
WBFY (1954–1956, CP)
WELK (1956–1980)
WXAM (1980–1984)
Former frequencies
1010 kHz (1957–1974)
Call signmeaning
"Kavalier"[sic]
Technical information[3]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID10651
ClassC
Power1,000wattsunlimited
Transmitter coordinates
38°1′49.0″N78°29′22.0″W/ 38.030278°N 78.489444°W/38.030278; -78.489444
Translator(s)94.1 W231AD (Charlottesville)
Links
Public license information
WebcastListen Live
Website941theoasis

WKAV(1400AM) is aChristian adult contemporaryformattedbroadcastradio stationlicensed toCharlottesville, Virginia,serving Charlottesville andAlbemarle County, Virginia.[1]WKAV is owned and operated byMonticello Media.[4]

History

[edit]

In 1954, a construction permit was issued to Lawrence Lee Kennedy for WBFY, a 1000-wattdaytimeron 1010 kHz. After several extensions and a callsign change to WELK, Charlottesville's fourth radio station signed on October 31, 1957.[2]WELK was Charlottesville's first strictlytop 40station; its competitors,WINAandWCHV,both ran older-skewingmiddle-of-the-roadformats.[5]

In 1966, WINA moved from 1400 kHz to 1070 kHz, opening up a valuable channel that allowed for 24-hour operation. WELK andWUVA,which was then acarrier currentAM station broadcasting only inUniversity of Virginiaresidence halls, both filed for the 1400 kHz allocation the following year.[6]The competing applications required arbitration by the FCC, who first recommended denial of both as neither proposed transmitter site provided a listenable signal to both the university and downtown Charlottesville at night.[7]Asserting that a third nighttime station was needed, WELK found an adequate site and paid WUVA and another applicant $10,000 in exchange for withdrawing their applications.[8][9]

WELK was sold to Richard Latora in late 1979.[10]Under the new callsign WXAM, the station remained top-40, with programming fromABC'sAmerican Contemporary Network.[11]

Failing to regain ratings traction during this time due to competition from FM, the station was sold to Charles Wilson's Cavalier Country Broadcasting in 1984, who changed the callsign to the current WKAV and instituted acountry musicformat.[12]Top-40 radio would not return to the market until the launch ofWHTE-FM(101.9 MHz) in 2001.

Charlottesville Broadcasting Corporation, longtime owners of WINA (1070 kHz) andWQMZ(95.1 MHz), purchased WKAV in 1993 and flipped it toadult standards.[13]Charlottesville Broadcasting merged with Eure Communications, which ownedWWWV(97.5 kHz) and WCHV (1260 kHz), in 1998. Ownership concentration concerns from theDepartment of Justiceforced the new company to divest the two least-valuable properties, WCHV and WKAV. The stations went toClear Channelin 2000.[14][15]

Clear Channel at first kept the standards, but in 2001 flipped the station to "Sports Talk 1400" withFox Sports Radioprogramming that had run briefly on WCHV.[16]

George Reed's Sistema 102, LLC, later renamed toMonticello Media,bought all of Clear Channel's Charlottesville stations in June 2007. Monticello tweaked the branding to "1400 The Ticket" after taking control. The station picked up most local sports broadcasting rights during this time, including theWashington Redskins,[17]Washington Capitals,Washington Nationals,Washington Wizards,andVirginia Tech Hokies.

Monticello suddenly flipped WKAV to "94.1 Hank FM" withclassic countrymusic on September 14, 2015, pairing the station with a downtown Charlottesville FM translator that had been associated withWZGN(102.3 MHz). This flip came three days before WUVA was to flip to classic country fromNash Icon.[18]Fox Sports Radio was dropped, while WCHV andWCHV-FM(107.5 MHz) picked up live sports coverage on nights and weekends.

In September 2017, the classic country "Hank FM" format was dropped and thecontemporary Christian-formatted "The Oasis" appeared in its place.[19]

Translator

[edit]
Further information:WHUK § Translator

WKAV is relayed by one translator to provide an FM home for its music programming.[20]

Call sign Frequency City of license FID ERP(W) HAAT Class Transmitter coordinates FCC info
W231AD 94.1 FM Charlottesville, Virginia 11670 250 91.9m(302ft) D 38°1′49″N78°29′22″W/ 38.03028°N 78.48944°W/38.03028; -78.48944(W231AD) LMS

References

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  1. ^ab"Arbitron Station Information Profiles".Nielsen Audio/Nielsen Holdings.RetrievedAugust 29,2015.
  2. ^ab"WELK/WKAV Facility Card (Facility Record 1954-1981)".Federal Communications Commission.
  3. ^"Facility Technical Data for WKAV".Licensing and Management System.Federal Communications Commission.
  4. ^"WKAV Facility Record".Federal Communications Commission,audio division.RetrievedAugust 29,2015.
  5. ^Barnes III, Lindsay (March 26, 2008)."Radio legend Mountjoy passes away at 61".The Hook Weekly.
  6. ^Staff (October 2, 1967)."For The Record"(PDF).Broadcasting.p. 73.
  7. ^Staff."For the Record"(PDF).Broadcasting. p. 57.
  8. ^Staff (April 3, 1972)."For the Record"(PDF).Broadcasting.p. 129.
  9. ^FCC Reports, Second Series, Volume 34, April 7, 1972 to June 2, 1972.Federal Communications Commission. 1974. pp. 123–127.
  10. ^Staff (November 26, 1979)."Changing hands"(PDF).Broadcasting.p. 65.
  11. ^Broadcasting and Cable Yearbook 1981(PDF).p. C-243.
  12. ^Staff (March 19, 1984)."Changing hands"(PDF).Broadcasting.p. 88.
  13. ^Staff (March 29, 1993)."Changing hands"(PDF).Broadcasting.p. 62.
  14. ^Spencer, Hawes (March 13, 2003)."MIXed message: Will FCC" clear "WUMX sale?".The Hook.No. 210.
  15. ^Brown, Sara (November 10, 1997)."Changing hands"(PDF).Broadcasting & Cable.p. 133.
  16. ^"WKAV 1400AM Fox Sports Radio".December 15, 2001. Archived fromthe originalon December 15, 2001.
  17. ^"Redskins Radio Returns to SportsRadio in Charlottesville".NBC29 (WVIR).
  18. ^Venta, Lance (September 14, 2015)."Hank Comes To Charlottesville - RadioInsight".RadioInsight.
  19. ^WKAV Goes From Classic Country To Christian AC While WCYK RebrandsLance Venta, October 1, 2017
  20. ^"W231AD Facility Record".Federal Communications Commission,audio division.RetrievedSeptember 14,2015.
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