WWDE-FM

WWDE-FM (101.3 MHz) is a commercial FM radio station licensed to Hampton, Virginia, serving the Norfolk/Hampton Roads media market. WWDE-FM airs an Adult Contemporary radio format, with a Country format on their HD2 subchannel. The station is owned and operated by Entercom Communications.[1]

WWDE-FM
CityHampton, Virginia
Broadcast areaHampton Roads
Frequency101.3 MHz (HD Radio)
BrandingHD1: 101-3 2WD
HD2: 101-3-2 The Vet
pronounced "101-3 Dash 2"
SloganHD1: The Best Variety of the 80's, 90's and Today
HD2: Hampton Roads' HD Country
Programming
FormatHD1: Adult Contempoary
HD2: Country
Ownership
OwnerEntercom Communications
(Entercom License, LLC)
WNVZ, WPTE, WVKL
History
First air date
June 1, 1962
Former call signs
WVHR
Technical information
Facility ID40753
ClassB
ERP50,000 Watts
HAAT152 Meters (499 ft)
Transmitter coordinates
36°49′41.0″N 76°15′5.0″W
Links
WebcastWWDE-FM Webstream
WWDE-HD2 Webstream
WebsiteWWDE-FM Online

WWDE-FM has studios and offices on Clearfield Avenue in Virginia Beach.[2] The transmitter is off East Indian River Road in Norfolk.[3]

WWDE-FM broadcasts in HD. The station calls itself "2WD" referring to the two Ws in its call letters, followed by a D and an E that can be pronounced as "DEE." WWDE-FM is one of two Hampton Roads FM radio stations to play all-Christmas music from mid-November to December 25, with the other being 107.7 WMOV-FM, owned by iHeartMedia. AM 1230 WJOI, owned by Saga Communications, also plays all-holiday music starting a couple of weeks before Christmas.

History
Original Logo used until April 2013.

The station first signed on the air on June 1, 1962 Owned by Dick Lamb, Larry Saunders and Gene Loving.[4] During the 1970s, it was co-owned with AM 1490 WVEC (now WXTG) and Channel 13 WVEC-TV. Its call letters were WVHR and it aired a middle of the road music format, sometimes simulcast with its AM sister station. Its longtime adult contemporary format started on July 31, 1978, with Lamb and sidekick Paul Richardson hosting the 2WD Breakfast Bunch until January 28, 2005. Both have moved to rival WVBW.[5]

On December 26, 2006, WWDE shifted to Soft Adult Contemporary, but retained the "2WD" moniker. On April 1, 2013, WWDE shifted back to Mainstream Adult Contemporary, and rebranded as "The New 101.3 2WD".[6]

In May 1987, a popular WWDE overnight DJ, Debbie Dicus was murdered in broad daylight while tending to her garden in a public park in Hampton. Her tragic murder is noted on a Forensic Files episode, "Garden of Evil."

References
  1. "WWDE Facility Record". Federal Communications Commission, audio division.
  2. http://www.2wd.com/contact-us
  3. http://radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/patg?id=WWDE-FM
  4. Broadcasting Yearbook 1977 page C-219
  5. http://www.vartv.com/media/wwde02.wma
  6. http://www.vartv.com/media/WWDE04.wma


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