OVRTV - Ohio Valley Radio and TelevisionBy Eric O'BrienWelcome to PBRTV's OVRTV. Stations included are in Jefferson, Harrison, Columbiana, Counties in Ohio and Marshall and Ohio Counties in West Virginia. Would you like to be the OVRTV correspondent for PBRTV? Please send some email to PBRTV@aol.com for further details. OVRTV Hotline 8/9/2004 FM88.1 WVBC BETHANY, WV Bethany College/AlternativeThe student operated radio station of Bethany College. Absolutely no telling what's going to happen at this station, although it seems that the main format is Alternative. The station's website operates a schedule of who is on and what format their show is geared to.88.9 WBJV STEUBENVILLE, OH family/talk 89.9 WVNP WHEELING, WV NPR/Eclectic WVNP is the West Virginia Public Radio. The station serves a wildly eclectic mix of music and programming. Very much a combination of formats suchs as WQED-FM, WDUQ and WYEP. Programming includes classical music in the afternoon and jazz some evenings. NPR and PRI provide shows such as "Pipedreams", "Adventures in Good Music" and "Whad'YA Know?" Much of the classical music heard is a simulcast of WVPN in Charleston, WV.91.5 WGLZ WEST LIBERTY, WV alternative WGLZ belongs to the students of West Liberty State College just a little north of Wheeling. Shows offered mainly focus on alternative music but also provide news and other specialty shows.91.9 WPHP WHEELING, WV
Wheeling Park High School's pride and joy is WPHP. The Ohio County Board of Education owns the station while students actually operate it. Their radio education must fulfull a couple of radio courses before being allowed to sit in the air chair. Part of the true test is when the students are on the air as the official announcers and music providers of Oglebay Park's Festival of Lights during the Christmas Season.93.5 WBNV BARNESVILLE, OH soft adult contemporary
This station has a lot of signal competition from Pittsburgh's WBZZ at 93.7. "BNV93" runs a softer AC format than its Clear Channel competitor WKWK. It is home to Cleveland Indians Baseball.94.1 WVJW-LP Benwood, WV Jewish Owned by Kol Ami Havurah, WVJW is the first station in the counrty to serve the Jewish Community. The station offers a wide range of programming from local educational to international news, from modern Jewish artists to classical composers. WVJW is also one of a handful of stations affiliated with the World Radio Network.95.7 WEEL SHADYSIDE, OH 50s-70s oldies
While owned by Ohio Valley Communications, WEEL has an LMA with Clear Channel. WEEL boasts a classic oldies format. Included is a dynamic supply of sports including Pittsburgh Pirate Baseball. Even though it is just an LMA, the station is housed with the rest of the Wheeling Clear Channel empire in the Capital Music Hall.96.5 WRKP MOUNDSVILLE, WEST VIRGINIA christian chr WRKP has been on the air since the early 1990's sporting a Christian music format. RKP International owns the station.97.3 WKWK-FM WHEELING, WV hot ac
"The Mix" format and moniker came to Clear Channel's WKWK in 2000 under former PD (now WOMP AM Drive Man) "Johnny O." WKWK's current morning man and PD, Jim Conner, has given the station an older appeal by adding 70's tunes into the mix. (No pun intended.)98.7 WOVK WHEELING, WV country
Owned by Clear Channel, WOVK has been number 1 in the Wheeling 12+ Arbitrons for 11 years. The station runs a mix of contemporary and hot country and has done so for years. WOVK is the sister to the once country-formatted WWVA 1170. OVK could possibly stand for "Ohio Valley Country"100.5 WOMP BELLAIRE, OH CHR/top 40WOMP has long been a part of the Ohio Valley and a long time sister of WRKY (WOGH). In the early 90's the station was destroyed by a fire and simulcasted then CHR sister WRKY before it went country. The station was purchased in 2000 by Key Market Communications and survived not becoming one of the much jeered "Froggy" stations. Originally the station signed on as WTRF-FM in 1953 and was sister to WTRF-TV 7 and WTRF-AM 1290 (still sister WOMP-AM). WOMP has been Wheeling's home for mainstream CHR for years and is consistently ranked 2nd or 3rd in the 12+ Arbitron Numbers. WOVK's former #1-rated morning host of much of the 1990's, Michael St. James, is now on WOMP-FM during the mid-day shift from 10 AM - 2 PM. WOMP's strong 48,000 signal competes with WZPT's signal at 100.7 in Washington County and parts of Western Greene County PA.103.5 WOGH BURGETTSTOWN/PITTSBURGH, PA country
WOGH was originally licensed to Steubenville but is now licensed to Burgettstown and targets primarily Washington County now days. They ID themselves as WOGH Burgettstown/Pittsburgh. Originally the station signed on as WSTV-FM in 1953 and was sister to WSTV-AM (1340). In the 1970's, they became WRKY "Rocky 103.5", originally an automated rock and then later a CHR station. In late 1994, the format was switched to country, while still keeping the WRKY calls and "Rocky 103.5" moniker. 103.5 was once a part of the Associated Communications Group, based in Pittsburgh, that owned WOMP-AM/FM, WSTV, and WXST in Delaware, OH until October 1999 when the group was sold to the Stop 26/Riverbend Group of Youngstown, OH. That ownership lasted until early 2000, when the station was sold to Key Market and flipped to WOGE "Froggy 103.5" on Feb. 29, 2000 (a.k.a. "Leap Day"). The WOGE calls were dropped in favor of WOGH in April 2000. WOGH is strongest in Jefferson, Brooke and Washington Counties while still having enough listeners to acquire 6th or 7th place in Wheeling 12+ Arbitrons. The station also has sales offices in downtown Pittsburgh and has since being WRKY.104.3 WOGF EAST LIVERPOOL, OH country
WELA was "victimized" in the Froggy invasion of the Ohio Valley. Once a country station, WELA became known as Classic Hits 104. It was taken over by Keymarket Communications in 2000 and became another Froggy station as WOGF. The station has an application and construction permit for a new tower site in Beaver County PA. The station now ID's themselves as WOGF East Liverpool/Beaver/Pittsburgh. Currently, the station is still transmitting from East Liverpool and is bringing a great signal to Youngstown and the western fringes of Pittsburgh.105.5 WVKF BETHLEHEM, WV CHR/top 40
Formerly WZNW, "The Zone" as well as WHLX. The station is now WVKF and has taken on the "KISS" moniker except it is more mainstream than its "kissin' cousin WKST in Pittsburgh, but has a heavy list of rhythmic tunes. Rick Dees is the morning "cyber jock" from LA. WVKF is housed with many of the Ohio Valley stations listed here in this page and operated by Clear Channel.106.3 WCDK CADIZ, OH oldies WCDK used to be CD Country 106 and around 1997-98 became a mix of oldies with the moniker "Oldies 106.3". It is owned by Priority Communications.107.5 WEGW WHEELING, WV modern rock
Eagle 107.5 is the Ohio Valley's Modern Rock outlet but also an outlet for NASCAR. The morning show is known as John Boy and Billy in the Morning. WEGW runs a nice ratio of 55:45 classics to modern rock format. You will also hear more current rock in the night drive versus in the day slots. For much of the 90s, WEGW was a strictly classic rock format until 1999 when modern rock was added to the playlist. 107.5 was also home to the WZMM and WTRF-FM call letters at times during the 80s and 90s. WEGW currently has a CP up to add more height to their tower and allow further coverage into southern areas of the Pittsburgh market. WEGW's current antenna arrangement gives it a nice signal all the way into the South Hills until WDSY at 107.9 starts to trample over the 107.5 freqency. The station is owned by Clear Channel. AM950 WDIG STEUBENVILLE, OH urban acFor a long time WDIG had a daytime-only signal with a religious format. Lately, the station has been running a limited playlist of urban oldies for about a year or so. They flipped to ABC satellite urban AC in August, 2002.1170 WWVA WHEELING, WV news/talk/country
On December 26th, 2000, WWVA became known as "The Big One", focusing mainly on news/talk. The station started its first broadcast on December 13, 1926 at 2:00am, by local electronics wizard John Stroebel on 860 kilocycles. In 1930, owners of WWVA actually tried to move the station to the state capital Charleston, but were denied that move by the FCC. 50,000 watts strong WWVA is easily capable of reaching over 21 states and 5 Canadian provinces. In May of 1941, WWVA moved to 1170 AM. The owners at the time (Atlantic Star) replaced the country format for news/talk in October 97'. WWVA's trademark program, Jamboree USA, started on January 7th, 1933 is still heard on the station and continues to be its #1 program under its current Clear Channel ownership. Jim Harrington took over the morning show slot in 2002 after Dimitri Vassileros' departure.1290 WOMP BELLAIRE, OH/WHEELING, WV news/talk 1290's started in 1966 with a talk and local information format. Obviously, WOMP is the big sister to top 40 outlet WOMP-FM. In late 2000, Clear Channel pulled the Rush Limbaugh talk show from 1290's airwaves for use on the rebuilding of rival news/talk WWVA. Ever since the loss of Limbaugh's show, WOMP's ratings have fallen despite having a talk line-up of local talk Pat Campbell, Dave Ramsey, and Michael Savage.1340 WSTV STEUBENVILLE, OH news/talk
WSTV was once the pride and joy of Steubenville. On October 30th, 1942, WSTV "The Voice Of The Valley" signed on the air. By the 1950s, WSTV grew to include an FM sister WSTV-FM (now WOGH) and a TV sister WSTV-TV (now WTOV). WSTV was well awarded by Variety magazine for its many efforts over the years in news reporting and community involvement for Steubenville. WSTV became famous for its citywide "coffee breaks" celebrating various anniversaries of the station. As the 80s and 90s came and went so did the community involvement of WSTV. Although the TV station was sold off, its FM sister became the center of attention and WSTV eventually became a home for nationally syndicated talk shows. WSTV’s current programming is simulcasted on 1290 WOMP.1370 WVLY MOUNDSVILLE, WV talk WVLY signed on with 5000 watts of power in 2001. WVLY once was WMJT and sister to WRKP-FM (96.3), also in Moundsville until early 2000. For a time, the 1370 frequency is home to a sports talker affiliated with the ESPN network. However, it is now "TalkRadio 1370" with local host Howard Monroe in the Morning, West Virginia MetroNews Statewide Talkline 10am-Noon. Bill O'Reilley at Noon. Sean Hannity 3-6. Statewide Sportsline 6-7 and Tom Leykis 7-10.1400 WBBD WHEELING, WV nostalgia/adult standards WBBD, owned and operated by Clear Channel today, was once the big AM sister to the current WKWK-FM with the WKWK call letters.1430 WEIR WEIRTON, WV oldies Owned by Priority Communications and is sister to WCDK. WEIR is re-establishing itself as a full-service station for the Ohio Valley. Mike Donovan (formerly of WSTV-AM) hosts an informative morning show from 6-10 AM. WEIR celebrated its 50 year anniversary in September, 2000.1490 WOHI EAST LIVERPOOL, OH adult standards WOHI, once a news/talk outlet, now runs satellite delivered adult standards music. WOHI is the big sister to WOGF and is currently owned by Key Market1600 WKKX WHEELING, WV sports talk Before running business talk, WKKX ran the Radio Disney children’s format under the WOHZ call letters. Now it is owned by Scott Radio group and is airing the ESPN network. TV4 WTAE ABC PITTSBURGH, PABecause the Steubenville/Wheeling area is not served by an ABC affiliate, WTAE in Pittsburgh fills in the gap. In fact, most of the Pittsburgh TV stations serve the area. For more information check out PBRTV's TV page.7 WTRF CBS WHEELING, WV
WTRF signed on in 1953 carrying programming from the three major broadcast networks but having a formal affiliation with NBC. In those days, the station was a top-notch state of the art station that dominated the audience over WSTV (now WTOV). In 1979, Channels 7 and 9 "traded" their network affiliations. Westray Partners took the station over from Forward Television in the early 80's. WTRF became a part of Adams Communications in the late 80's, but the company went bankrupt soon after. Paul Brissette, a former Adams VP tried to build a company out of the disaster. Due to bad advice and some wrong actions, WTRF's ratings plummeted in the early 1990's leaving WTOV in the #1 spot. Benedek Broadcasting began cleaning up the aftermath in 1996, and was able to bring the station up to a more respectable number, although it's not entirely out of the woods. (The preceding was sent by an anonymous contributor.) WTRF was recently purchased by the Cary Group from Benedek Broadcasting and is on track to be a part of Cary’s network of West Virginia news stations. WTRF’s digital channel is on 32.9 WTOV NBC STEUBENVILLE, OH
WTOV started broadcasting as WSTV (operated by the Russ Craft/Friendly Group) on December 24th, 1953. Until 1979, WSTV had a CBS affiliation until they and WTRF switched affiliations. The station had been purchased at the time by Ziff-Davis Broadcasting. 1979 also brought new call letters for WSTV-WTOV: "We’re Television For The Ohio Valley." Throughout much of the 1990s, WTOV became the "top dog" in the market’s news. In 2000, Sunrise Broadcasting sold WTOV to Cox Enterprises, the same owners as WPXI in Pittsburgh. (Cox purchased WJAC in Johnstown at this time as well.) After the sale, WTOV’s imaging took on a new look, mirroring that of WPXI’s imaging. Also in 2000, WTOV filed to have its new analog and digital broadcasting towers beam from Burgettstown in Washington County. As of right now, only the digital signal on channel 57 is broadcasting from Burgettstown.18 WBWO WB WHEELING, WV This station serves the market via AT&T Cable with the Warner Brothers Network.24 WNPB PBS MORGANTOWN, WV Part of West Virginia Public Broadcasting, WNPB serves WV's Northern Panhandle and points in between from Morgantown.28 W28AS Ind. WHEELING, WV Simulcasts WBGN-LP 59 in Pittsburgh.41 W41AA PBS WHEELING, WV Simulcasts WPBY-TV 33 in Charleston, WV.44 WOUC PBS CAMBRIDGE, OH/WHEELING, WV WOUC serves the Ohio portion of the Steubenville/Wheeling area with PBS programming. It is operated by Ohio University and is simulcasts WOUB-TV 20 in Athens, Oh. The stations are a part of an 8 public station (2 TV and 6 radio) cluster at the university.56 W56DX American Ind. Network (AIN) WHEELING, WV 57 W57BH Ind. STEUBENVILLE, OH Simulcasts WBGN-LP 59 in Pittsburgh. All original material on this website is copyright 1998-2004 by PBRTV. Station logos are incorporated for illustrative purposes only and are incorporated under the fair use provisions of U.S. Copyright Law. They remain trademarks of their respective owners. | ||||