WTAR
Broadcast areaHampton Roads
Frequency850 kHz
Branding96.5 The Coast
Programming
FormatAdult album alternative
Ownership
Owner
  • Sinclair Communications
  • (Sinclair Telecable, Inc.)
History
First air date
September 21, 1923 (1923-09-21)
Technical information[1]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID60472
ClassB
Power
  • 50,000 watts (day)
  • 25,000 watts (night)
Transmitter coordinates
37°3′36.0″N 76°41′26.0″W / 37.060000°N 76.690556°W / 37.060000; -76.690556
Translator(s)See § Translators
Repeater(s)106.1 WUSH-HD2 (Poquoson)
Links
Public license information
WebcastListen live
Websitethecoast.com

WTAR (850 AM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Norfolk, Virginia, and serving the Hampton Roads (Norfolk-Virginia Beach-Newport News) radio market.[2] WTAR is owned and operated by Sinclair Telecable, Inc. It broadcasts an adult album alternative format as "96.5 The Coast".[3]

Until September 1, 2022, the station aired a sports radio format, carrying the Fox Sports Radio Network most of the day, with a local afternoon drive time show. The syndicated Dan Patrick Show was heard in late mornings. WTAR was part of the Washington Commanders Radio Network.

WTAR's studios and offices are on Waterside Drive in Norfolk.[4] The transmitter is off Track Lane in Smithfield, Virginia.[5] WTAR runs at 50,000 watts by day, the highest power permitted by the Federal Communications Commission for commercial AM stations. At night, to reduce interference to other stations on 850 AM, mainly Class A KOA in Denver, WTAR reduces power to 25,000 watts. It uses a directional antenna at all times. WTAR programming is also heard on HD Radio over 106.1 WUSH-HD2 and on FM translator station W243DJ at 96.5 MHz in Norfolk and W243EK at 96.5 MHz in Hampton.[6]

History

On September 21, 1923, WTAR signed on the air at 780 kilocycles with 15 watts of power.[7] It was the first radio station to go on the air in Virginia. On July 6, 1934, WTAR became an affiliate of the NBC Red Network after dropping the CBS Radio Network. At that time, the station was owned and operated by the parent company of the Norfolk Ledger-Star and The Virginian-Pilot.[8]

WTAR Translator on a SPARC HD Radio with RDS.

By the late 1930s, WTAR got a power boost to 5,000 watts by day, 1,000 watts at night.[9] In the 1940s, the nighttime power was increased to match the daytime power, 5,000 watts.

WTAR added an FM counterpart in 1947, WTAR-FM (97.3), which mostly simulcast the AM station.[10] However, few people owned FM radios at that time, and WTAR gave up its FM license a couple of years later. The 97.3 frequency returned to the air in the mid-1950s as WGH-FM.

In 1950, WTAR signed on a TV station, WTAR-TV (Channel 4, now WTKR on channel 3).[10] Because WTAR was an NBC affiliate, the TV station primarily carried NBC-TV programs. As the first TV station in the Norfolk area, it also ran some shows from CBS, ABC and the DuMont Television Network. Within a year of the TV station's debut, both the TV and radio facilities moved into a new broadcasting center at 720 Boush Street.

In 1961, WTAR management decided to return to FM broadcasting, and signed on a new WTAR-FM, this time at 95.7 MHz (now WVKL).[11] WTAR-FM aired automated beautiful music, separate from the AM station, which had a full service format of middle of the road music, adult contemporary, news, sports and talk.

By 1986 or 1987, WTAR switched its full-service format to an oldies format and became an affiliate of CBS Radio News. In the early 1990s, the station stopped playing music and became a news/talk station, adding an affiliation with CNN as well as CBS Radio.[12] Around the same time, rival talk station WNIS got a big boost in power, going to 50,000 watts by day, 25,000 watts at night. Eventually, both stations would become co-owned, with Sinclair acquiring AM 850 in June 1997.

The following month, on July 15, WTAR and its new sister station, WNIS, switched facilities. WNIS moved to AM 790, while WTAR took over the 850 kHz spot on the dial.[13][14] The move gave WTAR the stronger signal. It now provides at least secondary coverage to most of southeastern Virginia, as far as Richmond. At night, it reduces power to protect KOA in Denver, Colorado, concentrating the signal in Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Hampton and Newport News.

WTAR flipped from talk radio to an all-sports format on February 5, 2006.[15][16] On September 15, 2017, WTAR began simulcasting on WUSH-HD2 and FM translator station W243DJ at 96.5 MHz in Norfolk.[6] The move allows WTAR listeners to hear the station on either AM or FM, although the FM translator signal is limited to Norfolk and surrounding communities due to its low power of 120 watts.[17] The station also signed on another low-powered FM translator, W243EK in Hampton (on the same frequency of W243DJ), to improve its nighttime signal on the Lower Peninsula and the HRBT's AM/FM rebroadcast system.

On September 1, 2022, WTAR dropped its sports format and began stunting with a loop of Justin Timberlake's "SexyBack" (as well as construction sound effects). (However, on September 3, WTAR broke from the stunt to air a University of Virginia football game against Richmond; the 96.5 translators remained on the stunt during that time.) On September 6, WTAR and its translators flipped to hot adult contemporary, branded as "96.5 Lucy FM", modeled after its sister station in Austin, Texas. The 850 AM signal continues to break away from "Lucy FM" programming for the University of Virginia broadcasts.[18]

On March 20, 2023, WTAR flipped to adult album alternative, branded as "96.5 The Coast". The flip returns the "Coast" branding to the market for the first time since WKOC's flip in 2003.[19]

Translators

Broadcast translator for WUSH-HD2
Call signFrequencyCity of licenseFIDERP (W)HAATClassTransmitter coordinatesFCC info
W243DJ 96.5 FMNorfolk, Virginia141072120131 m (430 ft)D36°49′44″N 76°12′26″W / 36.82889°N 76.20722°W / 36.82889; -76.20722 (W243DJ)LMS
Broadcast translator for WTAR
Call signFrequencyCity of licenseFIDERP (W)HAATClassTransmitter coordinatesFCC info
W243EK 96.5 FMHampton, Virginia203167165119 m (390 ft)D37°4′42″N 76°26′47″W / 37.07833°N 76.44639°W / 37.07833; -76.44639 (W243EK)LMS

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Facility Technical Data for WTAR". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  2. ↑ "Arbitron Station Information Profiles". Nielsen Audio/Nielsen Holdings. Retrieved November 19, 2014.
  3. ↑ "WTAR Facility Record". Federal Communications Commission, audio division. Retrieved November 19, 2014.
  4. ↑ WTAR.com/contact
  5. ↑ Radio-Locator.com/WTAR
  6. 1 2 Vintage 96.5 Quickly Gives Way to WTAR Simulcast Radioinsight - September 15, 2017
  7. ↑ "WTAR-TV Marks Its First Year" (PDF). Broadcasting. April 30, 1951. p. 62. Retrieved August 8, 2016.
  8. ↑ "WTAR Joins the NBC" (PDF). Broadcasting. July 15, 1934. Retrieved December 7, 2014.
  9. ↑ Broadcasting Yearbook 1940 page 162
  10. 1 2 Broadcasting Yearbook 1951 page 314
  11. ↑ Broadcasting Yearbook 1971 page B-217
  12. ↑ Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 1993 page B-376
  13. ↑ HighBeam
  14. ↑ Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 1998 page D-461
  15. ↑ HighBeam
  16. ↑ Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 2007 page D-533
  17. ↑ Radio-Locator.com/W243DJ
  18. ↑ Lucy is Home in Norfolk Radioinsight - September 6, 2022
  19. ↑ The Coast Returns to Norfolk With AAA Radioinsight - March 20, 2023
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