City Knoxville, Tennessee Frequency 1180 kHz | Broadcast area Knoxville and Vicinity Format Sports Talk | |
Branding 'Sports Radio 1180 The VLZ' Power 10,000 watts day
2,600 watts critical hours | ||
WVLZ is a radio station in Knoxville, Tennessee. It broadcasts locally on 1180 AM. The station is branded as Sports Radio 1180 The VLZ.
Contents
History
The station originally signed on as WHJM on June 1, 1988, after the construction permit to build it was first issued in December 1986. It was then owned by Morgan Broadcasting Company, and was an affiliate of the former Satellite Music Network's "Pure Gold" format of 1960s and 1970s oldies. Studios and offices were located at 802 S. Central Avenue in downtown Knoxville.
By 1990, the station had changed formats from oldies to big band. In 1993, WHJM changed its format to Christian country. Later, the station was programmed as talk radio.
Morgan Broadcasting Co., of which Harry Morgan was president, sold WHJM and WKCE to Kirkland Wireless Broadcasters, Inc. for $400,000 in a deal reported February 24, 2002. Upon acquisition, the station's call letters were changed to WVLZ, which remain today.
From January 2009 until August 29, 2014, WVLZ 1180 was known as "Tennessee Sports Radio". The station's programming included show hosts such as former University of Tennessee quarterback Erik Ainge and former UT wide receiver Jayson Swain.
Currently
On August 29, 2014, WVLZ changed branding and reverted to a previous format as "Oldies 1180", but returned to sports as "Sports Radio 1180 The VLZ" on Monday, January 5, 2015. The daily local line up includes The Swain Event with former UT wide receiver Jayson Swain 7 to 10 am, One and Done 10 to 11 am, The Dave Hooker Show 11 to 2 pm, 4 Quarters Radio 2 to 4 pm, Rocky Top Insider Radio 4 to 6 pm, and The Chuck Oliver Show 6 to 8 pm. SB Nation Radio rounds out the rest of the daily, nightly and weekend line ups. The station also carries Atlanta Braves baseball weekends during the Major League Baseball season.