WCLV
WCLV (104.9 FM) – branded WCLV Classical 104.9 – is a non-commercial educational classical radio station licensed to Lorain, Ohio. Owned by Ideastream, the station serves Greater Cleveland and parts of surrounding Northeast Ohio. The WCLV studios are located at Playhouse Square in Downtown Cleveland, while the station transmitter resides in the Cleveland suburb of Avon. Besides a standard analog transmission, WCLV broadcasts over a single HD Radio channel, and is available online.
History
WZLE
WCLV began on July 23, 1975 as WZLE under license to Lorain, Ohio. First owned by Gene Sens, WZLE's first studios were located in what was formerly a shoe store at the Sheffield Shopping Center. The station was programmed by Jeff Baxter; David Mark served as production voice (previously, Baxter was Jack Riley's radio partner at WERE in the 1960s; Mark was the promotional voice of many TV and radio stations around the world from the 1970s, something he would continue into the 21st century). By 1990, WZLE and AM station WRKG came under common ownership by Cincinnati broadcaster Vernon Baldwin, with studios in the historic Antlers Hotel in downtown Lorain. The WZLE format varied from pop standards to Christian contemporary, the latter being more successful. In late 1998, WZLE was sold off to Jacor Communications; Jacor itself was acquired by iHeartMedia (then Clear Channel Communications) the very next year.