Radio Boomtown Richmond (WVNZ)

WVNZ is a Spanish Contemporary formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Richmond, Virginia, serving Metro Richmond. WVNZ is owned and operated by Davidson Media Group.This station originally signed on in the around 1958 and was owned by Burt Levine, who already owned a successful Top 40 station in Roanoke, WROV-AM, and attempted to do a similar format as WLLY from studios in the basement of the Broad-Grace Arcade. But was soon forced to change their call letters to WEET by then market leader WLEE, their assertion that the WLLY calls too closely resembled the WLEE call letters.Levine sold the station to Ray Bentley in 1965. In 1966 the station went to a country music format that proved successful. From the late 1960s, 1970s, and early eighties, though being an AM daytimer, WEET was considered the most popular country station in Richmond, even fending off 24 hour WTVR-AM , who did country from 1973 to 1976, and fellow daytimer WXGI, who'd been doing the format longer than WEET.A tradition on Sunday morning for many years was the "Little White Church" Southern Gospel Music Show, originally hosted by Mark Thomas. This show ran through WEET's country years.Ray Bentley sold off WEET in the early 80s and the station went through several owners through the eighties.As a result of increased FM competition the station switched to a Beautiful Music format in the early eighties, but then attempted an all news format using the call letters WIAM. That format also proved unsuccessful and the station was forced to sign off due to financial difficulties around 1988.In 1989, the station signed back on with the former call letters, Big Band format, and personalities of the just signed off WLEE-AM, which had been at 1480. But that proved short lived and by 1990 the station was doing news/talk but continuing the with the WLEE call letters.The station was the original Richmond outlet for the Rush Limbaugh Show, but by the mid 90s, Limbaugh's syndicators had moved the show to the more powerful crosstown WRVA and WLEE was unable to find a show that had the popularity of Limbaugh's show.WLEE was unable to recover from the loss of Limbaugh and in 1995 worked out an LMA (Local Management Arrangement) with crosstown FM owners Benchmark Broadcasting in exchange for them being allowed to use the Heritage WLEE call letters for their station at 96.5, and moved the station into the Boulders office complex with their co-owned FM stations , then WDCK (later WLEE-FM) and WVGO (later WBZU). In 1995, the FM stations, along with the AM's management contract was purchased by ABS Broadcasting, who later merged with Capstar, then AMFM.For a while WLEE continued with the news talk format, but in 1999 the station went to a satellite delivered oldies format from Jones Radio, which had been on former AMFM sister station 104.7, which had been sold off ,but who had a contract that had not expired (resulting in the move to 1320) Once the Jones contract ended, the station went into a simulcast of AMFM's local oldies station, WRCL.In 2000, local auto dealer Max Pierson, who was by then was WLEE's owner had an offer from local 990/WVNZ owners 4M Radio to buy the station. AMFM terminated their LMA and the station was sold and Richmond Radio moved their all news format (along with the WNVZ call letters) to 1320, and the WLEE calls went to 990.In 2001, the former big band format that had been on 1380 was moved to 1320 (along with morning man Floyd Henderson). 1320 later adopted a Hispanic format and the Big Band format was moved to co-owned 990 WLEE.In 2004 the 4M Radio Station Group, which not only included WVNZ and WLEE, but also gospel WREJ,and talk WTOX, was sold to Davidson Media Group.