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WVCW (99.5 MHz) is a non-commercial FM radio station licensed to Wilmington, Delaware. Owned by VCY America, the station serves the Delaware Valley, including Philadelphia. The WVCW transmitter is located 8 miles north of downtown Wilmington on Bellows Drive, less than 1/4 mile from the Pennsylvania state line. Besides a standard analog transmission, WVCW broadcasts over HD Radio. The station is best known for its 67-year legacy as WJBR and WJBR-FM, a Delaware-targeted adult contemporary station, which was consistently rated as one of the top stations in the Wilmington area, even amidst competition from Philadelphia stations.

History

On January 31, 1957, WJBR signed on as a stand-alone FM station, with no AM counterpart. It was founded by a father and son team, John B. Reynolds Sr. and John B. Reynolds Jr. The call sign was based on the founders' initials. John Sr. began the radio station because his son was "a strong believer in the future of FM". The station originally broadcast a classical and light music format. WJBR's format eventually evolved into beautiful music and the station was branded as JBR 100. It used the slogan "Just Beautiful Radio".

In 1976, the Reynolds family acquired another Wilmington radio station, WTUX, to combine with WJBR. WTUX was a 1,000 watt daytimer, carrying a middle of the road music format. In 1978, WJBR's call sign was changed to WJBR-FM. WTUX's call sign was then switched to WJBR, and the format flipped to beautiful music, to give WJBR listeners the choice of hearing the station on AM or FM. Over time, the station's power was increased to 2,500 watts in the daytime and nighttime service was added at 32 watts.

In the early 1980s, WJBR-AM-FM added more soft vocals to attract a younger audience. John B Reynolds Jr. sold WJBR-AM-FM in 1985 to CRB Broadcasting, which completed the transition from easy listening to an all-vocal soft adult contemporary sound. CRB changed its name to Commodore Media and was eventually purchased by Capstar Broadcasting.

In March 2000, Capstar sold WJBR-FM to the NextMedia Group for $32.4 million. Capstar retained WJBR, and later merged into Clear Channel Communications, which was renamed iHeartMedia. The AM station is now a Fox Sports Radio station, WWTX, and remains owned by iHeartMedia.

In February 2007, Beasley Broadcast Group acquired WJBR-FM from NextMedia for a reported $42 million.

In August 2023, Beasley agreed to sell WJBR-FM to VCY America for $5 million, marking VCY's entrance into both the Philadelphia/Wilmington area. The final day for the on-air staff was October 4; two staffers, Justin Franiak and Eric Johnson, remained with Beasley in Philadelphia at WXTU and WMGK respectively. An automated version of WJBR-FM's programming would continue on the station's website and the second HD Radio channel of WBEN-FM in Philadelphia; Beasley also moved the WJBR call sign to an AM radio station in Seffner–Tampa, Florida, while VCY America relaunched 99.5 as WVCW, a call sign that took effect on October 7.

HD Radio and translators

As WJBR-FM, the station's second HD Radio channel formerly broadcast a Spanish rhythmic / tropical format branded as Maxima 104.1, which was simulcast on a translator in Millville, New Jersey, W281CM (104.1). Its third channel broadcast a gospel format branded as Philly's Favor 100.7, which was simulcast on a translator in Mount Holly, New Jersey, W264BH (100.7 FM), which broadcast to the Philadelphia radio market. After the sale, the station turned off the HD channels. But the HD2 subchannel was turned back on with VCY Spanish programming.

References

1. "Facility Technical Data for WVCW". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
2. "FCC 335-FM Digital Notification [WJBR-FM]". fcc.gov. Federal Communications Commission. September 4, 2011. Retrieved May 1, 2018.
3. "54 dBu Service Contour for WVCW, Wilmington, DE, 99.5 MHz BMLH-20080516AAX". fcc.gov. Federal Communications Commission. January 28, 2016. Retrieved May 1, 2018.
4. "FM Query Results for WVCW". fcc.gov. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved May 12, 2016.
5. Broadcasting Yearbook 1958 page A-258
6. ^ "History of WJBR". wjbr.com. Retrieved May 12, 2016.
7. ^ "BROADCASTING Scrapbook Blog". racampbell.tripod.com. Retrieved May 12, 2016.
8. Broadcasting Yearbook 1977 page C-38
9. Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 2001 page D-82
10. "Beasley Broadcast Group (BBGI) to Acquire NextMedia Group". streetinsider.com. October 3, 2006. Retrieved May 12, 2016.
11. Venta, Lance (August 15, 2023). "VCY America Acquires WJBR". RadioInsight. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
12. ^ Venta, Lance (October 4, 2023). "Deanna & Justin Depart WJBR With Sale". RadioInsight. Retrieved October 4, 2023.
13. ^ "News Bites: Gary Fisher, WJBR, ESPN Radio, 'LABF Radio & Podcast Power Session.'". Inside Radio. October 6, 2023. Retrieved October 8, 2023.
14. Venta, Lance (September 22, 2023). "Beasley Launches Podcast Radio In Four Markets". RadioInsight. Retrieved October 8, 2023.
15. Venta, Lance (May 27, 2020). "A Gospel Favor Debuts In Philadelphia". RadioInsight. Retrieved November 5, 2023.

External links

• A Gospel Favor Debuts In Philadelphia
• Facility details for Facility ID 14374 (WVCW) in the FCC Licensing and Management System
• WVCW in Nielsen Audio's FM station database
• Facility details for Facility ID 143931 (W264BH) in the FCC Licensing and Management System
• W264BH at FCCdata.org
• W289BY at FCCdata.org

• HD Radio stations
• Radio stations in Delaware
• VCY America stations
• Radio stations established in 1957
• 1957 establishments in Delaware
• Wilmington, Delaware
• Christian radio stations in Delaware