WHVW

WHVW
	kHz
Branding	950 AM WHVW
Programming
Format	Variety (Americana, blues, country, standards and oldies)
Ownership
Owner	J.P. Ferraro
History
First air date	July 4, 1963; 60 years ago
Former call signs	WHVW (1963–1976); WHPN (1976–1979); WWWI (1979–1982);
Call sign meaning	Hudson Valley
Technical information
Licensing authority	FCC
Facility ID	41870
Class	D
Power	500 watts (day); 57 watts (night);
Transmitter coordinates	41°44′46.34″N 73°54′44.49″W / 41.7462056°N 73.9123583°W
Translator(s)	96.5 W243EI (Hyde Park)
Links
Public license information	Public file; LMS;

WHVW (950

Poughkeepsie, New York

.

By day, WHVW is powered at 500

FM translator W243EI at 96.5 MHz

in Hyde Park.

History

Originally owned by Ubiquitous Corp., WHVW

daytime-only station broadcasting from a tower just north of the Poughkeepsie–Hyde Park line.^[5] Launching with a Top 40 format that served the Poughkeepsie area, the station became popular and within a few years was the #1 station in town, with over 50% of the radio audience. In 1966, it added an FM outlet. WHVW-FM signed on at 97.7 MHz (now WCZX

).

WHVW was sold to Castle Communications Corp in 1975.

WKIP

, the station struggled to find an audience as the ownership lost money.

In 1982, WWWI's owners filed for bankruptcy and the future of the station was in doubt. While the sale of WJJB (the former WHVW-FM) helped matters, ownership nearly donated WWWI to a Christian group that would later become the genesis of Sound of Life Radio. Instead, the station was sold, the WHVW calls returned, and the station switched to a standards format.^[8] For the next decade, WHVW would switch between various oldies and adult standards permutations, often changing its format as a result of a higher-powered, better-funded station coming into competition. WHVW added nighttime service with 57 watts in the mid 1980s. Around the same time, its studios moved to Market Street in Poughkeepsie; in 1989 the station moved back to the original "Broadcast House" on Route 9G in Hyde Park, NY.

More financial problems in 1992 led to WHVW's sale to current owner Joseph-Paul (J. P.) Ferraro, a former pirate radio broadcaster. Noted by some as an eccentric, Ferraro would move the studios back to Poughkeepsie and change the format to something that would share his musical tastes with the community; the eclectic format has attracted media attention (see below) but has struggled to produce much revenue, resulting in the station relying on paid programming. No salaries are paid to any on-air hosts; anyone who can bring advertisers can potentially get on WHVW.

Programming

WHVW's musical library is one of the most obscure in the United States, being based mostly on pre-1965 music that was originally issued on 78 rpm records; this music rarely gets airplay anywhere except on some low-powered college or community radio stations. Non-music programming on WHVW includes some weekend religious and ethnic programs, a weekly talk show done with the Poughkeepsie Chamber of Commerce, a high school sports program, a weekly program hosted by Poughkeepsie Journal columnist and former WEOK morning host Larry Hughes, and occasional commentaries from former County Legislator Joel Tyner.

The mystique of WHVW's unique format has produced something of a cult following of the station; though not a factor in its own market and not having been rated in many years, WHVW has been profiled by many publications throughout the northeast including a 2001 piece by The New York Times.^[2]

In July 2013, WHVW began broadcasting two hours of programming per week on shortwave station WBCQ,^[9] in Monticello, Maine, which is owned by Ferraro's former pirate radio compatriot Allan Weiner.

Translator

Call sign	Frequency	City of license	FID	ERP (W)	Class	Transmitter coordinates	FCC info
W243EI	96.5 FM	Hyde Park, New York	201475	250	D	41°53′47″N 73°46′31″W / 41.89639°N 73.77528°W / 41.89639; -73.77528 (W243EI)	LMS

References

^ "Facility Technical Data for WHVW". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
^ ^a ^b Freeman, Samuel G. (August 12, 2001). "An Island of Idiosyncrasy on the AM Dial". The New York Times. Retrieved August 28, 2011.
^ "WHVW Facility Record". United States Federal Communications Commission, audio division.
^ "WHVW-AM 950 kHz - Hyde Park, NY". radio-locator.com.
^ "1965 Broadcasting Yearbook page B-102". Broadcasting Publications, Inc.
^ "1979 Broadcasting Yearbook page C-148". Broadcasting Publications, Inc.
^ Local Station To Go All News, Poughkeepsie Journal, June 23, 1976, p.15
^ "WHVW call sign history". United States Federal Communications Commission, audio division.
^ "Annotated WBCQ Program Guide". WBCQ, Inc.

External links

WHVW Facebook
WHVW in the FCC AM station database
WHVW in Nielsen Audio's AM station database
W243EI in the FCC FM station database
W243EI at FCCdata.org
WFMU "Beware of The Blog" profile on WHVW (includes audio clips)

[1] "Facility Technical Data for WHVW". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.

[nytimes.com-2] Freeman, Samuel G. (August 12, 2001). "An Island of Idiosyncrasy on the AM Dial". The New York Times. Retrieved August 28, 2011.

[3] "WHVW Facility Record". United States Federal Communications Commission, audio division.

[4] "WHVW-AM 950 kHz - Hyde Park, NY". radio-locator.com.

[5] "1965 Broadcasting Yearbook page B-102". Broadcasting Publications, Inc.

[6] "1979 Broadcasting Yearbook page C-148". Broadcasting Publications, Inc.

[7] Local Station To Go All News, Poughkeepsie Journal, June 23, 1976, p.15

[8] "WHVW call sign history". United States Federal Communications Commission, audio division.

[9] "Annotated WBCQ Program Guide". WBCQ, Inc.

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