WSM-FM was a commercial radio station that was operated by The National Life and Accident Insurance Company in Nashville, Tennessee, United States, beginning on March 1, 1941. Under its original call sign of W47NV, it was described at the time as the first fully licensed commercial FM station in the nation. However, after ten years of financial losses, the station ceased operations on March 15, 1951. History At the time WSM-FM, then W47NV, made its debut broadcast its owner, the National Life and Accident Insurance Company, already had extensive broadcasting experience, beginning with AM station WSM, which it founded in 1925. In addition, the new FM station was in large part the successor to a non-commercial, experimental, high-fidelity AM "Apex" station, W4XA, which operated for two years beginning in 1939. In 1940 the Federal Communications Commission announced the establishment, effective January 1, 1941, of an FM band operating on 40 channels spanning 42–50 MHz. (In 1946 this was changed to 88–106 MHz, and still later to 88–108 MHz, which increased the number of channels to 100.) WSM staff had already expressed interest in establishing an FM station. With the support of National Life head Edwin Wilson Craig, chief engineer John DeWitt, Jr. spearheaded the new station's construction, which was sped by local engineers fabricating some parts that were not yet available from established manufacturers. The station was issued the callsign W47NV and assigned to transmit on 44.7 MHz. It began broadcasting on a regular schedule on March 1, 1941, and was reported to be the first commercial FM to become fully licensed: although a few FM stations had begun broadcasting earlier, they were operating under experimental or "Special Temporary Authorizations" and had not yet been granted operating licenses. At its start the station operated on a regular weekly schedule totaling 70 hours, with broadcasts from 1 to 11 p.m. weekdays and 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sundays. Programming was generally separate from the AM station and showcased classical music. W47NV's first commercial program—the first ever by an FM station—was sponsored by the Standard Candy Co. of Nashville. Effective November 1, 1943, the FCC modified its policy for FM station call letters, and the call sign was changed to WSM-FM. In 1946, as part of a transfer of stations to the new FM band, WSM-FM was assigned to 100.1 MHz. Although some stations broadcast simultaneously on both their old and new