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| Broadcast area |
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| Frequency | 94.9 MHz |
| Branding | 94.9 Star Country |
| Programming | |
| Format | Country |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Mel Wheeler, Inc. |
| WFIR, WSLQ, WPLI, WPLY, WVBB, WVBE-FM, WXLK, WZZU | |
| History | |
First air date | July 11, 1948; 76 years ago (1948-07-11) |
Former call signs |
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Call sign meaning | Super Lovin Country |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 30156 |
| Class | C |
| ERP | 100,000 watts (with beam tilt) |
| HAAT | 598 meters (1962 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 37°11′50.0″N 80°9′11.0″W / 37.197222°N 80.153056°W / 37.197222; -80.153056 |
| Links | |
Public license information |
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| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | 949starcountry.com |
WSLC-FM (94.9 MHz) is a commercial radio station licensedtoRoanoke, Virginia and serving the Roanoke Valley and New River Valley. WSLC-FM is owned and operated by Mel Wheeler, Inc.[2] It airs a country music radio format, using the moniker "94.9 Star Country." WSLC-FM's studios and offices are on Electric Road in Roanoke.[3] The transmitter is off Honeysuckle Road in Bent Mountain.[4]
The station is powered at 100,000 watts effective radiated power (ERP) on a tower 1962 feet in height above average terrain (HAAT). The Class C signal can be heard over much of Southwest Virginia and into North Carolina and West Virginia.[5] On occasion, WSLC-FM can be picked up more than 200 miles away.
On July 11, 1948, the station signed onasWDBJ-FM.[6] It was owned by the Times World Corporation, publisher of The Roanoke Times-World, which in 1955 started Channel 7 WDBJ-TV. At first, WDBJ-FM simulcast its AM counterpart, AM 960 WDBJ (now WFIR).
In the early 1960s, WDBJ-FM was separately programmed with an automated beautiful music format, which lasted till the mid-1990s. The station concentrated on instrumental versions of popular songs, as well as Broadway and Hollywood showtunes.
In 1969, Jim Gibbons Radio, Inc. bought the station. While the format remained beautiful music, on November 1, the call sign was changed to WPVR.[7] In the 1980s, the station began playing several vocal songs each hour, moving to an easy listening sound.
In the 1990s, many easy listening stations began decreasing the orchestrated instrumentals, and by 1992, WPVR had evolved into soft adult contemporary, branded as "Lite 95."[8] In 1995, WPVR became "Arrow 94.9" with a classic rock format.[9]
In 2000, Mel Wheeler, Inc. bought the station, along with 99.1 WSLQ-FM and 960 WFIR.[10] At noon on May 25, the call sign was switched to WSLC-FM. The format flipped to country music, branded as "The New 94.9 Star Country". The sister station of WSLC-FM, AM 610 WSLC, had played country music for over 50 years, so both the AM and FM carried the same call letters and country music imaging for two years. On March 13, 2002, AM 610 ended its run as a country station, becoming urban adult contemporary WVBE, "The Vibe."[11] In 2016 it flipped to sports radioasWPLY.
After April 1, 2004, WSLC-FM stopped calling itself "The New 94.9 Star Country," and began using the branding "94.9 Star Country; Your Big Giveaway Station".
The station's logo appeared during a segment in Borat where he mocked the US National Anthem in a county fair in Salem, VA.[12]
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