WHOV 88.1 streams jazz, gospel and urban contemporary music live from Hampton University in Hampton, Virginia, branded on air as Smooth 88.1 WHOV. You can stream it free right now on Radio Shuffle, wherever you are in the world.
From a Dormitory Carrier-Current Signal to Hampton's Own Voice
WHOV traces back to 1941, when Hampton Institute set up a carrier-current station so students interested in broadcasting could be heard in the campus dormitories, according to Wikipedia's history of the station. By 1950 that student project had earned the call letters WHOV and the nickname that still explains the name: Hampton's Own Voice. The FCC granted an FM permit at 88.3 MHz in April 1963, and the station began broadcasting in March 1964 running six hours a day with educational programming.
A Tower Collapse and a Hurricane
WHOV's history includes two real setbacks. In 1991, a truck caught one of the station's tower guy wires and brought it down, knocking WHOV off the air for roughly two months and leaving it at reduced power for two more after that. Just over a decade later, Hurricane Isabel damaged the station's transmitter facility in 2003, but the rebuild that followed left WHOV with new equipment and full 24-hour operation for the first time.
Finding Its Jazz Identity in 1984
The station didn't start as a jazz outlet. Through the 1970s it mixed jazz with soul and rock, added Spanish-language programming in 1980, and only sharpened its focus specifically to jazz in 1984. That format shift, later paired with weekend Hispanic and Caribbean specialty programming, set the direction WHOV still follows today as Smooth 88.1, pairing jazz with gospel and urban contemporary music for the Hampton Roads area.
A Training Ground With Real Alumni
Run largely by Hampton University students and community volunteers, WHOV has functioned for decades as a genuine broadcasting training ground rather than just a campus amenity. Notable alumni who passed through its studios include radio personality DJ Babey Drew and broadcaster Spencer Christian, a track record that helped the station earn a top-12 ranking among college radio stations from The Princeton Review in 2003.
Tune In
From a 1941 dormitory signal through a tower collapse, a hurricane, and a 1984 shift into jazz, WHOV has spent over eighty years as Hampton's own voice. Stream it free on Radio Shuffle to hear it live.