WPLY (AM)

WPLY
Roanoke, Virginia;
Broadcast area	Southwest Virginia; New River Valley;
Frequency	610 kHz
Branding	Sports Radio Virginia
Programming
Format	Sports
Affiliations	Fox Sports Radio; Carolina Panthers Radio Network;
Ownership
Owner	Mel Wheeler, Inc.
Sister stations	WFIR, WPLI, WSLC-FM, WSLQ, WVBB, WVBE-FM, WXLK, WZZU
History
First air date	October 1, 1940; 83 years ago
Former call signs	WSLS (1940–1972); WSLC (1972–2002); WVBE (2002–2016);
Call sign meaning	PLaY
Technical information
Licensing authority	FCC
Facility ID	41111
Class	B
Power	5,000 watts (day); 1,000 watts (night);
Transmitter coordinates	37°18′11.0″N 80°2′33.0″W / 37.303056°N 80.042500°W
Translator(s)	101.1 W266CY (Roanoke)
Repeater(s)	1390 WPLI (Lynchburg)
Links
Public license information	Public file; LMS;
Webcast	Listen Live
Website	sportsradiova.com

WPLY (610 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station licensed to Roanoke, Virginia, and serving Southwest Virginia and the New River Valley. WPLY simulcasts a sports radio format with WPLI 1390 AM in Lynchburg. Both stations are owned and operated by Mel Wheeler, Inc.^[2] Most programming is supplied by Fox Sports Radio.

By day, WPLY transmits 5,000 watts, but at night (when radio waves travel farther) it reduces power to 1,000 watts to protect other stations on 610 AM. WPLY has a directional antenna, using a five-tower array. The transmitter is at the end of Newman Drive in Salem.^[3] Programming is also heard on 175-watt FM translator W266CY at 101.1 MHz in Roanoke.^[4]

History

WSLC Country

Just before noon on October 1, 1940; 83 years ago (1940-10-01), the station signed on.^[5] The original call sign was WSLS.^[6] During the "Golden Age of Radio," the station carried programs from the NBC Blue Network, dramas, comedies, news, sports, soap operas, game shows and big band broadcasts. (The Blue Network later became ABC.) A partner FM station, 99.1 WSLS-FM, launched in 1947, largely simulcasting the AM station. WSLS-TV followed five years later on Channel 10.

As network programming moved from radio to television, 610 WSLS switched to a full service, Country music format. In 1969, Park Communications purchased WSLS-AM-FM-TV. Due to FCC ownership restrictions, Park kept the television station and sold the radio stations to Bass Brothers Telecasters. As the stations could no longer share a call sign after the purchase, the AM became WSLC at midnight on August 1, 1972, keeping its country sound. The FM switched to album-oriented rock and briefly became WSLC-FM before settling on current call sign WSLQ. Only the TV station still carries the original call letters.^[7] Mel Wheeler purchased the two stations in 1976.^[8]

Urban AC and Sports

At noon on May 25, 2000, WSLC began simulcasting with its new sister station 94.9 WSLC-FM, formerly easy listening turned classic rock station WPVR, after that station was purchased by Mel Wheeler Inc. This continued until March 13, 2002, when the country format moved full-time to WSLC-FM. 610 WSLC was flipped to new call letters as WVBE, simulcasting co-owned 100.1 WVBE-FM Lynchburg, and brought urban adult contemporary and R&B music full-time to Roanoke.^[9]

On January 20, 2016, the station dropped its Urban AC format for sports talk with the new call sign WPLY. The station became an affiliate of Fox Sports Radio.^[10]^[11]^[12]