950 WIXZ Steubenville, Ohio
Owner: Robert and Kim Scharnhorst
Format: Oldies
WLIT signed on in 1973 as the last AM in Steubenville. Contemporary Communications was owner and they sold it to Frederick Staffilino in 1982. WLIT managed to muddle through the early 1980s as the nearby steel industry collapsed and local retail was falling with it. The WDIG call letters accompanied a change in format in 1987. It was a “Pure Gold” format delivered by Satellite Music Network. In 1989, the owner went into bankruptcy and the station was sold to Romanao Cironi, Sr. in 1989. It wasn’t long after the sale that the station found itself fighting against WJPA in Washington, PA and WWYS in Cadiz, Ohio. Both stations had become oldies stations and WDIG couldn’t survive the competition. It fell silent. In 1991, WDIG returned with a Gospel Music format and had been sold to World Witness for Christ Ministries. Airtime was leased by Del King who had also been leasing WXVX in Monroeville, PA. The deal ended very soon after it started. Today, programming is delivered by satellite using Citadel’s Urban AC “The Touch”. The station was sold to Robert & Kim Scharnhorst in 2018 and became WIXZ with an oldies format.
1170 WWVA Wheeling, West Virginia
Owner: Clear Channel
Format: News/Talk
It was 1926 when WWVA signed on the air at 860 kilocycles. John Stroebel, an area electronics “wizard” was responsible for putting the station on the air. Four years later, the station owners wanted to move the station to the state capital of Charleston, but the FCC denied that move. WWVA would move to its current home of 1170 in 1941 and was bumped up to 50,000 watts later that year. The station had been through nearly ten ownerships before AMFM, Inc., a company eventually merging with Clear Channel, bought it. Other owners include Screen Gems Radio and Coca-Cola. WWVA was long the home to the Wheeling Jamboree broadcast which initially survived the station’s format change from country to news/talk in 1997, but it was dropped in 2008 and moved to WKKX-AM. The station cut costs and released its two local talk hosts in 2004 while the owner attempted to relocate the Community of License to Stow, Ohio. The construction permit was issued for this very controversial move, but within the same year the permit was forfeited. Clear Channel still owns the station despite an attempt to sell it’s area properties in a divestiture move in 2006. The sale to GoodRadio.TV LLC failed before the FCC could approve. In 2010, WWVA suffered a major setback when a microburst blew in over the St. Clairsville, Ohio tower site. All three classic Blaw-Knox style towers were toppled knocking the station off the air. The news/talk format was briefly carried by sister station WBBD until a temporary operation could be constructed. Work began immediately to replace the towers.
1290 WLIE Bellaire, Ohio
(100.1 W261DH Wheeling, WV)
Owner: Forever Media, LLC
Format: Classic Country
In 1947, WTRF-AM/FM signed on at 1290 and 100.5 respectively. In 1959, the station briefly became WTRX and then WOMP. Once owned by Clear Channel, CC took some of the talk programming from 1290 and used it in the rebuilding of 1170 WWVA. WOMP was eventually sold to Keymarket where it served as a music outlet before simulcasting 1340 WSTV. After WSTV’s license was turned in in 2012, WOMP eventually served as the ESPN Sports outlet. But in June 2017, it became WLEJ with Forever’s classic country format. Three months later, it became WYLY with their Willie format. The WLIE calls came along in 2019.
1330 WETZ New Martinsville, West Virginia
(93.1 W226BE New Martinsville; 104.5 W283DH New Martinsville)
Owner: Dailey Corporation
Format: Classic Hits
First on the air in 1953, WETZ’s classic hits format is fed from ABC Radio.
1340 DWSTV Steubenville, Ohio
Owner: Keymarket Licenses
Format: (Last on the air) ESPN Sports
WSTV signed on in 1940 having been started by Valley Broadcasting Company. It’s FM sister joined in 1947 (now WOGH and licensed to Burgettstown, PA) and in 1953 WSTV-TV (Channel 9; now WTOV) joined the fold. The stations remained sisters for a long time under the ownership of Rust Craft Broadcasting and The Associated Group. The Associated Group was bought by Liberty Media in 1999 and the company almost immediately sold its stations to Keymarket. WTOV eventually was sold to Cox Enterprises. Despite being under separate ownership, the stations retained their transmitter locations with the FM atop TV’s tower and the AM’s tower on a property adjacent to the TV station on Altamont Hill. The land on which 1340’s tower sits was sold to another party in 2006 and an apparent dispute over property payments eventually ensued. Surprisingly, on December 5, 2011, the station announced that the station would be going off the air after 71 years of broadcasting due to the property dispute. Keymarket filed for an STA for radio silence, extended it in 2012, but after a year off the air, they sent a formal letter to the FCC turning in the license.
1370 WVLY Moundsville, West Virginia
(97.7 W249DU Moundsville)
Owner: RCK 1 Group, LLC
Format: News/Talk
Once WMJT and became WVLY in 2001. It once served as a sports talker featuring ESPN. As Talk Radio 1370, the station features Howard Monroe in the morning.
1400 WBBD Wheeling, West Virginia
(103.9 W280EW Wheeling)
Owner: Clear Channel
Format: Fox Sports
1400 signed on in 1941 as WKWK. In 2010, WBBD temporarily carried WWVA’s programming lineup after a down burst knocked down all three of that station’s towers. During that time WBBD served as an oldies/talk outlet making it the obvious choice to “fill in” for its ailing sister until a temporary tower was made. In October 2012, WBBD was one of 12 Clear Channel stations across the country to take on a comedy format. In 2014, WBBD took on Fox Sports.
1430 WEIR Weirton, West Virginia
(94.9 W235BX Colliers; 102.1 W271CZ Weirton)
Owner: Priority Communications
Format: News/Talk/Sports
WEIR first signed on in 1950 and serves Weirton with a full-time 1000 watt signal. It currently touts a news/talk/sports format with an emphasis on the latter.
1490 WOHI East Liverpool, Ohio
(103.9 W280FL East Liverpool)
Owner: Keymarket Communications
Format: Classic Hits
Signing on in 1949, WOHI was joined by an FM sister at 104.3 some years later. Keymarket purchased the stations and eventually split the two stations moving 104.3 FM into Moon Township, Pennsylvania where it is now WOGI, the flagship of the Pittsburgh Froggy stations. The company originally put the ESPN sports format on 1490, but it is now a simulcast of WPKL out of Connellsville, PA.
1600 WKKX Wheeling, West Virginia
(98.1 W251CY Wheeling)
Owner: RCK1 Group, Inc.
Format: News/Talk/Sports
Signed on in 1963 as WOHZ. WKKX is locally owned with a news/talk format by day and a Fox Sports feed by night. The station took over airing the Wheeling Jamboree when Clear Channel removed it from the lineup at WWVA.
