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For the Sussex County, New Jersey radio station that was originally WLVP, see WSUS (FM).
WLVP
WLVP logo
Broadcast areaPortland, Maine
Frequency870 kHz
BrandingThe Oldies Channel
Programming
FormatOldies, talk, sports
AffiliationsThe True Oldies Channel (Cumulus), WCSH
Ownership
Owner
  • Robert Bittner
  • (Blue Jey Broadcasting Co.)
WBQQ, WFNK, WLAM, WHXR, WTHT
History
First air date
March 3, 1980
Former call signs
WDCI (1980–1982)
WASY (1982–1986)
WJBQ (1986–1989)
WKZN (1989–1990)
WLAM (1990–2001)
WMTW (2001–2004)
Call sign meaning
Liberal Voice of Portland (previous format)
Technical information
Facility ID24994
ClassB
Power10,000 watts (daytime)
1,000 watts (nighttime)
Transmitter coordinates
43°39′46″N 70°29′41″W / 43.66278°N 70.49472°W / 43.66278; -70.49472 (WLVP)

WLVP (870 AM) is a radio station broadcasting oldies, news/talk, and sports programming. Licensed to Gorham, Maine, USA, it serves southern Maine, including Portland. Established in 1980, the station is currently owned by Robert Bittner through licensee Blue Jey Broadcasting Co., and is simulcast with WLAM (1470 AM).

History

The station went on the air March 3, 1980[1] as WDCI on 1590.[2] In the intervening years, the station would change its call letters to WASY and then WJBQ, the latter after coming into common ownership with WLAM and WKZS (99.9 FM; now WTHT).[2] WJBQ moved to the 870 position in 1988;[2] on this position, the station became WKZN on November 28, 1989, and then swapped call letters with WLAM on December 26, 1990;[3] the two stations eventually began simulcasting a standards format.[4]

Wireless Talking Machine Company sold WLAM, 1470 (by then WZOU), and WLAM-FM (106.7 FM, which had launched in 1996 as an FM simulcast of the stations;[4] it is now WXTP), along with 99.9 (by then WMWX) and WTHT (107.5 FM; now WFNK) to Harron Communications, then-owner of WMTW-TV, in 1999.[5] On May 7, 2001, Harron converted 870 and 106.7 to news/talk as WMTW.[6] The WLAM call letters were then returned to 1470, which initially retained the standards format; on November 26, the station was switched to a simulcast of WMTW;[7] shortly afterwards, talk programming was removed from the stations in favor of an all-news format, mainly from the Associated Press's All-News Radio service.[8]

After Harron sold its Maine radio stations to Nassau Broadcasting Partners in 2004, Newsradio WMTW was discontinued. Nassau also introduced three separate formats to the stations.[9] with WMTW switching to progressive talk from Air America Radio under the call letters WLVP.[10]

Nassau first attempted to convert WLVP to ESPN Radio in September 2004; this sparked listener protest, prompting Nassau to initially postpone the format change to November 8[11] before canceling it entirely.[12] However, after significant changes occurred at Air America (including the departure of Al Franken), the station began airing ESPN Radio on June 1, 2007,[13] resulting in WLVP and WLAM once again airing the same programming.

WLVP and WLAM dropped ESPN Radio on February 2, 2009 and switched to oldies.[14] In conjunction with the change, the stations began to simulcast WCSH's morning and early evening newscasts, a move made to continue the newscasts' availability via radio even after the station's own 87.7 MHz audio is discontinued following the shutdown of analog television signals.[14][15]

Initially locally programmed, in early 2010 WLVP and WLAM became affiliates of The True Oldies Channel.[16] Additionally, on August 2, the station added The Jeff Santos Show from WWZN in Boston (marking a partial return to progressive talk programming);[17] this in effect took WLVP's morning drive programming back to a news/talk format, as Santos' program immediately follows the simulcast of WCSH's morning newscast. The stations' format was modified once more on August 6, 2011, when sports talk was readded to the weekend schedule via locally-produced shows from the Maine Sports Network (which previously provided some weekend programming to WJJB-FM).[18]

WLVP, along with 16 other Nassau stations in northern New England, was purchased at bankruptcy auction by WBIN Media Company, a company controlled by Bill Binnie, on May 22, 2012. Binnie already owns WBIN-TV in Derry, New Hampshire.[19][20] The deal was completed on November 30, 2012.[21] On December 9, 2015, Binnie agreed to sell WLAM and WLVP to Blue Jey Broadcasting Company, controlled by Bob Bittner, for $135,000; the deal will make WLVP a sister station to WJTO in Bath.[22] The sale to Blue Jey Broadcasting was consummated on February 17, 2016.

References

  1. ^ Broadcasting Yearbook 1981 (PDF). 1981. p. C-104. Retrieved March 13, 2010.
  2. ^ a b c Fybush, Scott (1996). "Maine Radio History, 1971–1996". The Archives @ BostonRadio.org. Retrieved January 27, 2009.
  3. ^ "WLVP Call Sign History". United States Federal Communications Commission, audio division.
  4. ^ a b Fybush, Scott (June 18, 1996). "Portland Consolidates". New England RadioWatch. Retrieved January 27, 2009.
  5. ^ Fybush, Scott (November 19, 1999). "TV Duopoly Arrives in N.Y." North East RadioWatch. Retrieved January 27, 2009.
  6. ^ Fybush, Scott (May 7, 2001). "Farewell, Old CHUM". North East RadioWatch. Retrieved January 27, 2009.
  7. ^ Fybush, Scott (November 11, 2001). "Cumulus Buys Aurora". North East RadioWatch. Retrieved January 27, 2009.
  8. ^ Fybush, Scott (December 31, 2001). "2001: The Year in Review". NorthEast Radio Watch. Retrieved January 27, 2009.
  9. ^ Fybush, Scott (April 12, 2004). "Nassau Shakeup in Maine". NorthEast Radio Watch. Retrieved January 27, 2009.
  10. ^ Fybush, Scott (2004). "2004: The Year in Review". NorthEast Radio Watch. Retrieved January 27, 2009.
  11. ^ Fybush, Scott (September 27, 2004). "Rhode Islanders Fight WRNI Sale". NorthEast Radio Watch. Retrieved January 27, 2009.
  12. ^ Fybush, Scott (October 4, 2004). "Scott Muni Dies". NorthEast Radio Watch. Retrieved January 27, 2009.
  13. ^ Routhier, Ray (June 1, 2007). "Portland station drops Air America". Portland Press Herald. Retrieved September 13, 2007. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  14. ^ a b Routhier, Ray (January 27, 2009). "Portland to get new oldies station". Portland Press Herald. Retrieved January 28, 2009.
  15. ^ O'Brien, Maureen (January 26, 2009). "WCSH Strikes Deal To Simulcast Newscasts On Radio". WCSH6.com. Retrieved January 26, 2009.
  16. ^ Fybush, Scott (March 8, 2010). "It's Go Time for "Rush Radio 1200"". NorthEast Radio Watch. Retrieved March 13, 2010.
  17. ^ "Jeff Santos Show expands again!". Revolution Boston. Retrieved August 2, 2010.
  18. ^ Whitehouse, Randy (August 6, 2011). "Local duo making sports talk splash". Sun Journal. Retrieved August 6, 2011.
  19. ^ "Carlisle Capital Corp. Wins Bidding For Rest Of Nassau Stations". All Access. May 22, 2012. Retrieved May 22, 2012.
  20. ^ "WBIN Media acquires 17 N.E. radio stations". New Hampshire Union Leader. May 23, 2012. Retrieved May 24, 2012.
  21. ^ Kitch, Michael (December 1, 2012). "Binnie closes on purchase of WLNH". Laconia Daily Sun. Retrieved December 1, 2012.
  22. ^ "APPLICATION FOR CONSENT TO ASSIGNMENT OF BROADCAST STATION CONSTRUCTION PERMIT OR LICENSE". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved December 16, 2015.
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