WSVA

The WSVA weekday schedule begins with Early Mornings with Frank Wilt and Jim Britt. Mike Schikman hosts afternoon drive time. At noon, an hour of news and agricultural reports airs. The rest of the weekday schedule is nationally syndicated talk programs: The Ramsey Show, The Mark Levin Show, Bill O'Reilly, America at Night with Rich Valdes, Red Eye Radio, America in the Morning and The Markley, Van Camp and Robbins Show.

Weekends feature shows on money, car repair, home repair, travel and gardening. Weekend syndicated programs include The Larry Kudlow Show, The Sebastian Gorka Show, Rudy Maxa's World, The Lars Larson Show, The Kim Komando Show, Music and the Spoken Word and The Car Doctor with Ron Annanian. Most hours begin with an update from CBS News Radio.

WSVA broadcasts local sports including James Madison University football and basketball, along with high school football, basketball and baseball.

WSVA signed on the air on June 9, 1935.{{cite web|title=Directory of Radio Stations in the U.S.|url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC-YB/2010/D4-2010-BC-YB-7.pdf|website=worldradiohistory.com|access-date=13 September 2016|page=D565}} It was the first radio station to broadcast in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley. The station was owned by Frederick L. Allman and the original power was only 500 watts. Although it appears that the WSVA call sign stands for Shenandoah Vlley, it actually stands for "We Serve Virginia Agriculture". The station was an affiliate of the NBC Red Network, carrying its dramas, comedies, news, sports, soap operas, game shows and big band broadcasts during the "Golden Age of Radio". Locally, it offered news, agricultural programs, music and talk.{{cite web| last =Cacchiani| first =John | title =WSVA Nostalgia | url=http://wsva.valleyradio.com/nostalgia/nost.htm | access-date =2009-11-30 }}

In 1946, it added the Shenandoah Valley's first FM station, WSVA-FM (now WQPO). In 1953, it put Channel 3 on the air, WSVA-TV (now WHSV-TV). Because 550 AM was an NBC Radio affiliate, WSVA-TV mostly carried NBC television shows, but it also broadcast some programs from CBS, ABC and the Dumont Television Network. Allman sold his stations to a partnership of Transcontinent Television and former NBC executive Hamilton Shea in 1956, earning a significant return on his investment of 21 years earlier.{{cite news|title=Brisk buying surge swaps four stations, $7.7 million|url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1956/1956-04-09-BC.pdf|pages=35–6|access-date=December 31, 2012|newspaper=Broadcasting-Telecasting|date=April 9, 1956}}

In the 1950s, as network programming moved from radio to television, WSVA switched to a full service radio format of middle of the road (MOR) music, news and sports. In 1959, the Washington Evening Star, owner of WMAL AM-FM-TV in Washington, D.C., bought Transcontinent's share of the stations, as well as 1% of Shea's stake.{{cite news|title=Changing hands|url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1959/1959-08-10-BC.pdf|page=54|access-date=December 31, 2012|newspaper=Broadcasting|date=August 10, 1959}}

Michigan businessman James Gilmore bought WSVA-AM-FM-TV in 1965.{{cite news|title=Four stations sold for $6.8 million|url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1965/1965-06-07-BC.pdf|pages=79–80|access-date=December 31, 2012|newspaper=Broadcasting|date=June 7, 1965}} He sold off Channel 3 in 1976,{{cite news|title=Worrell Newspapers Purchases TV Station|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=kK1BAAAAIBAJ&sjid=qakMAAAAIBAJ&dq=wsva-tv%20abc&pg=6759%2C3550237|page=11|access-date=December 31, 2012|newspaper=The Middlesboro Daily News|date=June 9, 1976}} but Gilmore held onto the radio stations until 1987, when he sold them to local businessman John David VerStandig. Over the years, VerStandig added WTGD-FM, WJDV-FM, and WHBG to his radio portfolio.

On March 17, 1997, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced that 88 stations had been given permission to move to newly available "Expanded Band" transmitting frequencies, ranging from 1610 to 1700 kHz. WSVA was authorized to move from 550 to 1700 kHz.[https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uva.x004848309&view=1up&seq=276 "FCC Public Notice: Mass Media Bureau Announces Revised AM Expanded Band Allotment Plan and Filing Window for Eligible Stations"] (FCC DA 97-537), March 17, 1997. A construction permit for the expanded band station was assigned the call sign WEZI on November 17, 1997. However this station was never built, and its construction permit was cancelled on January 16, 2004.[https://enterpriseefiling.fcc.gov/dataentry/public/tv/publicFacilityDetails.html?facilityId=87172 Facility details for Facility ID 87172 (WEZI)] in the FCC Licensing and Management System

In 2009, WSVA moved into a new building with modern studios and offices. It is located on the same property as the old building, on Heritage Center Way.

File:WSVA-AM 2015.png

On January 1, 2015, the station began simulcasting its programming on FM translator W221CF, transmitting on 92.1 MHz.{{cite web|url=https://www.facebook.com/WSVA550/posts/396224850546088|title=Did you hear? WSVA will be simulcast on FM!... - WSVA Harrisonburg|date=December 29, 2014|access-date=December 29, 2014|publisher=M. Belmont VerStandig, Inc./Facebook}}{{cite web|url=https://transition.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/fmq?call=W221CF|title=W221CF Facility Record|access-date=December 29, 2014|work=Federal Communications Commission, audio division}} It makes WSVA programming available to listeners who prefer FM radio. It also exists to fill in the gaps in WSVA's nighttime coverage. The AM transmitter cuts its power to 1,000 watts at night to protect the nighttime signal of WGR in Buffalo, New York, and other stations on 550 AM in the Eastern United States.

The sale of VerStandig Broadcasting of Harrisonburg to Saga Communications was closed on July 31, 2015. It included WSVA and several other Shenandoah Valley radio stations. The purchase price was $9.64 million.[https://www.insideradio.com/features/deal-digest-for-the-week-of-september-17-2015/article_b00f0d1c-5d46-11e5-bbaa-c33b2974d192.html InsideRadio.com "Deal Digest" September 17, 2015 (retrieved Feb. 14, 2023)]

In addition to the main station, WSVA is relayed by an FM translator to widen its broadcast area.

{{RadioTranslators

| callsign = WSVA

| call1 = W221CF

| freq1 = 92.1

| fid1 = 151081

| watts1 = 250

| haat1 = 130

| class1 = D

| city1 = Harrisonburg, Virginia

| notes1 =

}}

{{Reflist}}

• [https://www.wsvaonline.com/ 92.1 FM and 550 AM WSVA Online]

{{AM station data|39493|WSVA}}

• {{FCC-LMS-Facility|151081|W221CF}}
• {{FXL|W221CF}}
• [https://cdbs.recnet.com/corres/?doc=67390 FCC History Cards for WSVA] (covering 1934-1980)

{{Harrisonburg Radio}}

{{News/Talk Radio Stations in Virginia}}

{{Saga Communications}}

SVA

Category:News and talk radio stations in the United States

Category:Harrisonburg, Virginia

Category:Radio stations established in 1935

Category:1935 establishments in Virginia