WLEV

The station began operation in 1947 as WFMZ. On November 1, 1947, it moved from 105.1 MHz to 95.9 MHz concurrent with an increase in power to 1 kW.{{cite magazine |author= |title=(Untitled Note) |url=http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1947/1947-11-10-BC.pdf |magazine=Broadcasting |location=Washington, DC |publisher=Broadcasting Publications |page=78 |date=November 10, 1947 |access-date=May 22, 2016}}

The station originally played classical and jazz music at various times of the day. Following this, in the 1950s, the station began playing blocks of instrumental easy listening music as well. In 1965, the station was sold to a Christian local group called Maranatha Broadcasting. At that point, WFMZ flipped to a religious/easy listening format. For many hours daily, the station sold blocks of time to churches. The rest of the day was filled with only instrumental easy listening music known as beautiful music. The station initially played no vocalists.

In the 1970s, WFMZ began cutting back the religious programming to very early mornings and middays and late evenings, replacing it with more easy listening music. By the mid-1970s, the station added some soft vocals by standard and adult contemporary artists; they began playing one or two per hour. In 1976, Maranatha signed on a television station on channel 69, WFMZ-TV. (A previous owner of the radio station operated an earlier WFMZ-TV on channel 67 in the 1950s.) The television station ran mostly religious shows along with about six hours a day of classic sitcoms and drama shows.

In the 1980s, WFMZ continued with the beautiful music format cutting the religious shows down to a couple hours a day at most. A boost in the ratings occurred when WQQQ dropped easy listening for Top 40 in April 1983. WFMZ began gradually mixing in more vocalists and began playing about four an hour by 1987. By 1990, they were about half vocal and half instrumental. In 1991, the station overhauled the format and dropped most of the standards artists and focused on soft hits from popular AC and CHR artists. The station was now mostly vocal with an instrumental each hour. By 1994, WFMZ evolved completely into a soft adult contemporary format.

Maranatha put WFMZ radio up for sale in 1996. Citadel Broadcasting, owner of WLEV (96.1 FM), bought the station late that year. The rumor was they would flip WFMZ to country. Upon closing though, both stations retained their AC formats with WFMZ being softer.

In the summer of 1997, it was determined that Allentown only needed one adult contemporary station, while a country station was also needed. That July, WLEV (96.1 FM) became WCTO, a country music station known as "Cat Country 96". Half of the WLEV airstaff remained on 96.1 and many new airstaffers were hired to carry out the country format.

WFMZ had only a couple of air staffers and was mostly automated. The WLEV staffers who did not stay on WCTO moved to fill daytime hours on 100.7. The intellectual properties of WLEV and WFMZ were combined onto 100.7, under the WLEV call sign. The format overall became a straight adult contemporary format, with WFMZ's religious programming being dropped. Delilah's love songs show was added in the 7 p.m. to midnight time slot. Citadel's 1400 WEST was sold to Maranatha Broadcasting.

WLEV began in 1947 as WEST-FM on 96.1. For decades the station simulcast WEST's middle of the road music format. In 1973, 96.1 became WLEV and began offering an automated soft rock/adult contemporary format that played the softer rock hits of the 1960s and 1970s along with current product. They were known as "Hit Parade Music" at one point. The station was owned by Sound Media and then by Telemedia Group.

Through the 1970s and into the 1980s, WLEV continued as a straight-ahead adult contemporary station with no dramatic changes. More personalities were added in the late 1980s. By the 1990s, the station bordered on being a hot AC, though the texture of the station remained consistent.

In 1995, the station was sold, along with WEST, to Citadel Broadcasting; the adult contemporary format on 96.1 continued until the consolidation with WFMZ and launch of WCTO's country music format in 1997.

WLEV competes today with WBEB and WODE-FM as adult listening radio stations. Citadel merged with Cumulus Media on September 16, 2011.{{cite news|title=Cumulus now owns Citadel Broadcasting|url=http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/news/2011/09/16/cumulus-now-owns-citadel-broadcasting.html|newspaper=Atlanta Business Journal|date=September 16, 2011 |access-date=May 22, 2016}}

File:WLEV logo.png

WLEV is short-spaced to three other Class B stations operating on 100.7 MHz: WHUD 100.7 WHUD (licensed to serve Peekskill, New York), WZBA 100.7 The Bay (licensed to serve Westminster, Maryland), and WZXL 100.7 ZXL (licensed to serve Wildwood, New Jersey). The distance between WLEV's transmitter and WHUD's transmitter is only {{convert|97|mi|km}}, The distance between WLEV's transmitter and WZBA's transmitter is only {{convert|105|mi|km}}, and the distance between WLEV's transmitter and WZXL's transmitter is only {{convert|106|mi|km}}, as determined by FCC rules.{{cite web|url=https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/retrieveECFR?gp=&SID=f3c56971693dd1afdad89a680fece345&mc=true&r=SECTION&n=se47.4.73_1208 |title=Reference points and distance computations. 47 CFR § 73.208 |access-date=July 12, 2021}} The minimum distance between two Class B stations operating on the same channel according to current FCC rules is 150 miles.{{cite web|url=http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CFR-2012-title47-vol4/pdf/CFR-2012-title47-vol4-sec73-207.pdf |title=Minimum distance separation between stations. 47 CFR § 73.207 (1) |access-date=July 12, 2021}}

W257DI (Loud 99.3) began broadcasting a rhythmic CHR format in Reading on August 18, 2017, branding as "Reading's Hip Hop Station".{{cite web|url=https://radioinsight.com/headlines/119360/reading-gets-loud-hip-hop/|title=Reading Gets Loud With Hip-Hop - RadioInsight|date=August 18, 2017|website=radioinsight.com|access-date=April 9, 2018}} On January 17, 2022, Loud 99.3 moved to 98.5 FM.{{Cite web |title=Loud Radio Moves In Reading |url=https://radioinsight.com/headlines/218602/loud-radio-moves-in-reading/ |access-date=May 25, 2022 |website=RadioInsight |date=January 17, 2022 |language=en-US}}

{{RadioTranslators

| callsign = WLEV-HD2

| width =

| call1 = W225CF

| freq1 = 92.9

| fid1 = 155464

| watts1 = 99

| class1 = D

| city1 = Reading, Pennsylvania

| coord1 = {{coord|40|21|15.3|N|75|53|53.7|W|region:US-PA_type:landmark|name=W225CF}}

| notes1 =

}}

• Media in the Lehigh Valley

{{Reflist}}

• {{Official website|www.wlevradio.com|WLEV Official Website}}
• {{FM station data|39875|WLEV}}
• {{FCC-LMS-Facility|155464|W225CF}}

{{Allentown Radio}}

{{Adult Contemporary Radio Stations in Pennsylvania}}

{{Cumulus Media}}

{{authority control}}

Category:1947 establishments in Pennsylvania

Category:Cumulus Media radio stations

Category:Mainstream adult contemporary radio stations in the United States

Category:Radio stations established in 1947

LEV