WGVU’s broadcast stations are licensed to Grand Valley State University as public radio and television facilities operating from the Meijer Public Broadcast Center, as part of the University's downtown Grand Rapids campus.
Our television stations are affiliated with PBS (Public Broadcasting Service) and the radio stations are affiliated with NPR (National Public Radio).
The first television station, WGVC-TV 35, signed on the air on December 17, 1972. In 1984, our Kalamazoo station, WGVK-TV, Channel 52, began operation. In 1987, the call letters of channel 35 were converted to WGVU-TV, reflecting Grand Valley State College's transformation to Grand Valley State University.
WGVU-FM 88.5 began broadcasting on July 17, 1983 and expanded its power to 3,000 watts on December 17, 1987. WGVU-AM 1480 began simulcast transmissions on May 22, 1992, and stations WGVS-AM 850 in Muskegon and WGVS-FM 95.3 in Whitehall came on-board in 1999. On August 24, 2009, WGVU 1480 AM and WGVS 850 AM became Real Oldies, offering music from the 50s, 60s and early 70s to west Michigan.
We are licensed in the Grand Rapids-Kalamazoo-Battle Creek designated broadcast market. It is the 38th largest market in the United States, reaching over 2.4 million television viewers in 28 counties and over 1.3 million radio listeners from Grand Rapids to the Lakeshore.