WNVU (93.5 FM) is a non-commercial, listener-supported radio station licensed to New Rochelle, New York, and serving the New York metropolitan area. WNVU is owned by the non-profit Hope Media Group based in Houston.[2] It broadcasts a Spanish-language Christian radio format known as Vida Unida. The network features Christian music along with Christian talk and teaching programs.
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| |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | New York metropolitan area |
| Frequency | 93.5 MHz (HD Radio) |
| Branding | Vida Unida |
| Programming | |
| Language(s) | Spanish |
| Format | Christian radio |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Hope Media Group |
| History | |
First air date | September 13, 1948 |
Former call signs |
|
Call sign meaning | New York Vida Unida |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 28023 |
| Class | A |
| ERP | 1,750 watts |
| HAAT | 132 meters (433 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 40°52′48.4″N 73°52′38.5″W / 40.880111°N 73.877361°W |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen live |
| Website | vidaunida |
WNVU is a Class A station. It has an effective radiated power (ERP) of 1,750 watts. WNVU's transmitter is in the Bronx, on the campus of Montefiore Medical Center.[3] It shares its tower with Fordham University's WFUV 90.7 FM.[4]
History edit
WGNR-FM, WNRC-FM, WWES-FM edit
For much of its history, 93.5 was the sister station to WVOX (1450 AM). The station signed on the air on September 13, 1948.[5] Its original call sign was WGNR-FM, owned by the New Rochelle Broadcasting Service, Inc.[5] The FM station was followed two years later by the launch of WGNR on the AM dial.
New Rochelle Broadcasting Service, however, went bankrupt in 1952. The stations went dark on August 1. After the appointment of a receiver, Radio New Rochelle, Inc., owned by the Iodice Family, acquired the stations and changed 93.5 FM's call letters to WNRC-FM.[6][7] FM 93.5 returned to the air in October 1953. It retained that call sign through a transfer of control to the Daniels family in 1955.[6]
WNRC-FM became WWES-FM on December 10, 1958, as both stations were sold to Radio Westchester for $225,000. The Radio Westchester sale made it a sister to the original WVIP (1310 AM, now WRVP) in Mount Kisco, in Northern Westchester County.[8]
WVOX-FM, WRTN and WVIP edit
On February 26, 1959, the station switched its call letters to WVOX-FM. WVOX-AM-FM joined a growing radio operation owned by the New York Herald-Tribune newspaper. By 1962, after John Hay Whitney bought the Herald-Tribune the year before, the paper's radio division included WVOX-AM-FM, WVIP, WGHQ in Kingston and WFYI (now WJDM) in Mineola.[9] With the shut down of the Herald-Tribune, Whitney Communications sold WVOX-AM-FM and WGHQ-AM-FM in 1968 to Hudson-Westchester Radio for $800,000.[10] Hudson-Westchester was led by William O'Shaughnessy, a former account executive with the Herald-Tribune Radio Network who had been WVOX's general manager since 1965.[11]
Under O'Shaughnessy's ownership, the WVOX stations simulcast a community-oriented talk format, inviting local civic leaders, elected officials and local volunteers to do shows on the staions. In 1973, WVOX-AM-FM moved into modern facilities in New Rochelle, known as One Broadcast Forum.[12][13] WVOX-FM ended the simulcast with WVOX around 1977. It changed its call sign to WRTN, which stood for "Return Radio." It played adult standards and pop classics from the 1950s, 60s and 70s. Some evenings, it experimented with active rock and heavy metal music.
The station changed its call sign to WVIP in 2006 (flip-flopping with WRTN for a two-month period between August and October 2006). It ended the mix of adult standards by day and rock music at night. It began airing a brokered format primarily consisting of music and informational programming for the local Afro-Caribbean community.
Sale to Hope Media Group edit
Whitney Global Media (parent of Hudson-Westchester Radio) owner William O'Shaughnessy died in May 2023. On July 3, 2023, his estate announced that WVIP would be sold to the Houston-based Hope Media Group (formerly known as WAY-FM), a nonprofit Christian radio broadcaster. Hope Media later announced that it would install its Spanish-language music network Vida Unida on the station upon its takeover.[14]
The sale announcement was met with both shock and disappointment among WVIP's Caribbean programmers and audience.[15] Two months later, it was announced that WVOX would be divested in a donation sale.[16] The move ended the O'Shaughnessy family's involvement in radio after nearly six decades.
The sale of 93.5 FM was approved by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in mid-August 2023. The deal was consummated on August 31, 2023. Hope Media began operating the station on September 1, 2023, carrying its Spanish Christian network. The call sign was change to WNVU to represent New York Vida Unida.
References edit
- ^ "Facility Technical Data for WNVU". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
- ^ says, Maria Santiago (June 30, 2023). "Hope Media Group Acquires WVIP In New York's Suburbs - RadioInsight".
- ^ "WVIP-FM 93.5 MHz". radio-locator.com.
- ^ "WFUV-FM 90.7 MHz - New York, NY". radio-locator.com.
- ^ a b Gross, Ben (September 6, 1948). "Looking & Listening". Daily News. New York. p. 40. Retrieved November 20, 2019.
- ^ a b FCC History Cards for WVOX
- ^ "Call Letters Assigned" (PDF). Broadcasting. August 24, 1953. p. 102. Retrieved November 20, 2019.
- ^ "At Deadline" (PDF). Broadcasting. October 13, 1958. p. 9. Retrieved November 20, 2019.
- ^ "The 'Trib' uses tv to reverse a trend" (PDF). Broadcasting. May 14, 1962. pp. 30, 32. Retrieved November 20, 2019.
- ^ "Changing Hands" (PDF). Broadcasting. May 6, 1968. pp. 62–63. Retrieved November 20, 2019.
- ^ "Ex-Valleyite To Buy 4 Radio Stations". Star-Gazette. October 24, 1967. p. 13. Retrieved November 20, 2019.
- ^ "WVOX building new home". The Standard-Star. New Rochelle, NY. April 9, 1973. p. 13. Retrieved August 30, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Adams, Val (October 14, 1973). "Radio Roundup". Daily News. New York. p. 19. Retrieved November 20, 2019.
- ^ "Hope Media Group Buys William O'Shaughnessy's WVIP New Rochelle, NY". Insideradio.com. July 5, 2023.
- ^ "Shock as NY radio station WVIP 93.5 FM is sold". jamaica-gleaner.com. July 4, 2023.
- ^ Jacobson, Adam (August 26, 2023). "Following O'Shaughnessy's Death, WVOX Is Donated | Radio & Television Business Report".
External links edit
- Official website
- WNVU in the FCC FM station database
- WNVU in Nielsen Audio's FM station database
- FCC History Cards for WNVU The record is incomplete due to FCC error, starting in 1974.