Station WSAP-AM(1040 AM) is rumored to be the first FCC license granted after Pearl Harbor. At the time, Portsmouth was the largest city in Virginia without its own radio station. WSAP-FM came about in the late 40s but did not last very long as most did not have FM radios at the time. Televangelist Pat Robertson signed it back on the air in 1962 as WXRI-FM. It broadcast a Christian music and teaching format until Robertson sold it in 1989, (courtesy of Faded Signals)
Radio broadcasting began in Portsmouth
October 5, 1943
Station WSAP-AM(1040 AM) is rumored to be the first FCC license granted after Pearl Harbor. At the time, Portsmouth was the largest city in Virginia without its own radio station. WSAP-FM came about in the late 40s but did not last very long as most did not have FM radios at the time. Televangelist Pat Robertson signed it back on the air in 1962 as WXRI-FM. It broadcast a Christian music and teaching format until Robertson sold it in 1989, (courtesy of Faded Signals)