WTJZ

WTJZ (the Ultimate Gospel Experience), AM 1650, with its two FM translators (92.5 and 104.9), is an urban gospel formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Portsmouth, Virginia, serving Hampton Roads.[1] The station is owned and operated by Chesapeake-Portsmouth Broadcasting Corporation.[4]

For the Newport News, Virginia radio station that held the call sign WTJZ on AM 1270 from 1979 to 2021, see WPMH.
WTJZ
CityPortsmouth, Virginia
Broadcast areaHampton Roads
Frequency1650 kHz
Brandingthe Ultimate Gospel Experience
Programming
FormatUrban gospel[1]
Ownership
OwnerChesapeake-Portsmouth Broadcasting Corporation
History
First air date
1999[2]
Former call signs
  • WAWT (1998)
  • WHKT (1998–2021)[3]
Call sign meaning
"Tidewater Jazz", when adopted at AM 1270 in 1979
Technical information
Facility ID87170
ClassB
Power10,000 watts daytime
1,000 watts nighttime
Transmitter coordinates
36°48′10.0″N 76°16′58.0″W
Translator(s)92.5 - W223CT (Norfolk)
104.9 - W285FM (Hampton)
Links
WebcastWTJZ Webstream
WebsiteWTJZ Online

History

This station originated as the expanded band "twin" of an existing station on the standard AM band. On March 17, 1997 the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced that eighty-eight stations had been given permission to move to newly available "Expanded Band" transmitting frequencies, ranging from 1610 to 1700 kHz, with WPMH, also in Portsmouth, authorized to move from 1010 to 1650 kHz.[5]

A construction permit for the expanded band station was assigned the call letters WAWT on January 9, 1998, which were changed to WHKT the next month.[3] The FCC's initial policy was that both the original station and its expanded band counterpart could operate simultaneously for up to five years, after which owners would have to turn in one of the two licenses, depending on whether they preferred the new assignment or elected to remain on the original frequency.[5] However, this deadline has been extended multiple times, and both stations have remained authorized. One restriction is that the FCC has generally required paired original and expanded band stations to remain under common ownership.[6][7]

WHKT was first launched sometime in 1999, broadcasting an adult standards format under the branding "Timeless Classics".

On December 12, 2001, the station switched to the Radio Disney network, which aired on WBVA until November 2001, when it dropped the Radio Disney format over contractual issues relating to ABC Radio Networks aggressively trying to buy the station.[8]

Station sold
Logo as "The Answer"

On January 25, 2010, The Walt Disney Company announced that it was selling the station to Hampton Roads area religious broadcaster Chesapeake-Portsmouth Broadcasting for $350,000.[9] In the interim, Disney took WHKT, and five other Radio Disney stations slated to be sold, off the air on January 22.[10][11] The sale was listed as "consummated" by the FCC as of May 5, 2010.

On February 14, 2018, the station dropped its conservative talk "The Answer" format and flipped to urban gospel/religious teaching as "Praise 104.9" (also heard on WTJZ (1270 AM) and translators W245CK and W285FM). WTJZ and WHKT exchanged call signs on November 5, 2021.

References
  1. "Arbitron Station Information Profiles". Nielsen Audio/Nielsen Holdings. Retrieved July 21, 2015.
  2. Broadcasting Yearbook 2010 (PDF). ProQuest, LLC/Reed Publishing (Nederland), B.V. 2010. p. D-569. Retrieved July 21, 2015.
  3. "Call Sign History". Federal Communications Commission, audio division. Retrieved July 21, 2015.
  4. "WHKT Facility Record". Federal Communications Commission, audio division. Retrieved July 21, 2015.
  5. "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.
  6. "In re: WHLY(AM), South Bend, Indiana" (FCC DA 13-600, released April 3, 2013)
  7. "FCC Rejects Clear Channel-Withers Deal For WDDD-A", September 1, 2010 (allaccess.com)
  8. , VARTV.com, March 10, 2021
  9. "Radio Disney Sells Another", AllAccess.com, January 25, 2010
  10. "Radio Disney Takes Six Stations Silent". All Access. January 28, 2010. Retrieved January 29, 2010.
  11. Zucker, John W (January 26, 2010). "Notification of Suspension of Operations / Request for Silent STA". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved January 29, 2010.
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