1480 AM Myrtle Beach Tourist Radio (several years ago)

[vchimpanzee]

I can't find anything online. But it seems that station bought nearly every billboard along US 501. Pirates Voyage seems to have done this in recent years.

 

[Kelly A]

What are you asking? Something about a radio station leasing billboard space in a vacation town many years ago.
Is this a question, or a statement?

 

[vchimpanzee]

I thought someone in that area might remember more. It was a failed experiment but we do post even about stations that failed.

 

[kevtronics]

Maybe it was a TIS? Many communities have signs promoting their local TIS station.

 

[vchimpanzee]

I was more interested in the details of the format and the time when it had the format.

 

[bturner1]

The radio station was a commercial AM station that had commercials and short features of interest to visitors. The loop was 45 minutes, I think, with substantial time given to golf. It was an all talk format of features from 30 seconds to maybe 3 minutes. As I recall from an old cassette tape of the station they were kind enough to send me, there were multiple voices on the 45 minute cycle. I think this would have been late 1980s to early 1990s. For what it is worth, the station had low billing but the station was profitable. They strived to sell businesses reliant on visitors. They sold annuals.

There were several Visitor Information commercial radio stations. I knew of WAIA in San Augustine, Florida. Panama City had one at one point. Adel, Georgia's FM was operated by a billboard owner who owned the businesses at exit 5. The radio station did weather every 30 minutes and a trivia question, I think every half hour but made you wait to find out if you were right. Literally all the other programming was for these exit 5 businesses and any others they could sell. You saw a billboard to tune to the station on both sides of the freeway for miles. There was WFVR, I think in Valdosta, that was Florida Visitors Radio owned by the Florida Visitor Centers. They ran on 2 cart carousels and repeated every 40 minutes. I don't think they did anything but promote the physical travel centers. WAIA, had a 30 minute to 2 hour rotation in information voiced by many local voices. A commercial (1 60 or 2 30s) was between each feature that was 60 seconds. They sounded very good and I wish I could find that cassette. They made all their money during tourist season. There was an AM in Gulfport that ran the format on a 20 minute loop. Supposedly they did pretty good.

There was a non-commercial FM doing Visitors Information Radio run by the Kankakee, Illinois Chamber of Commerce. It was done on a 15 minute loop made up of 30 thirty second segments.

One I was really impressed with was WVIO, a daytimer AM in Blowing Rock, NC. They were "Visitor's Radio Outlet". They ran a music format with live jocks. Their hourly clock was Calendar of Events at :60, :15, :30 and :45. Weather was at :10 and :40. Special features, 5 minutes, aired at :20 and :50. Businesses could sponsor Calendar of Events and Weather or sponsor a quarter hour of music. I was told they tried to play local musicians that play the various venues. This would have been about 1986 as a guess.

 

[mcy919]

One I was really impressed with was WVIO, a daytimer AM in Blowing Rock, NC. They were "Visitor's Radio Outlet". They ran a music format with live jocks. Their hourly clock was Calendar of Events at :60, :15, :30 and :45. Weather was at :10 and :40. Special features, 5 minutes, aired at :20 and :50. Businesses could sponsor Calendar of Events and Weather or sponsor a quarter hour of music. I was told they tried to play local musicians that play the various venues. This would have been about 1986 as a guess.

I never thought I would see a station in my hometown mentioned on here. I didn't listen that much, but I was glad to have a station that served the town I lived in. Eventually, certain people decided we no longer needed our own station and moved it to Boone (or more appropriately, Appalachian State Town), although still licensed to Blowing Rock. It is now used to feed an FM translator playing new music.

 

[Kelly A]

I never thought I would see a station in my hometown mentioned on here. I didn't listen that much, but I was glad to have a station that served the town I lived in. Eventually, certain people decided we no longer needed our own station and moved it to Boone (or more appropriately, Appalachian State Town), although still licensed to Blowing Rock. It is now used to feed an FM translator playing new music.

Another example of a community that takes pride in having their own local radio station, but where the rubber meets the road, won't help support it financially.

 

[BarryATL]

WFVR was promoted as Florida Vacation Radio. I don't remember the frequency, but the station modified the directional pattern of the AM to be a long north/south lobe on I-75. In the late 80s I drove to FL from Atlanta about once a month and would hear it. The station had a good signal that was listenable for about an hour on I-75.

 

[SomeRadioGuy]

WFVR was promoted as Florida Vacation Radio. I don't remember the frequency, but the station modified the directional pattern of the AM to be a long north/south lobe on I-75. In the late 80s I drove to FL from Atlanta about once a month and would hear it. The station had a good signal that was listenable for about an hour on I-75.

And at one time, the 1480 in this persons original post was owned by the same folks who had 910 WFVR..

so is 1680 orlando that was once WTIR... and the 1300 near melbourne too, was once owned by them and was called WTIR

 

[The Beat]

I remember they had a Travelers Info Radio in Norfolk when I was there. Sounded like one big spot break.