WBBT-FM

WBBT-FM (107.3 MHz) is a non-commercial public FM radio station licensed to Powhatan, Virginia, and serving the Greater Richmond Region.[3] WBBT-FM is owned and operated by VPM Media Corporation.[4] It airs an eclectic music format, focusing on classical music on weekdays, jazz in the evening and diverse musical genres on weekends, including world music, opera and blues. It carries programming from NPR, Classical 24 and the WFMT Jazz Network.

WBBT-FM
Broadcast areaGreater Richmond Region
Frequency107.3 MHz
BrandingVPM Music
Programming
FormatPublic radio - Classical music - Jazz
AffiliationsNPR
Classical 24 Network
WFMT Jazz Network
Ownership
OwnerVPM Media Corporation
WWLB, WCVE-FM
History
First air date
June 21, 1999 (1999-06-21)[1]
Former call signs
WXNC (1999)[2]
Call sign meaning
B BeaT
former branding
Technical information
Facility ID31859
ClassA
Power1,400 watts
HAAT207 meters (679 ft)
Transmitter coordinates
37°30′16.0″N 77°42′14.0″W
Links
WebcastListen Live
Websitevpm.org

Along with simulcast partner WWLB in Ettrick, Virginia, WBBT is branded as VPM Music, and is a sister station to the area's NPR news and information affiliate, 88.9 WCVE-FM. WBBT serves the northern part of the Richmond radio market, while WWLB serves the southern portion.

WBBT-FM studios and offices are on Sesame Street in Richmond. The transmitter is off Dry Bridge Road in Midlothian, Virginia.[5]

History

WBBT-FM signed on June 21, 1999 as WXNC, and airing a rhythmic oldies format as "107.3 The Beat, Richmond's Dancin' Oldies."[6] The station adopted the current WBBT-FM calls on August 6. However, by November 2000, the station shifted to a dance-leaning Rhythmic AC as "Dance Hits 107.3."[7]

In June 2001, WBBT flipped to All-80s Hits as "Star 107.3" (which would evolve to an '80s/'90s hybrid as "Star 107").[8]

On January 21, 2004, at 7:07 a.m., after a day of stunting as "Elvis 107", the station flipped to '60s/'70s Oldies as "Oldies 107.3". At the same time, recently purchased sister station WARV (100.3 FM), whose tower is in Petersburg, flipped from "ESPN Richmond" to a simulcast of WBBT, giving the new oldies format some new coverage in Southside Virginia where 107.3's signal is weak.[9][10]

In December 2005, WBBT and WARV, along with sister stations WWLB and WLFV, were purchased by Philadelphia-based Main Line Broadcasting.[11]

On September 27, 2007, the station rebranded as "107.3 BBT". The playlist was widened at the time slightly to include a few early '80s rock hits, but the station continued to focus on 1964-1979. The positioner changed again on December 4, 2009, to "Big Oldies 107.3".

On July 1, 2014, Main Line Broadcasting sold its Richmond stations to L&L Broadcasting, with the combined entity taking the name Alpha Media.[12]

On March 22, 2017, WBBT shifted its format from classic hits to 1980s hits.[13] Starting with the 2016-17 season, WBBT also carried the University of Richmond Spiders football and men's basketball games.

On December 20, 2017, Commonwealth Public Broadcasting Corporation announced that they would acquire WBBT and sister station, WWLB; WCVE-FM's music programming will move to the frequencies upon closure of the sale.[14][15]

The switch took place on February 15, 2018 at 1:00 p.m. Eastern. The last song of the classic hits format was Europe's The Final Countdown.

On June 1, 2018, WBBT-FM and WWLB broke off the simulcast of WCVE-FM to air a new format, "WCVE Music", which took over and augmented WCVE-FM's music programming. On August 5, 2019, WBBT-FM and WWLB were both rebranded as "VPM Music."

References
  1. Broadcasting Yearbook 2010 (PDF). ProQuest, LLC/Reed Publishing (Nederland), B.V. 2010. p. D-569. Retrieved July 6, 2015.
  2. "Call Sign History". Federal Communications Commission, audio division. Retrieved July 6, 2015.
  3. "Arbitron Station Information Profiles". Nielsen Audio/Nielsen Holdings. Retrieved July 6, 2015.
  4. "WBBT Facility Record". Federal Communications Commission, audio division. Retrieved July 6, 2015.
  5. "Radio Station Coverage Map".
  6. "Dancin' Oldies WXNC is Launched at 107.3 FM", The Richmond Times-Dispatch, June 22, 1999.
  7. "Riffs", The Richmond Times-Dispatch, November 23, 2000.
  8. "Radio notes", The Richmond Times-Dispatch, June 7, 2001.
  9. "New format", The Richmond Times-Dispatch, January 20, 2004.
  10. "Oldies is new format, WBBT Radio to play rock and soul from the 1960s and 1970s", The Richmond Times-Dispatch, January 21, 2004.
  11. "Main Line Broadcasting LLC Acquires WJZV, WARV, WCUL, and WBBT (All FM Stations Serving Richmond, VA) from MainQuad Communications and Richmond Broadcasting | Media Services Group".
  12. "Alpha and L&L to Merge; Acquire Main Line Broadcasting".
  13. Alpha Shakes Up Richmond Cluster Radioinsight - March 22, 2017
  14. Jones, Gabrielle (2017-12-19). "Commonwealth Public Broadcasting Acquires Two Radio Stations". Community Idea Stations. Retrieved 2017-12-20.
  15. Alpha Media Sells Richmond Pair To Commonwealth Public Broadcasting
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