WVKO (AM)

WVKO is an American AM radio station licensed to broadcast in Columbus, Ohio.

History

Previously, WVKO aired gospel music and local talk and information programs aimed at the African-American community prior to becoming a progressive talk format. It was also the broadcast outlet for the Columbus Clippers minor league baseball team. Prior to that WVKO was Columbus' R&B/Soul music station in the 1960s and 70s. FM sister station WSPO picked up WVKO programing into the evening hours, since the AM station held a daytime-only license at the time. WSPO later became WSNY "Sunny 95" in the 1980s playing light adult contemporary.

It was during the R&B/Soul years that WVKO employed Ted Williams as an overnight disc jockey. Williams gained fame in 2011 when, while homeless in Columbus, he was discovered by a videographer for the Columbus Dispatch and a video featuring his "golden radio voice" went viral on the Internet.

WVKO went off the air on May 5, 2006 due to the upcoming expiration of its transmitter land lease and major financial issues by its previous owner Stop 26 Riverbend which was based in Youngstown and owned the former WODB through its Associated Radio division. WODB is now WNND owned by Saga Communications. The station moved to another transmitter site in 2007, at which point it returned to the air.