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WGPL

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

WGPL
Broadcast areaHampton Roads
Frequency1350 AM kHz
BrandingPeace Radio 1350
Programming
FormatBlack gospel[1]
Ownership
OwnerFriendship Cathedral Family Worship Center, Inc.
WPCE
History
First air date
March 1943 (1943-03)[2]
Former call signs
  • WSAP (1943–1953)
  • WAVY (1953–1968)
  • WCVU (1968–1970)
  • WKLX (1970–1977)
  • WHNE (1977–1979)
  • WNIS (1979–1987)
  • WRAP (1987–1989)
  • WBSK (1989–1993)
  • WSVY (1993–1996)[2][3]
Former frequencies
1490 kHz (1943–1951)[2]
Call sign meaning
"Gospel"
Technical information[4]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID69560
ClassB
Power5,000 Watts day and night
Transmitter coordinates
36°53′0.0″N 76°22′22.0″W / 36.883333°N 76.372778°W / 36.883333; -76.372778
Links
Public license information
WebcastWGPL Webstream

WGPL is a black gospel formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Portsmouth, Virginia, serving Hampton Roads.[1] WGPL is owned and operated by Friendship Cathedral Family Worship Center, Inc.[5]

History

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The station began broadcasting as WSAP in February 1943 as a Mutual affiliate. It operated on 1490 kHz with 250 watts of power from 6 a.m. to 2 a.m.[6] As WAVY in the 1950s and '60s, the station competed against cross-town WGH with a top 40 music format until 1962. In the early 1970s the station competed against WGH and WNOR with a top 40 format as WCVU and WKLX.

WRAP

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From 1979 until 1987, the station's call sign was WNIS. At that point, a swap was made with AM 850, which moved the WNIS call sign to AM 850, and transferred the WRAP call letters, with its associated black-oriented format, to this station.[7]

This was the last of the three Hampton Roads radio stations to operate as WRAP. In 1989, the station was sold to Three Chiefs Broadcasting, which changed the call sign to WBSK, and fired most of the existing staff.

References

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  1. ^ a b "Arbitron Station Information Profiles". Nielsen Audio/Nielsen Holdings. Retrieved July 18, 2015.
  2. ^ a b c "FCC History Cards for WGPL".
  3. ^ "Call Sign History". Federal Communications Commission, audio division. Retrieved July 18, 2015.
  4. ^ "Facility Technical Data for WGPL". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  5. ^ "WGPL Facility Record". Federal Communications Commission, audio division. Retrieved July 18, 2015.
  6. ^ "4 Webs Now Served In Portsmouth, Va". Broadcasting. February 27, 1943. Retrieved October 18, 2018.
  7. ^ "For The Record: Call Letters", Broadcasting, November 9, 1987, page 96.
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