| WLVL | |
| City: | Lockport, New York |
| Area: | Buffalo-Niagara Falls |
| Branding: | Hometown 1340 AM - 105.3 FM |
| Frequency: | 1340 kHz |
| Airdate: | May 20, 1949 (first license granted) |
| Format: | News Talk Information |
| Power: | 1,000 watts |
| Class: | C |
| Facility Id: | 14714 |
| Coordinates: | 43.175°N -78.7108°W |
| Callsign Meaning: | LoVe Lockport[1] |
| Former Callsigns: | WUSJ (1949–1975) |
| Owner: | Bill Yuhnke |
| Licensee: | Kenmore Broadcasting Communications, Inc. |
| Sister Stations: | WEBR |
| Webcast: | WLVL Webstream |
| Website: | wlvl.com |
| Affiliations: | Fox News Radio Fox Sports Radio Premiere Networks Niagara Power |
| Licensing Authority: | FCC |
WLVL (1340 AM) is a radio station broadcasting a News Talk Information format. Licensed to Lockport, New York, United States, the station serves the Buffalo-Niagara Falls area. The station is currently owned by Bill Yuhnke, who also owns WEBR in Niagara Falls.[2] [3]
From at least 1936 until 1948, the 1340 frequency on the Niagara Frontier was occupied by the original WEBR, which moved down the dial to 970 (now WDCZ) in 1948.[4] WLVL went on the air in 1949 as WUSJ, owned by the Lockport Union-Sun and Journal, Inc., the local newspaper that owned it until 1970. The station was sold to Hall Communications in 1970 and became WLVL in 1975.
For most of the 21st century, WLVL was owned by Dick Greene, through his holding company Culver Communications. In September 2022, WLVL owner Dick Greene announced his retirement and the sale of the station to Bill Yuhnke, who owns WEBR and Liberty Yellow Cab, a taxicab service in the Buffalo region. Yuhnke plans no changes to the station's format or staff.[5] [6] Yuhnke's purchase of WLVL closed on January 20, 2023, at a price of $375,000.[7]
WLVL offers a morning drive time talk show hosted by John Maser with Hank Nevins (a frequent on-again off-again contributor to WLVL over the decades) as newsman, a tradio program, a "Dial-a-Deal" program in which listeners can buy gift certificates at discount prices, and a weekly sports talk program devoted to Niagara County sports teams. The station is affiliated with Premiere Networks, carrying the Glenn Beck Program, The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show, The Sean Hannity Show and Fox Sports Radio; it also carries affiliations with Fox News Radio, The Ramsey Show, Doug Stephan and Bill O'Reilly.
Sports on WLVL include the Niagara Power collegiate summer baseball squad and local high school sports. It is an affiliate of the New York Yankees Radio Network.