WRIV (1390 AM) is a radio station licensed to Riverhead, New York. Established in 1955, the station broadcasts an adult standards format to eastern Long Island.

WRIV
Broadcast areaEastern Long Island
Frequency1390 kHz
Branding1390 WRIV
Programming
FormatAdult standards
AffiliationsABC News Radio
Ownership
OwnerCrystal Coast Communications
History
First air date
June 19, 1955; 69 years ago (1955-06-19)
Call sign meaning
Riverhead
Technical information[1]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID14647
ClassD
Power
Transmitter coordinates
40°54′55″N 72°39′28″W / 40.91528°N 72.65778°W / 40.91528; -72.65778
Links
Public license information
WebcastListen Live
Websitewww.1390wriv.com

The station, which has been owned since 1987 by Crystal Coast Communications, has daytime power of 1,000 watts and 64 watts at night.[2]

History

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WRIV studios in Downtown Riverhead

The station, then owned by the Suffolk Broadcasting Corporation, went on the air on June 19, 1955, as a sister station to co-owned WALK and WALK-FM radio in Patchogue, New York. Its first studio at 29 East Main Street burned within six months in what is listed by the Riverhead Fire Department as one of the worst fires in the town's history.[3]

In 1963, WRIV, along with WALK and WALK-FM, was sold to Island Broadcasting System. Island Broadcasting was owned in part by NBC News anchorman Chet Huntley.[4] In 1965, WRIV applied for a television license for Channel 55.[5] WRIV-TV held a construction permit for the station until the early 1970s. The Channel 55 allocation was dormant until WLIG-TV went on the air in 1985; today Channel 55 is known as WLNY-TV and is owned by CBS.

WRIV was sold again in 1981 to East End Communications and became sister station to now defunct WGLI 1290 in Babylon, New York[6] before being sold to its current owners.

Some former personalities on the station include: Ted Brown (following the demise of WNEW) and former WALK morning personality Bob Klein.[7]

WRIV is the only commercial AM radio station in the five east-end towns of Long Island. It maintains an adult standards full-service radio format and has local personalities. The station is an affiliate of the ABC Information Network.

References

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  1. ^ "Facility Technical Data for WRIV". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  2. ^ "WRIV-AM Radio Station Information". Radio-Locator.
  3. ^ "Local Radio Station Now One Year Old" (PDF). The East Hampton Star. East Hampton New York. June 28, 1956. Retrieved December 4, 2015.
  4. ^ "Peconic Resident Buys Macy Radio Stations" (PDF). The Long Island Traveler Mattituck Watchman. Southold New York. November 7, 1963. Retrieved February 21, 2016.
  5. ^ "Application Is Filed For R'head TV Station" (PDF). The Long Island Advance. Patchogue New York. August 12, 1965. Retrieved June 12, 2016.
  6. ^ "WRIV will be sold to East End Communications, Inc" (PDF). Suffolk County News. Sayville New York. September 4, 1980. Retrieved January 10, 2018.
  7. ^ "Radio personality Bob Klein dies at 92". News 12 Long Island. September 21, 2014. Archived from the original on March 9, 2016.

Further reading

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