WPLY (AM)

WPLY is a Sports Radio formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Roanoke, Virginia, serving Southwest Virginia the New River Valley. WPLY is owned and operated by Mel Wheeler, Inc.[1]

For the Plymouth, Wisconsin radio station that held the WPLY call sign from 1954-1991, see WGXI.
WPLY
CityRoanoke, Virginia
Broadcast areaSouthwest Virginia
New River Valley
Frequency610 kHz
BrandingSports Radio
Programming
FormatSports
AffiliationsFox Sports Radio
Ownership
OwnerMel Wheeler, Inc.
WFIR, WLNI, WSLC-FM, WSLQ, WVBB, WVBE-FM, WXLK
History
First air date
October 1, 1940
Former call signs
WSLS (1940-1972)
WSLC (1972-2002)
WVBE (2002-2016)
Call sign meaning
PLaY
Technical information
Facility ID41111
ClassB
Power5,000 Watts daytime
1,000 Watts nighttime
Transmitter coordinates
37°18′11.0″N 80°2′33.0″W
Translator(s)101.1 W266CY (Roanoke)
Repeater(s)100.1-2 WVBE-HD2, Lynchburg
Links
WebcastWPLY Webstream
WebsiteWPLY Online

History

WPLY launched with the callsign WSLS just before noon on October 1, 1940.[2] A partner FM station, WSLS-FM, launched in 1947; WSLS-TV followed five years later. For over 50 years, WSLS would carry a Country format. In 1969, Park Communications purchased the WSLS stations. 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, but stayed Country, and the FM switched to album-oriented rock and briefly became WSLC-FM before settling on current call sign WSLQ. Only the TV station still carries the original letters.[3] Mel Wheeler purchased the two stations in 1976.[4]

At noon on May 25, 2000, WSLC began simulcasting with its new sister station WSLC-FM, formerly easy listening turned classic rock station WPVR, after that station was purchased by Mel Wheeler Inc. This continued until March 13, 2002, when the country moved full-time to WSLC-FM. WSLC was flipped to new calls as WVBE, simulcasting co-owned WVBE-FM Lynchburg, and brought R&B music full-time to Roanoke.[5]

On January 20, 2016, the station dropped its Urban Adult Contemporary format for sports talk with the new callsign WPLY. The station carries programming from Fox Sports Radio.[6][7][8]

References
  1. "WPLY Facility Record". Federal Communications Commission, audio division.
  2. "Wsls Am". Roanokeradio.com. Retrieved 2016-01-30.
  3. "WSLC AM 610". Roanokeradio.com. 1972-08-01. Retrieved 2016-01-30.
  4. "FCC History Cards for WPLY".
  5. "610 WSLC drops country WSLC-FM for Urban AC WVBE-FM | Format Change Archive". Formatchange.com. Retrieved 2016-01-30.
  6. "Roanoke getting another all-sports radio station". www.roanoke.com. Retrieved 2016-01-23.
  7. "Roanoke Gets Second Sports Station". Insideradio.com. Retrieved 2016-01-23.
  8. "Wheeler Launches New Sports Station In Roanoke". RadioInsight. Retrieved 2016-01-23.
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