WFLS-FM

WFLS-FM

Fredericksburg, Virginia United States
Broadcast area	Central Virginia Northern Virginia Southern Maryland
Frequency	93.3 MHz
Branding	93.3 WFLS
Programming
Format	Country[1]
Ownership
Owner	Alpha Media (Alpha Media Licensee, LLC)
Sister stations	WNTX, WVBX, WWUZ
History
First air date	June 12, 1962 (62 years ago) (1962-06-12)[2]
Call sign meaning	Free Lance–Star (former owner)
Technical information[3]
Licensing authority	FCC
Facility ID	65641
Class	B
ERP	50,000 watts
HAAT	150 meters (490 ft)
Transmitter coordinates	38°18′46.4″N 77°26′18.9″W
Links
Public license information	Public file LMS
Webcast	Listen live
Website	wfls.com

WFLS-FM is a country formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Fredericksburg, Virginia, serving Central Virginia, Northern Virginia, and Southern Maryland.^[1] WFLS-FM is owned and operated by Alpha Media.^[4]

History

WFLS was founded, and initially owned and operated by, The Free Lance–Star newspaper. WFLS began broadcasting as an AM station (on 1350 AM), on July 15, 1960.^[5]

Adopting a middle-of-the-road format, WFLS-FM launched on June 12, 1962. The station switched to an all-country format in 1975. It started broadcasting in HD Radio in May 2006.^[6] It started with the slogan "Virginia's Best Country", used until early 2006. Then "Real Country Variety" used from early 2006 to April 2, 2012, and has been using "Today's Country" since then.^[7]

On April 16, 2013, W243BS (96.5 FM) dropped its simulcast of sister station WNTX for a simulcast of WFLS-FM HD2 carrying a freeform format.^[8] The "FredFM" format was dropped in early March 2014, when W243BS resumed simulcasting sister station WNTX. As of May 2024, the HD2 feed is from sister station WWUZ 96.9 (classic rock) in Bowling Green, Virginia.

On January 23, 2015, Alpha Media "entered into a definitive agreement" to purchase WFLS and sister stations WNTX, WVBX, and WWUZ from Free Lance-Star License, Inc. for an unknown sum.^[9] The purchase was consummated on May 1, 2015, at a price of $8.1 million.

References

1. "Arbitron Station Information Profiles". Nielsen Audio/Nielsen Holdings. Retrieved July 16, 2015.
2. Broadcasting Yearbook 2010 (PDF). ProQuest, LLC/Reed Publishing (Nederland), B.V. 2010. p. D-564. Retrieved July 16, 2015.
3. "Facility Technical Data for WFLS-FM". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
4. "WFLS Facility Record". Federal Communications Commission, audio division. Retrieved July 16, 2015.
5. "Station Begins Broadcast Tomorrow". The Free Lance–Star. Fredericksburg, Virginia. July 14, 1960. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
6. "WFLS-FM 93.3 - 227B". VARTV.com. June 25, 2012.
7. "Stations get new paint". VARTV.com. April 2, 2012.
8. Jett, Cathy (April 16, 2013). "FredFM hits the airwaves". Fredericksburg.com. Fredericksburg, VA.
9. "Alpha Media To Purchase Free Lance-Star Radio Stations". All Access Music Group. January 23, 2015. Retrieved January 23, 2015.

External links

• 93.3 WFLS Online
• Facility details for Facility ID 65641 (WFLS-FM) in the FCC Licensing and Management System
• WFLS-FM in Nielsen Audio's FM station database