WGMS (FM)
Encyclopedia
WGMS was a radio station
in Washington, D.C.
that maintained a classical music
format from 1946
to 2007
. Last owned by Bonneville International
, it was known on air for many years as Classical 103.5. It last broadcast on 104.1 MHz from a transmitter in Waldorf, Maryland
, with a repeater
signal broadcast from Braddock Heights, Maryland
, on 103.9 MHz under the call sign of WGYS.
The WGMS call letters are today in use by public radio station WETA-FM's repeater in Hagerstown, Maryland
, having been donated by Bonneville as part of an agreement between both stations made public the same day WGMS signed off.
band. It added an FM
signal, at 103.5 MHz, on September 18, 1948
. It changed its call letters in 1951
to WGMS, which stood for "Washington's Good Music Station" (that slogan had been used on the station several years before). According to the station's website, WGMS "was the first FM signal in the marketplace and holds the record for the longest consecutive broadcast in the same format."
WGMS was at one time owned by RKO General
Radio, which also owned top 40 stations in New York City
(WXLO-FM), Boston
(WRKO
), Los Angeles
(KHJ
), Memphis
(WHBQ
), and Detroit (CKLW
). In the 1970s, to comply with new FCC
regulations limiting simulcasting, RKO prepared to change the format of WGMS-AM to top 40. A public outcry in support of the classical format forestalled the change, and the United States Congress
authorized the stations to simulcast their programming full-time, as an exemption from Federal Communications Commission
regulations mandating separate programming on AM and FM outlets owned by a single entity.
In the 1980s, the AM side of WGMS was sold off to Washington, D.C., venture capital
ists Steven and Mitchell Rales, who converted the music station into the first frequency for WTEM
, a sports-talk station, in 1992
. WTEM moved to 980 AM in 1998
as the result of a format swap between that station and business talk station WWRC
, which itself now resides at 1260 AM. The 570 kHz frequency now belongs to Red Zebra Broadcasting, which uses it for talk radio
station WTNT
.
During WGMS's tenure at 103.5 FM, its antenna and engineering facility were located on University Boulevard in Wheaton, Maryland
.
On January 4, 2006
, Bonneville and the Washington Post announced that the frequencies then used by WTOP
— 1500 kHz and 107.7 MHz — would be reassigned to a new station, WTWP
, to be known on air as "Washington Post Radio." WTOP would move to 103.5 MHz, the frequency then used by classical music station WGMS; in turn, WGMS would move to 104.1 and 103.9 MHz, displacing contemporary music station WWZZ (Z104)
. At noon that day, WGMS and WTOP shifted frequencies, and Z104 shut down.
The change in frequency left WGMS with a weaker signal in the Washington area. At 103.5 MHz, it had broadcast at a strength of 44,000 watts; its new transmitter at 104.1 MHz broadcast at 20,000 watts from southern Prince George's County
, well away from the center of the metropolitan area. Its repeater signal, at 103.9 MHz, had a strength of only 350 watts. (Coincidentally, the 103.9 signal in Braddock Heights, Maryland, had also once been a CHR station known as "Z104," under the WZYQ calls.)
owner Daniel Snyder
to buy WGMS and convert it to a sports talk format, adding its frequency to the Triple X ESPN Radio network. Had the deal gone through, Washington, D.C., would have been left without a classical-music station as a result of the earlier 2005
switch of WETA to a public-radio news and talk format.
Washington-based XM Satellite Radio
attempted to capitalize on the development, purchasing advertisements in The Washington Post billing itself as the new home of classical music in the region.
Snyder eventually withdrew from the purchase agreement, citing "a change in the radio climate" and hopes that "a better signal will soon become available in the market." News accounts suggested that a comment to the Post from an unnamed Bonneville executive, who said Snyder had offered "50 percent more than [WGMS] was worth," had stalled the negotiations.
On January 22, 2007
, at 3 p.m. EST, WGMS ceased operations. The final classical selection played on the station was the closing chorus, "With Tears of Grief," from Bach
's St. Matthew Passion
. Longtime program director Jim Allison made the announcement of the station's ceasing, but also announced at the same time that Bonneville had reached a deal with WETA-FM that returned the latter station to a classical format. WETA assumed the classical format just five hours later, at 8 p.m. EST.
WETA hired Jim Allison as its new program director, and Bonneville donated its 15,000-disc WGMS music library to WETA. Bonneville also gave WETA the right to use the WGMS callsign; WETA adopted it for its repeater station in Hagerstown, Maryland
, previously known as WETH. The two stations struck an unusual public/commercial cross-promotion agreement, under which WETA would promote Bonneville's WTOP-FM
and WTWP
-FM news/talk stations, and Bonneville's stations would, in turn, promote classical programming on WETA.
The on-air talent of WGMS was terminated, while WETA released several talk show hosts and longtime Saturday-night folk music host Mary Cliff. The Washington Post
reported that some of the displaced hosts from each station might be hired by either WETA or Bonneville. On January 30, WETA reported that WGMS afternoon announcer John Chester was hired for the 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. shift.
The programming changes meant that WETA converted to a format consisting of classical music 24 hours per day and seven days per week, dropping all long-form NPR
and BBC
programming such as Morning Edition
, All Things Considered
, and A Prairie Home Companion
in the process. (Most of the cancelled programming already aired on, or moved to, WAMU
.) Hourly NPR newscasts remain during the daytime, as well as a simulcast of WETA-TV-produced The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer
in the 7 p.m. hour, broadcast on radio for the benefit of commuters unable to arrive home in time to view the television airing.
Bonneville switched the 104.1 MHz frequency to an "adult hits
" format under the callsign WXGG-FM, known on air as George 104.1 (now WPRS-FM
, a gospel format).
s of 104.1 and 103.9 to carry "Viva La Voce," an all-vocal classical music station, as well as a high-definition version of WGMS. WGMS also broadcast "long-form" classical music on a digital subchannel of its former frequency, 103.5-FM.
According to the site of the Viva La Voce digital subchannel of WGMS, Viva La Voce has ceased operations. Viva La Voce is now carried full-time on WETA-FM HD Channel 2
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
that maintained a classical music
Classical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
format from 1946
1946 in radio
The year 1946 saw a number of significant events in radio broadcasting.-Events:*1 September – Kringkastingsorkestret is founded.*29 September – BBC Third Programme is launched.-Debuts:...
to 2007
2007 in radio
The year 2007 in radio involved some significant events.-Events:*January 8: Nanci "The Fabulous Sports Babe" Donnellan returns to radio after a six-year absence, filling in for local hosts in Florida....
. Last owned by Bonneville International
Bonneville International
Bonneville International Corporation is a broadcasting company wholly owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints through its for-profit arm, Deseret Management Corporation...
, it was known on air for many years as Classical 103.5. It last broadcast on 104.1 MHz from a transmitter in Waldorf, Maryland
Waldorf, Maryland
Waldorf, Maryland is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Charles County, Maryland, United States. It is south-southeast of Washington, D.C. The population of the census-designated area only was 67,752 at the 2010 census...
, with a repeater
Repeater
A repeater is an electronic device that receives asignal and retransmits it at a higher level and/or higher power, or onto the other side of an obstruction, so that the signal can cover longer distances.-Description:...
signal broadcast from Braddock Heights, Maryland
Braddock Heights, Maryland
Braddock Heights is a census-designated place in Frederick County, Maryland, United States. The population was 4,627 at the 2000 census. Braddock Heights is part of the Middletown, Maryland School District...
, on 103.9 MHz under the call sign of WGYS.
The WGMS call letters are today in use by public radio station WETA-FM's repeater in Hagerstown, Maryland
Hagerstown, Maryland
Hagerstown is a city in northwestern Maryland, United States. It is the county seat of Washington County, and, by many definitions, the largest city in a region known as Western Maryland. The population of Hagerstown city proper at the 2010 census was 39,662, and the population of the...
, having been donated by Bonneville as part of an agreement between both stations made public the same day WGMS signed off.
Early history
The station went on air on December 29, 1946, under the call sign of WQQW at 570 kHz on the AMAmplitude modulation
Amplitude modulation is a technique used in electronic communication, most commonly for transmitting information via a radio carrier wave. AM works by varying the strength of the transmitted signal in relation to the information being sent...
band. It added an FM
FM broadcasting
FM broadcasting is a broadcasting technology pioneered by Edwin Howard Armstrong which uses frequency modulation to provide high-fidelity sound over broadcast radio. The term "FM band" describes the "frequency band in which FM is used for broadcasting"...
signal, at 103.5 MHz, on September 18, 1948
1948 in radio
The year 1948 saw a number of significant events in radio broadcasting.-Events:*22 March: The Voice of Firestone becomes the first radio program to be aired on both AM and FM radio stations....
. It changed its call letters in 1951
1951 in radio
The year 1951 in radio involved some significant events.-Debuts:*1 January: The Archers begins its production run on BBC.*1 April: Paul Harvey News and Comment begins its 59-year-long run on the ABC Radio Network....
to WGMS, which stood for "Washington's Good Music Station" (that slogan had been used on the station several years before). According to the station's website, WGMS "was the first FM signal in the marketplace and holds the record for the longest consecutive broadcast in the same format."
RKO General
RKO General was the main holding company through 1991 for the noncore businesses of the General Tire and Rubber Company and, after General Tire's reorganization in the 1980s, GenCorp. The business was based around the consolidation of its parent company's broadcasting interests, dating to 1943, and...
Radio, which also owned top 40 stations in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
(WXLO-FM), Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
(WRKO
WRKO
WRKO is a radio station based in Boston, Massachusetts, currently owned by Entercom. Its transmitter is located in Burlington, Massachusetts, next to the Burlington Mall.-1920-1940:...
), Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
(KHJ
KHJ (AM)
KHJ Radio in Los Angeles, California broadcasts Spanish-language entertainment programming as La Ranchera. It was also one of America's most formidable Top 40 radio stations in the 1960s and 1970s as 93 KHJ before changing its format in 1980....
), Memphis
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
(WHBQ
WHBQ (AM)
WHBQ is an AM radio station in Memphis, Tennessee, in the United States of America. Its frequency is 560 kHz. Although today it broadcasts sports news exclusively, the station became famous in the 1950s for playing rhythm and blues....
), and Detroit (CKLW
CKLW
CKLW is a 50,000 watt AM radio station broadcasting on 800 kHz and located in Windsor, Ontario, Canada, and serving Windsor and Detroit. Additionally, its signal can be heard as far west as Belding, Michigan; as far east as Batavia, New York; as far south as Edgewood, Kentucky; and as far...
). In the 1970s, to comply with new FCC
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
regulations limiting simulcasting, RKO prepared to change the format of WGMS-AM to top 40. A public outcry in support of the classical format forestalled the change, and the United States Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
authorized the stations to simulcast their programming full-time, as an exemption from Federal Communications Commission
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
regulations mandating separate programming on AM and FM outlets owned by a single entity.
In the 1980s, the AM side of WGMS was sold off to Washington, D.C., venture capital
Venture capital
Venture capital is financial capital provided to early-stage, high-potential, high risk, growth startup companies. The venture capital fund makes money by owning equity in the companies it invests in, which usually have a novel technology or business model in high technology industries, such as...
ists Steven and Mitchell Rales, who converted the music station into the first frequency for WTEM
WTEM
WTEM — branded ESPN 980 — is a sports radio station licensed to Washington, D.C. and serving the Washington metro area. It is the flagship of a sports talk trimulcast with WWXT in Prince Frederick, Maryland and WWXX in Buckland, Virginia, all affiliated with ESPN Radio and owned by Red Zebra...
, a sports-talk station, in 1992
1992 in radio
The year 1992 in radio involved some significant events.-Events:* January 22 - Rebel forces occupy Zaire's national radio station in Kinshasa and broadcast a demand for the government's resignation.* February 12 - Washington, D.C...
. WTEM moved to 980 AM in 1998
1998 in radio
The year 1998 in radio involved some significant events.-Events:*January 2 — A gunman shoots Antario Teodoro Filho, Brazilian politician and radio presenter, during a broadcast.*January 21 - Big 105 debuts playing its AC format...
as the result of a format swap between that station and business talk station WWRC
WWRC
WWRC —branded 1260 WRC—is a news/talk radio station licensed to Washington, D.C. and serving the Washington metro area. It operates with 5,000 watts on an unlimited basis with studios and transmitters both located in the city proper...
, which itself now resides at 1260 AM. The 570 kHz frequency now belongs to Red Zebra Broadcasting, which uses it for talk radio
Talk radio
Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often feature interviews with a number of different guests. Talk radio typically includes an element of listener participation, usually by broadcasting live...
station WTNT
WTNT (AM)
WTNT —branded AM 730 WTNT—is a news/talk radio station licensed to Alexandria, Virginia and serving the Washington metro area. It operates with unlimited hours, with 8,000 watts during the daytime, and 25 watts in the evening hours...
.
During WGMS's tenure at 103.5 FM, its antenna and engineering facility were located on University Boulevard in Wheaton, Maryland
Wheaton, Maryland
Wheaton is an unincorporated, urbanized area in Montgomery County, Maryland, USA, north of Washington, D.C., northwest of Silver Spring. Wheaton takes its name from Frank Wheaton , a career officer in the United States Army and volunteer from Rhode Island in the Union Army who rose to the rank of...
.
2006 frequency change
2006 in radio
The year 2006 saw a number of significant events in radio broadcasting.-Events:*January 3 - The BJ Shea Morning Experience switches to KISW in Seattle, Washington, from the former FM Talk station KKWF....
, Bonneville and the Washington Post announced that the frequencies then used by WTOP
WTOP-FM
WTOP is an all-news formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Washington, D.C., serving Metropolitan Washington, DC area. WTOP is owned by Hubbard Broadcasting.WTOP is one of two all-news stations in the Washington, D.C...
— 1500 kHz and 107.7 MHz — would be reassigned to a new station, WTWP
WTWP
WFED is a full-power radio station in the Washington, D.C. region, broadcasting from just outside the District line in Wheaton, Maryland. The signal is relayed on WWFD on 820 kHz in Frederick, Maryland. The stations broadcast a news, talk and information format targeted towards U.S...
, to be known on air as "Washington Post Radio." WTOP would move to 103.5 MHz, the frequency then used by classical music station WGMS; in turn, WGMS would move to 104.1 and 103.9 MHz, displacing contemporary music station WWZZ (Z104)
WWZZ (Z104)
WWZZ/WWVZ was the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area's largest adult rock format radio station, owned by Bonneville International. The station broadcast from Braddock Heights, Maryland at 103.9 MHz FM and from Waldorf, Maryland, at 104.1 MHz FM...
. At noon that day, WGMS and WTOP shifted frequencies, and Z104 shut down.
The change in frequency left WGMS with a weaker signal in the Washington area. At 103.5 MHz, it had broadcast at a strength of 44,000 watts; its new transmitter at 104.1 MHz broadcast at 20,000 watts from southern Prince George's County
Prince George's County, Maryland
Prince George's County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland, immediately north, east, and south of Washington, DC. As of 2010, it has a population of 863,420 and is the wealthiest African-American majority county in the nation....
, well away from the center of the metropolitan area. Its repeater signal, at 103.9 MHz, had a strength of only 350 watts. (Coincidentally, the 103.9 signal in Braddock Heights, Maryland, had also once been a CHR station known as "Z104," under the WZYQ calls.)
Attempted sale
On December 8, 2006, The Washington Post reported a preliminary agreement by Washington RedskinsWashington Redskins
The Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,...
owner Daniel Snyder
Daniel Snyder
Daniel M. Snyder is the current owner of the Washington Redskins American football team, owner of the Dick Clark Productions television production company, and primary investor in Red Zebra Broadcasting, which is home to the Redskins Radio Network. Snyder has a net worth of $1.05 billion...
to buy WGMS and convert it to a sports talk format, adding its frequency to the Triple X ESPN Radio network. Had the deal gone through, Washington, D.C., would have been left without a classical-music station as a result of the earlier 2005
2005 in radio
The year 2005 in radio involved some significant events.-Events:*April 29 - KFRC 610 AM in San Francisco, switches formats as a result of ownership change. KFRC becomes KEAR, the "Sound of the New Life", a listener-supported, gospel/religious only station. It had been previously KFRC from...
switch of WETA to a public-radio news and talk format.
Washington-based XM Satellite Radio
XM Satellite Radio
XM Satellite Radio is one of two satellite radio services in the United States and Canada, operated by Sirius XM Radio. It provides pay-for-service radio, analogous to cable television. Its service includes 73 different music channels, 39 news, sports, talk and entertainment channels, 21 regional...
attempted to capitalize on the development, purchasing advertisements in The Washington Post billing itself as the new home of classical music in the region.
Snyder eventually withdrew from the purchase agreement, citing "a change in the radio climate" and hopes that "a better signal will soon become available in the market." News accounts suggested that a comment to the Post from an unnamed Bonneville executive, who said Snyder had offered "50 percent more than [WGMS] was worth," had stalled the negotiations.
2007 format change
The Snyder offer led Bonneville executives to rethink their commitment to classical music on WGMS, with sports talk or popular music being the most likely formats considered as its replacement. Public outcry among the area’s classical music listeners over this possibility led the board of public radio station WETA-FM to vote to approve a return to classical programming should Bonneville decide to end classical on WGMS. (WETA-FM had carried classical music and NPR programming until February 2005, when it switched exclusively to a news-and-talk format.)On January 22, 2007
2007 in radio
The year 2007 in radio involved some significant events.-Events:*January 8: Nanci "The Fabulous Sports Babe" Donnellan returns to radio after a six-year absence, filling in for local hosts in Florida....
, at 3 p.m. EST, WGMS ceased operations. The final classical selection played on the station was the closing chorus, "With Tears of Grief," from Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity...
's St. Matthew Passion
Matthäuspassion
The St Matthew Passion, BWV 244, , is a musical composition from the Passions written by Johann Sebastian Bach in 1727 for solo voices, double choir and double orchestra, with libretto by Picander . It sets chapters 26 and 27 of the Gospel of Matthew to music, with interspersed chorales and arias...
. Longtime program director Jim Allison made the announcement of the station's ceasing, but also announced at the same time that Bonneville had reached a deal with WETA-FM that returned the latter station to a classical format. WETA assumed the classical format just five hours later, at 8 p.m. EST.
WETA hired Jim Allison as its new program director, and Bonneville donated its 15,000-disc WGMS music library to WETA. Bonneville also gave WETA the right to use the WGMS callsign; WETA adopted it for its repeater station in Hagerstown, Maryland
Hagerstown, Maryland
Hagerstown is a city in northwestern Maryland, United States. It is the county seat of Washington County, and, by many definitions, the largest city in a region known as Western Maryland. The population of Hagerstown city proper at the 2010 census was 39,662, and the population of the...
, previously known as WETH. The two stations struck an unusual public/commercial cross-promotion agreement, under which WETA would promote Bonneville's WTOP-FM
WTOP-FM
WTOP is an all-news formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Washington, D.C., serving Metropolitan Washington, DC area. WTOP is owned by Hubbard Broadcasting.WTOP is one of two all-news stations in the Washington, D.C...
and WTWP
WTWP
WFED is a full-power radio station in the Washington, D.C. region, broadcasting from just outside the District line in Wheaton, Maryland. The signal is relayed on WWFD on 820 kHz in Frederick, Maryland. The stations broadcast a news, talk and information format targeted towards U.S...
-FM news/talk stations, and Bonneville's stations would, in turn, promote classical programming on WETA.
The on-air talent of WGMS was terminated, while WETA released several talk show hosts and longtime Saturday-night folk music host Mary Cliff. The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
reported that some of the displaced hosts from each station might be hired by either WETA or Bonneville. On January 30, WETA reported that WGMS afternoon announcer John Chester was hired for the 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. shift.
The programming changes meant that WETA converted to a format consisting of classical music 24 hours per day and seven days per week, dropping all long-form NPR
NPR
NPR, formerly National Public Radio, is a privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization that serves as a national syndicator to a network of 900 public radio stations in the United States. NPR was created in 1970, following congressional passage of the Public Broadcasting...
and BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
programming such as Morning Edition
Morning Edition
Morning Edition is an American radio news program produced and distributed by National Public Radio . It airs weekday mornings and runs for two hours, and many stations repeat one or both hours. The show feeds live from 05:00 to 09:00 ET, with feeds and updates as required until noon...
, All Things Considered
All Things Considered
All Things Considered is the flagship news program on the American network National Public Radio. It was the first news program on NPR, and is broadcast live worldwide through several outlets...
, and A Prairie Home Companion
A Prairie Home Companion
A Prairie Home Companion is a live radio variety show created and hosted by Garrison Keillor. The show runs on Saturdays from 5 to 7 p.m. Central Time, and usually originates from the Fitzgerald Theater in Saint Paul, Minnesota, although it is frequently taken on the road...
in the process. (Most of the cancelled programming already aired on, or moved to, WAMU
WAMU
WAMU is a public radio station that services the greater Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. The station broadcasts on 88.5 FM, online at wamu.org, and on HD Radio at 88.5-HD1, 2 and 3. WAMU is on-air 24 hours a day. It is licensed to American University, and its studios are located near the campus...
.) Hourly NPR newscasts remain during the daytime, as well as a simulcast of WETA-TV-produced The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer
The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer
PBS NewsHour is an evening television news program broadcast weeknights on the Public Broadcasting Service in the United States. The show is produced by MacNeil/Lehrer Productions, a company co-owned by former anchors Jim Lehrer and Robert MacNeil, and Liberty Media, which owns a 65% stake in the...
in the 7 p.m. hour, broadcast on radio for the benefit of commuters unable to arrive home in time to view the television airing.
Bonneville switched the 104.1 MHz frequency to an "adult hits
Adult hits
Adult hits is a radio format, popular in the early 2000s, that does not adhere to a specific music genre, but instead draws from a wider playlist...
" format under the callsign WXGG-FM, known on air as George 104.1 (now WPRS-FM
WPRS-FM
WPRS-FM is an Urban Gospel formatted radio station in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. The station broadcasts from Waldorf, Maryland, at 104.1 MHz....
, a gospel format).
Digital radio programing
In addition to its regular FM signal, WGMS used digital subchannelDigital subchannel
In broadcasting, digital subchannels are a means to transmit more than one independent program at the same time from the same digital radio or digital television station on the same radio frequency channel. This is done by using data compression techniques to reduce the size of each individual...
s of 104.1 and 103.9 to carry "Viva La Voce," an all-vocal classical music station, as well as a high-definition version of WGMS. WGMS also broadcast "long-form" classical music on a digital subchannel of its former frequency, 103.5-FM.
According to the site of the Viva La Voce digital subchannel of WGMS, Viva La Voce has ceased operations. Viva La Voce is now carried full-time on WETA-FM HD Channel 2