WNWV

WNWV

City	Elyria, Ohio
Broadcast area	Greater Cleveland Northeast Ohio
Branding	107.3 The Wave
Slogan	Cleveland's Smooth FM
Frequency	107.3 MHz (also on HD Radio)
First air date	October 18, 1948
Format	Smooth AC
ERP	20,000 watts
HAAT	238 meters
Class	B
Facility ID	19462
Transmitter coordinates	41°16′10.00″N 82°00′16.00″W / 41.2694444°N 82.0044444°W / 41.2694444; -82.0044444
Callsign meaning	The WaVe
Former callsigns	WEOL-FM (1948–65) WBEA (1965–87) WCZR (1987)
Owner	Rubber City Radio Group, Inc. (Rubber City Radio Group, Inc.)
Sister stations	WAKR, WONE-FM, WQMX
Webcast	Listen Live
Website	1073thewave.net

WNWV (107.3 FM) – branded 107.3 The Wave – is a commercial smooth AC radio station licensed to Elyria, Ohio. Owned by Rubber City Radio Group, Inc., the station serves Greater Cleveland and much of surrounding Northeast Ohio. The WNWV studios are located in the Cleveland suburb Independence, while the station transmitter resides in Grafton. In addition to a standard analog transmission, WNWV broadcasts over a single HD Radio channel, and is available online.

History

Early years

The station began as WEOL-FM, simulcasting the programming on AM station WEOL through the 1950s and most of the 1960s. The FM installations was established as an adjunct to the AM outlet around the same time as WEOL's 1948 sign-on. By 1960, WEOL-FM started separate programming on the weekdays as "Formula 107," playing a mixture of automated classical music and pop standards from 2pm until 10pm weekdays, while both WEOL and WEOL-FM played "Sterophonic Hi-Lites" from 9pm to 11pm on Sundays. WEOL-FM assumed a separate identity on December 8, 1965 as WBEA, with a mostly automated beautiful music and easy listening format aimed toward Elyria, their city of license. Many of the area's top broadcast talents made a stop at WBEA and WEOL early in their careers, including Dick Conrad, Jeff Baxter, David Mark, Ronnie Barrett, Ron Penfound, Jim Mehrling, Rick Martyn, Bob Tayek, and others. The easy listening soon segued to Top 40 as "WBEA B-107" in the early 1980s.

Z Rock

From January 1 until November 15, 1987, the station carried the callsign WCZR and operated as Z Rock with a heavy metal rock format. This format itself originated from the Satellite Music Network (later absorbed into ABC Radio) in Dallas, Texas, and WCZR was only the second station to have picked it up. WCZR gained a cult following in the Cleveland area, as most other rock stations did not devote their playlists to heavy metal. However, lackluster ratings and the spread of the "smooth jazz" format precipitated a format change less than a year later.^[1][2]

The Wave (1987–2009)

The station changed its callsign to WNWV; rebranded itself The Wave; began airing a new-age format via a 24/7 satellite service from Metromedia; and increased its broadcast target area to include the entire Cleveland market. The changes were patterned after KTWV in Los Angeles, then owned by Metromedia. WNWV sister station WEOL continued to focus on Lorain County. Until December 17, 2011, WNWV still shared studios with WEOL in downtown Elyria, while WNWV had a separate sales office and staff located in suburban Rocky River. Its first Operations Director was Chris "Daniels" Eicher, who also hosted the morning news, and also threw the switch that jettisoned the Z-Rock format and brought in "The Wave." The first song played after the switch was "If You Love Somebody Set Them Free" by Sting.

The station did alter its on-air nickname several times. Around 1990, WNWV dropped the "Wave" satellite format for a lineup of local hosts, and briefly renamed itself "Cleveland's Cool FM: 107-3 WNWV" with the slogan "Smooth Jazz, Fresh Hits" before assuming its longtime nickname and logo in 1994. It's airstaff was remarkably stable throughout the rest of the decade, with broadcasters B.J. Hart, Dan Steinberg, Richard Greer, Tom Murphy, Lisa Danevich, Frank Macek (now at WKYC), Grace Roberts (now again at WNWV), Harvey Zay, Joan Kelly, Starr D'Avril, Mike Kessler (who remained with the AAA format under the name Mike Gallagher), Michelle Chase, Mark Ribbins, Brian Cruise, Sandy Bennett, Larry Adams, Sarah Greer, Cody Brooks, Mark McQuire, Mark Sanders, Al Pawlowski (now at WKYC and STO), Kathy Gudell, Tracey Brich Murphy, Jen Kaminski, Greg Yocum, Tammy Frizzel, Pat Allen, Desiray McCray (now at WDOK), Nathan Pope, Carmen Kennedy, Lisa Jeffries, Andrea Morris and Carolyn Carr gracing the airwaves. Its programmers included Steve Hibbard, Bernie Kimble and Angie Handa, who went by Angie Calli on-air, as well as syndicated personalities Ramsey Lewis and Dave Koz.

In 2003, WNWV became the first station in the Cleveland market to broadcast in the new HD digital format - as well as one of a handful in the country to make the initial switch. WCLV, licensed to nearby Lorain, but also aimed at the Cleveland market, was the second.

Throughout its history the station had been owned by Elyria-Lorain Broadcasting Co. On May 15, 1958, Elyria-Lorain Broadcasting Co. was purchased by the Lorain County Printing and Publishing Company, making it a wholly owned subsidiary. LCP&P also owns the Elyria Chronicle-Telegram and Medina Gazette; in effect forming a radio/newspaper duopoly. This arrangement lasted until WNWV's sale to the Rubber City Radio Group, long grandfathered by FCC legislation that now prohibit such arrangements.

Under the "Wave" smooth jazz format, WNWV was a two-time National Association of Broadcasters Marconi Award winner for Jazz Station of the Year (1995, 2001).^[3]

V 107.3

On December 21, 2009, it was announced that The Wave would change its smooth jazz format after a 22 year run.^[4][5] The station cited the nationwide downturn for the smooth jazz format as the reason for the change, despite The Wave being a perennially strong ratings performer in Cleveland. The format was officially dropped after midnight on December 28, 2009. After a stunt of a clock ticking for 12 hours, WNWV switched to an adult album alternative format featuring a mix of alternative and classic rock at noon that same day, with "Radio Retaliation" by Thievery Corporation. However, the smooth jazz format continued to run on the station's HD2 subchannel, and online. After the format change, Mark Ribbins assumed the title of program director and also served as afternoon host, but was released that October. From that point, WNWV HD-2 played only music without on-air personalities, with Mike Gallagher voicing the top-of-the-hour station identification.

WNWV preferred to brand itself Boom! 107.3 as a tribute to recently departed local radio announcer Len "Boom" Goldberg. This, however, matched too closely with a copyrighted brand of CBS Radio. As a result, WNWV opted for 107.3 Cleveland before settling on V 107.3.^[6] While V 107.3, the lineup featured holdover morning host Mike Gallagher (Kessler), midday host Ravenna Miceli, afternoon host/program director Ric "Rocco" Bennett, and evening host/music director Brad Hanson. Weekend programming included Acoustic Café with Rob Reinhart, The House of Blues Radio Hour with Elwood Blues (Dan Aykroyd in character) and The New Music Show with Brad Hanson and Ric "Rocco" Bennett. Inner Sanctum, a showcase of local music, ran Sunday nights from September–December 2011.

The Wave (2011–present)

On October 13, 2011, WNWV owner Elyria-Lorain Broadcasting Co. announced plans to sell the station to the Akron, Ohio-based Rubber City Radio Group, Inc. for $6.5 million.^[7] The deal was completed that December 16 at 5:00 p.m., with Rubber City Radio Group formally announcing a return to the station's prior branding as The Wave, but with an updated smooth AC format on January 4, 2012 (in a music style similar to San Diego outlet KIFM); however, WNWV switched a bit earlier than expected at 8:30 p.m. on January 3.^[8][9]

HD programming

The smooth jazz format continued for some time on the HD2 digital subchannel as Wave Classics; as of January 2013, WNWV is no longer broadcasting an HD2 subchannel.^[10][11]

Current programming

The current WNWV line-up features veteran Cleveland DJs Dan Deely and Grace Roberts with producer/sidekick Jason "Pottsy" Potter (mornings),^[12][13] WNWV personalities Carmen Kennedy and Mark Ribbins are heard middays and afternoons respectively.^[14] Lynn Kelly (midday host at Akron sister station WQMX) is heard evenings via voicetracking.^[15] Dave Koz's weekly syndicated show airs on Sunday mornings via the Smooth Jazz Network. Studios are located in Independence, OH.^[16]

References

External links

• Official website
• Query the FCC's FM station database for WNWV
• Radio-Locator information on WNWV
• Query Nielsen Audio's FM station database for WNWV