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WOPI

Bristol, Tennessee United States
Frequency	1490 kHz
Branding	ESPN Tri-Cities
Programming
Format	Sports
Affiliations	ESPN Radio
Ownership
Owner	Glenwood Communications Corporation (Holston Valley Broadcasting Corporation)
Sister stations	WKPT, WKTP, WRZK, WTFM
History
First air date	1929
Call sign meaning	"Watch Our Popularity Increase"
Technical information
Licensing authority	FCC
Facility ID	31405
Class	C
Power	1,000 watts unlimited
Transmitter coordinates	36°35′45.0″N 82°9′42.0″W / 36.595833°N 82.161667°W / 36.595833; -82.161667
Translator(s)	98.1 W251CJ (Bristol)
Links
Public license information	Public file LMS
Webcast	Listen live
Website	espntricities.com

WOPI (1490 kHz) is a sports formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Bristol, Tennessee, United States. WOPI is owned and operated by Glenwood Communications Corporation though subsidiary Holston Valley Broadcasting Corporation.

History

WOPI signed on June 15, 1929 at State and 22nd Streets in Bristol, Tennessee, as the first radio station in the Tri-Cities. W.A. Wilson, former chief telegraph operator for Western Union's Bristol office, came up with the plan for a radio station when he spent several years selling and installing radios. His son James C. Wilson worked at WOPI and later bought the Tri-Cities' second-oldest radio station, Johnson City-based WJHL, and changed the calls to WJCW. An early show on the station was "WOPI Jamboree", which featured live country music. In the 1940s, WOPI and WKPT formed a network called "the Sister City Network" for broadcasting local information.

WOPI-FM signed on Christmas Day 1946 as the area's first FM station. It was sold to the owner of WKYE in the 1960s and is now WXBQ-FM.

In 1966, owner Tri-Cities Broadcasting Company successfully requested that the FCC have the station jointly licensed to Bristol, Tennessee and Bristol, Virginia. Wilson wanted to emphasize that the two Bristols were essentially a single community.

In 1990, WOPI was bankrupt and Joe Morrell bought the station. Morrell wanted to increase the amount of country music on the station, bringing it back to its roots. In 1991, WOPI joined the WKPT network. Glenwood Broadcasting, owner of WKPT, bought the station in 1996. For most of the time since 1991, WOPI has been a simulcast of WKPT, though it breaks off from the simulcast to air Tennessee High sports.

Translator

In addition to the main station, WOPI is relayed by an FM translator to widen its broadcast area.

References

1. ^ "History of WOPI-AM". Retrieved June 1, 2017.
2. "Facility Technical Data for WOPI". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
3. "Arbitron Station Information Profiles". Nielsen Audio/Nielsen Holdings. Retrieved January 23, 2014.
4. "WOPI Facility Record". Federal Communications Commission, audio division. Retrieved January 23, 2014.
5. "History Cards for WOPI". Federal Communications Commission. (Guide to reading History Cards)
6. "W251CJ Facility Record". Federal Communications Commission, audio division.

External links

• ESPN Tri-Cities Online
• Facility details for Facility ID 31405 (WOPI) in the FCC Licensing and Management System
• WOPI in Nielsen Audio's AM station database
• Facility details for Facility ID 27506 (W251CJ) in the FCC Licensing and Management System
• W251CJ at FCCdata.org

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• Radio stations in Tennessee
• Radio stations in Virginia
• Sports radio stations in the United States
• Radio stations established in 1929
• 1929 establishments in Tennessee
• 1929 establishments in Virginia
• ESPN Radio stations
• Tennessee radio station stubs