WRVL


WRVL is a Contemporary Christian formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Lynchburg, Virginia, serving the New River Valley. WRVL is owned and operated by Liberty University.

History

WRVL went on the air in July 1981 and faced a series of technical problems in its early years revolving around interference to television reception near the station site. In December 1981, the Federal Communications Commission ordered the station to reduce effective radiated power from 100,000 to 5,000 watts. In 1982, its radio tower was brought down by vandals; while the station was silent, viewers reported better reception of WDBJ.
In 2009, WRVL broke ground by forming a partnership with NPR broadcaster WVTF in Roanoke, Virginia, allowing them to repeat Victory FM programming on WVTW's HD-3 channel in Charlottesville, Virginia. This is noteworthy because it makes WVTW perhaps one of few HD radio stations in the nation funded by the federal Public Telecommunications Facilities Program.
On December 26, 2014, WRVL dropped all religious teaching programming for a Contemporary Christian format. The station's name also changed from "Victory Radio Network" to "The Journey".

Simulcasts

"The Journey" is carried on several stations in Virginia and North Carolina.
Call signFrequencyCity of licenseERP
W
ClassFCC info
WBOP95.5 FMBuffalo Gap, Virginia6,000A
WVRA107.3 FMEnfield, North Carolina4,100A
WVRD90.5 FMZebulon, North Carolina1,200A
WVRH94.3 FMNorlina, North Carolina6,000A
WVRI90.9 FMClifton Forge, Virginia1,000B
WVRL88.3 FMElizabeth City, North Carolina50,000C2
WVRP91.1 FMRoanoke Rapids, North Carolina2,000A

Digital subchannels

Additionally, "The Journey" is broadcast on several FM digital subchannels:
Call signFrequencyCity of licenseNotes
WHRO-FM-HD390.3 FM HD3Norfolk, Virginia
WRXL-HD3102.1 FM HD3Richmond, VirginiaAdded September 2015
WVTF-HD389.1 FM HD3Roanoke, Virginia
WVTR-HD391.9 FM HD3Marion, Virginia
WVTW-HD388.5 FM HD3Charlottesville, Virginia

Translators

"The Journey" is relayed by additional translators to widen its broadcast area. W236BO at 95.1 served Burlington, North Carolina prior to 2013, until WPCM took it over.