WJVT (102.5 FM) is a radio station licensed to Jay, Vermont. Owned by Champlain Valley Border Radio, LLC and operated by Rogers Radio, a division of Canadian broadcaster Rogers Sports & Media, it broadcasts an active rock format branded as 102.5 Rock. Although officially licensed to a community in the United States, with it's transmitter located on Big Jay mountain on the border of Franklin and Orleans counties in Vermont, the station primarily targets the larger neighboring Canadian market of Montreal, Quebec (where Rogers owns CIMQ-FM, CHYO-FM, CKSN and CJKQ-FM), with studios in the Rogers Building at the corner of McGill College Avenue and Cathcart Street in Downtown Montreal, and is a member of Nielsen BDS' Canadian Border Stations Airplay panel.
WJVT's major English-language competitor is CHOM-FM (97.7 FM), owned by Bell Media Radio. In the Champlain Valley, it competes with WWMP (103.3 FM).
History[]
WJVT first signed on August 9, 1979 as Cumberland Head, New York-licensed WDEX-FM, a FM repeater for WDEV in Waterbury, Vermont that had a North Country focus. In 1985, the station went silent. In 1990, the Champlain Valley Radio Corporation (partially co-owned by Canadian broadcaster Allan Slaight) returned WDEX-FM to the air as WIMQ-FM, now licensed to Jay, Vermont and airing an English-language adult contemporary format targeted towards Montreal as 102-IMQ. In 1997, it flipped to a soft AC/AAA format as Shore 102.5. The final song played on 102-IMQ was "Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)" by Billy Joel, the first song played on Shore 102.5 was "Heaven or Las Vegas" by Cocteau Twins.
On November 1, 2002, WIMQ-FM began stunting with all-Christmas music. This lasted until January 2, 2003 when WIMQ-FM flipped to active rock and changed it's callsign to WJVT (the last song played under the Christmas format, "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" by Brenda Lee, acted as a hint to the new format).
In August 2018, WJVT added a Saturday evening classic rock/adult contemporary request show, The Friendly Side, hosted by "Friendly" Martin Berger from his home studio in New Tecumseth, Ontario and featuring him telling anecdotes regarding his career, as well as interviews with musicians, actors and various other people he has met throughout his career.
Ownership and management[]
For several years, WJVT was owned by a Plattsburgh, New York-based American subsidiary of Rogers, the Champlain Valley Radio Corporation. In 2010, it's ownership was transferred to Champlain Valley Border Radio LLC, a Delaware corporation that Rogers holds a minority stake in.
WJVT is also not subject to the CRTC's Canadian content requirements for music radio stations, however, they are required to legally identify themselves like any other American-licensed radio station per FCC rules.