City Mount Vernon, Ohio Frequency 1300 kHz | Branding 13 WMVO First air date 1953 | |
Slogan Your Knox County Connection Translator(s) 100.9 W265DJ (Mount Vernon) | ||
13 WMVO is an AM radio station in Mount Vernon, Ohio located at 1300 kHz. The station plays a full-service oldies format along with assorted talk and sports programming. It carries syndicated host Doug Stephan in the morning, local hosts in the midday hours, and Citadel Media's "The True Oldies Channel" format in all other hours. 13 WMVO is also an ABC News Radio affiliate.
WMVO and its FM sister station WQIO are currently owned by BAS Broadcasting of Fremont, Ohio. Prior to October 1, 2005, the station was owned by Clear Channel Communications. WMVO has maintained its local presence for much of the station's history, with an additional news presence on WQIO.
WMVO is affiliated with the Cleveland Indians, Cleveland Cavaliers, Ohio State Buckeyes and the Mount Vernon Yellow Jackets.
History
WMVO and sister station WQIO were founded by Helen E. Zelkowitz in 1951 and remained locally owned and operated until their sale in 1994. Then Ashland Broadcasting purchased the stations to pair with WNCO/WNCO-FM in nearby Ashland. The name of the company was Ohio Radio Group.
In 1994 Ashland Broadcasting purchased the stations to pair them with WNCO & WNCO-FM in nearby Ashland. The company's new name after the purchase from Zelkowitz was Ohio Radio Group. Ohio Radio Group eventually become a local radio powerhouse, owning 7 stations, including WFXN-FM (102.3, Galion, Ohio), WMAN-FM (98.3, Fredericktown, Ohio)and WXXF (107.7 Loudonville, Ohio). In 1996, WQEL and WBCO were added to the company based in Bucyrus, Ohio where they would become sister stations with WFXN-FM and WYNT which was based in nearby Upper Sandusky, Ohio making Ohio Radio Group the largest radio ownership company in Ohio. By the time of the Ohio Radio Group sale in 2000, they owned 9FM and 4AM radio stations. Clear Channel Communications who owned WYHT and WMAN in nearby Mansfield, Ohio had to divest two radio stations which is why WQEL and WBCO in Bucyrus, Ohio are now owned by Saga Communications.
In 2005, Clear Channel spun off WMVO and WQIO to BAS Broadcasting, based out of Fremont, Ohio. Most of WQIO's airstaff (which by then was predominately voicetracked) and long-time WMVO personality Ron Staats were dismissed with the ownership change. Since then, WMVO has maintained its local programming block during the morning and midday hours up to the present day.
Prior to February 13, 2010, WMVO was an affiliate of ABC Radio/Citadel Media's Timeless satellite channel, which it carried during non-local programming. After that format's shutdown by Citadel, WMVO switched to a relay of The True Oldies Channel.