WPVC-LP
WPVC-LP was a progressive talk radio and electronic dance music formatted low-power radio station licensed to Charlottesville, Virginia, serving Charlottesville and Albemarle County in Virginia. WPVC-LP was owned and operated by Promise Land Communications.
 | |
| |
| Broadcast area | |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 94.7 MHz |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Promise Land Communications[1] |
| History | |
First air date | September 20, 2015[2] |
Last air date | June 16, 2020[3][1] |
Call sign meaning | Progressive Voice of Charlottesville |
| Technical information | |
| Facility ID | 192897 |
| Class | L1 |
| ERP | 21 watts |
| HAAT | 64.6 meters (212 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 38°4′39.0″N 78°28′21.0″W / 38.077500°N 78.472500°W |
WPVC-LP was a progressive talk radio and electronic dance music formatted low-power radio station licensed to Charlottesville, Virginia, serving Charlottesville and Albemarle County in Virginia.[1] WPVC-LP was owned and operated by Promise Land Communications.[4]
History
[edit]On September 20, 2015, WPVC-LP first signed on the air for the first time.[2]
In September 2019, Saga Communications, which operates the Charlottesville Radio Group under the Tidewater Communications licensee, filed a petition with the FCC requesting that WXRK-LP's license not be renewed.[5][6][7] Saga claimed the station, along with other Charlottesville-based low-power FMs, were operating as "a de facto cluster".[7] WXRK-LP station's founder Mike Friend called the petition to deny "'legal junk' and a deliberate 'misinterpretation' of FCC rules".[8] F riend pointed to other attempts by Saga to shutter low-power FM stations within Saga markets.[8]
Saga, in 2004, claimed that KFLO-LP in Jonesboro, Arkansas, was airing announcements that "sound suspiciously like commercials".[8] Saga also petitioned the FCC to revoke the license of WLCQ-LP, a Christian station in the Springfield, Massachusetts, market, "for equipment violations" in 2015.[8] In both cases, the FCC "admonished the station" but denied Saga's complaints.[8]
Jeff Lenert, co-founder of WPVC-LP, said that "though [the stations] share a building" all of "the stations all operate separately, having only limited and largely incidental contact with each other".[9] Lenert turned in the license for WPVC-LP on June 16, 2020, "As a result of the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic and recent increased costs of station ownership and operation, it has become impossible to operate station WPVC-LP in the manner that I wish."[10][11] Lenert largely blamed the legal action by Saga Communications combined with a loss of sponsors during the pandemic for the signing off of that station.[12] The station's license was deleted and its pending renewal dismissed on July 7 of the same year.[13]
The FCC effectively denied the petition from Saga regarding WPVC, in a ruling for the license of WREN-LP, housed in the same building, filed on September 30, 2024.[14] Saga's petition against WPVC was further denied on March 16, 2026 in a ruling against WXRK.[15]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c "WPVC-LP - FCCdata.org - powered by REC". REC Networks. Retrieved March 21, 2024.
- ^ a b "If you turn to 94.7 right now in Charlottesville... - 94.7 FM Charlottesville". Promise Land Communications/Facebook. September 20, 2015. Retrieved September 21, 2015.
- ^ "Call Sign History". Federal Communications Commission, audio division. Retrieved September 7, 2015.
- ^ "WXRK-LP Facility Record". Federal Communications Commission, audio division. Retrieved March 21, 2024.
- ^ "Charlottesville Radio Group". Saga Communications. Retrieved March 21, 2024.
- ^ "Saga Communications - Charlottesville, VA". Saga Communications, Inc. Retrieved June 18, 2020.
- ^ a b "Saga Hits Charlottesville LPFMs For Operating As A Radio Cluster". InsideRadio. September 11, 2019. Retrieved March 21, 2024.
- ^ a b c d e Provence, Lisa (October 16, 2019). "License to bully?: Local nonprofit stations say Saga is out to bankrupt them". C-VILLE Weekly. Charlottesville, Virginia: C-VILLE Weekly. Retrieved March 21, 2024.
- ^ Hammel, Tyler (September 29, 2019). "WINA owner files complaint against local nonprofit radio stations". The Daily Progress. Charlottesville, Virginia: Lee Enterprises. Retrieved March 21, 2024.
- ^ "6-17-20 Letter to J. Bradshaw re License Cancellation (WPVC-LP Charlottesville VA - Promise Land Communications).pdf" (PDF). Federal Communications Commission, audio division. June 16, 2020. Retrieved July 9, 2020.
- ^ "6-17-20 Letter to J. Bradshaw re License Cancellation (WPVC-LP Charlottesville VA - Promise Land Communications).pdf" (PDF). Federal Communications Commission, audio division. June 16, 2020. Retrieved July 9, 2020.
- ^ Provence, Lisa (June 25, 2020). "Radio silence: Progressive station signs off; Saga sacks six, gears up for more acquisitions". C-VILLE Weekly. Charlottesville, Virginia: C-VILLE Weekly. Retrieved March 21, 2024.
- ^ "FCCdata.org - powered by REC - WPVC-LP". REC Networks. Retrieved July 9, 2020.
- ^ "Genesis Communications, Inc., WREN-LP, Charlottesville, Virginia, Application for Renewal of License" (PDF). Federal Communications Commission, audio division; Media Bureau. September 30, 2024. Retrieved October 2, 2024.
- ^ "Memorandum Opinion and Order - DA 26-212 MO&O and Consent Decree released 03/16/2026". Federal Communications Commission, audio division; Media Bureau. March 16, 2026. Retrieved March 16, 2026.