WBTK License Canceled, Ending Nearly 100 Years Of Richmond Radio History

A nearly century old Richmond radio signal has reached the end of the road. The license for 1380 WBTK , most recently Spanish language Christian station Radio Poder, has been canceled. The station was owned by Mount Rich Media and operated with 5,000 watts just north of Richmond. The station’s history stretches back to 1927, making it one of Richmond’s oldest radio stations.

The station signed on as WMBG, founded by Richmond auto parts dealer Wilbur Havens, who spent about $500 building the original 10 watt station above his auto parts business. WMBG eventually became an NBC affiliate and grew into the foundation of a Richmond broadcasting empire. Havens added 98.1 WCOD in 1947, (today’s WTVR-FM), and launched Channel 6 (WTVR-TV) in 1948. In 1966, Havens sold the stations to Roy H. Park Communications.

The AM station eventually passed to Clear Channel, now iHeartMedia. Salem Communications purchased the station in 2001, changed the calls to WBTK and launched a Christian talk format. Mount Rich Media purchased WBTK from Salem for $1.5 million in 2006 and flipped 1380 to Spanish Christian programming.