| Community: | Haverhill (CP: Andover) |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Channel: | 223B | ||||
| Ownership: | Beanpot Broadcasting Corp. (Northeast Broadcasting/Stephen Silberberg) |
||||
| Studio: | 30 How Street Haverhill, MA 01830-6131 |
||||
| Transmitter: | Observatory Road Haverhill, MA |
||||
| Phones: |
|
||||
| Format: | Adult Alternative |
WXRV transmits from a hill west of downtown Haverhill, with 25 kW ERP from an antenna 217 meters (710 ft) above average terrain. WXRV's tower is co-located with former sister station WHAV(AM). A rulemaking is pending at the FCC to change community of license to Andover, with no change in facilities.
The 92.5 frequency in Haverhill first signed on in the late 1940s as WHAV-FM, co-owned with WHAV 1490 AM. It was difficult, if not impossible, for a small FM station to make money in that era, and after a few years, WHAV-FM was deleted. Its transmitter would later turn up a bit further south, at WCRB-FM 102.5 in Boston (now Waltham).
FM began a revival in the late 1950s, and WHAV again secured an FM license, again on 92.5. The second version of WHAV-FM signed on in June 1959. The “WHAV Broadcasting Company” shared ownership with the daily Haverhill Gazette, serving the small community 30 miles north of Boston. WHAV-FM initially programmed a beautiful-music format, simulcasting WHAV(AM) only late at night and on weekends.
1981 saw WHAV AM/FM get sold to the Northeast Broadcasting Company, which also owned WNCS in Montpelier, Vt. In 1983, WHAV-FM became WLYT, “Lite 92.5”, with a soft-rock format. WLYT briefly tried to sell itself in the Boston market, opening a sales office in the Back Bay on Arlington Street.
After WHAV(AM) was LMA'd to Eastern Media in early 1995, Northeast began making changes at WLYT. Gone were most of the soft-rock standards, in were some newer AAA artists, and out was “Lite 92.5”. August 1995 saw the introduction of the “River” slogan and, on August 17, the WXRV calls. Since that time, the “River” has tried to become more of a Boston station again, aiming its promotions and liners at the larger market to the south. WXRV has also taken advantage of the large studio at the center of the old WHAV studio building. Now called the “River Music Hall”, it is used frequently for on-air live performances, with a handful of listeners invited to the studio to hear the artist in person.
This station profile was written by the editors of The Archives @ BostonRadio.org. We have no relationship with the station; please send any comments or questions about their programming directly to the station. Network connectivity courtesy of MIT CSAIL.