WVSP-FM

WVSP-FM (94.1 MHz, "Priority Auto Sports Radio 94.1 ESPN") is a sports formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Yorktown, Virginia, United States, serving The Peninsula, Middle Peninsula and Southside of Hampton Roads. WVSP-FM is owned and operated by Max Broadcast Group Holdings, LLC.[4] WVSP's studios are located on Greenwich Road in Virginia Beach, while its transmitter is located in Newport News Park in York County near Colonial National Historical Park.

For the former public radio station in Warrenton–Rocky Mount, North Carolina, see WVSP (North Carolina).

WVSP-FM
Broadcast areaThe Peninsula, Middle Peninsula and Southside of Hampton Roads
Frequency94.1 MHz (HD Radio)
BrandingPriority Auto Sports Radio 94.1 ESPN
Programming
FormatSports radio
SubchannelsHD2: Sports radio (WGH simulcast)
AffiliationsESPN Radio
Baltimore Orioles Radio Network
Norfolk Tides
Old Dominion University Sports
Ownership
Owner
WGH, WGH-FM, WTWV-FM, WVBW-FM
History
First air date
1975
Former call signs
WYVA-FM (1975–1978)[1]
WYVA (1978–1982)[2]
WKEZ-FM (1982–1991)
WKOD (1991–1992)
WXEZ (1992–2009)
Call sign meaning
"Virginia Sports"
Technical information
Facility ID19836
ClassB
ERP40,000 watts (analog)
1,600 watts (digital)[3]
HAAT162 meters (531 ft)
Transmitter coordinates
37°12′33.5″N 76°32′33.8″W
Links
WebcastListen Live
Websiteespnradio941.com

History
WVSP on a SPARC HD Radio with RDS.
Logo as ESPN 94.1, 2011-2023

The station had originally signed on in 1975 as WYVA-FM, serving Yorktown, Virginia, with a country format.[5] In 1986, it changed call letters to WKEZ while retaining the country format.[6] On October 14, 1991, it began a time-brokered simulcast with then AAA-formatted WKOC "The Coast" in Norfolk. The next year, the simulcast was ended and the station switched to adult contemporary as WXEZ, "EZ94".[7] The transmitter tower was moved to give the station a better signal over the Tidewater area. The station was sold in the mid 1990s to Barnstable Broadcasting and switched to an urban gospel music format as "Star 94.1" in August 2000.[8] Barnstable later sold its Tidewater market stations to locally-based Max Media.

On October 5, 2009, WXEZ swapped formats with WGH (1310 AM) and became a sports radio station, and at that time changed their call letters to WVSP-FM. With this change, there are now two sports stations on the FM dial in Hampton Roads. ESPN Radio also gained an improved coverage area much greater than when they were located on 1310 AM. The black gospel format moved to 1310 AM.[9]

On February 1, 2023, the station rebranded as "Priority Auto Sports Radio 94.1", as part of a naming rights deal with local automotive dealer chain Priority Automotive, one of the few such deals involving a radio station's branding. WVSP-FM's programming, including its ESPN Radio affiliation, did not change.[10]

References
  1. "Call letters" (PDF). Broadcasting. May 15, 1978. p. 60.
  2. "Call letters" (PDF). Broadcasting. April 12, 1982. p. 112.
  3. "Full Power FM Digital Notification Application [WVSP-FM]". fcc.gov. Federal Communications Commission. July 29, 2022. Retrieved September 14, 2022.
  4. "WVSP Facility Record". Federal Communications Commission, audio division.
  5. http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC-YB/1976/C-2%20%20Broadcasting%20Yearbook%201976.pdf
  6. http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC-YB/1987/B2-BC-YB-1987.pdf
  7. http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC-YB/1993/B-Radio-AL-NE-Ter-YB-1993-B&W.pdf
  8. HighBeam
  9. "Press Release: ESPN Radio 94.1-FM (Formerly 1310-AM) Launches October 5" (PDF). MAX Media Hampton Roads. September 18, 2009. Retrieved September 18, 2009.
  10. WVSP Sells Naming Rights, Becoming Priority Auto Sports 94.1


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