WTIS

Last updated
WTIS
WTIS La Mega 101.1-1110 logo.jpg
Broadcast areaTampa Bay
Frequency 1110 kHz
BrandingLa Mega Tampa Bay
Programming
Format Spanish Contemporary hits
Ownership
Owner
  • George & Esperanza Arroyo
  • (Q-Broadcasting Corporation, Inc.)
WAMA
History
First air date
December 11, 1946 (1946-12-11)
Former call signs
WALT (1946–1970)
WQYK (1970–1976)
Call sign meaning
"Tampa Inspirational" (based on previous format)
Technical information
Facility ID 74088
Class D
Power 10,000 watts day
5,500 watts critical hours
Transmitter coordinates
27°55′06.00″N82°23′42.00″W / 27.9183333°N 82.3950000°W / 27.9183333; -82.3950000
Translator(s) 101.1 W266CW (Tampa)
Links
Webcast Listen Live
Website www.lamegatampa.com

WTIS (1110 AM) is a radio station. Licensed to Tampa, Florida, United States, it serves the Tampa Bay area. The station is currently owned by Esperanza Arroyo, through licensee Q-Broadcasting Corporation, Inc. They also broadcast on FM translator, W266CW 101.1 FM in Tampa. WTIS's AM transmitter and tower are co-located with its sister station, WAMA.

Contents

The AM frequency broadcasts during daytime hours only, to protect clear channel stations WBT in Charlotte, North Carolina and KFAB in Omaha, Nebraska.

History

W. Walter Tison applied on January 31, 1946, to build a new radio station in Tampa. The application was amended in April to specify the daytime-only frequency of 1110 kHz, and the Federal Communications Commission approved on July 18, provided Tison divested his interest in Tampa station WFLA. [1] WALT went on the air on December 11, 1946. [2] Tison would go on to found television station WTVT.

WALT was a pioneer Top 40 station in the Tampa area. In the 1960s, a weekly Sunday afternoon broadcast from Tampa Municipal Beach entitled Beach Party featured The Littlest DJ, Ricky Barone, later known as Richard Barone of The Bongos.

In 1970, Suncoast Radio, the owners of future WQYK-FM 99.5, bought WALT and relaunched it as a country music station, WQYK. The signal was simulcast with WQYK-FM until 1976, when the AM station was sold to a religious broadcaster and its call letters changed to WTIS. (The WALT callsign would later be reassigned to AM and FM stations in Meridian, Mississippi.)

In addition to its regular religious programming, WTIS aired The Debra Evans in the Morning Show, The Herman Cain Show, The Pete O'Shea Show and The Adam Smith Show.

On January 1, 2017, WTIS notified the Federal Communications Commission that it had suspended operations on December 31, 2016 because it had lost its lease to the transmitter site, located near the intersection of 50th Street and Causeway Boulevard in the Palm River-Clair Mel area of Hillsborough County. It requested authorization to remain off the air for six months while it searched for a new site. The authorization was granted on January 18, 2017. [3] The station has since been sold to Q Broadcasting Corporation, the owners of WAMA 1550 kHz. The station would return to the air with an oldies pop music format as "Timeless 1110 and 101.1", but would very soon flip to a Spanish-language Salsa and Merengue format, with an announcement that they would change to a more general Spanish-language format on April 30, 2018.

On April 30, 2018, WTIS flipped to Spanish Variety (Salsa, Merengue, Bachata, Spanish Pop and Rock).

George Arroyo passed away on October 25, 2022, leaving ownership of WTIS/W266CW to Ezperanza Arroyo. [4]

Related Research Articles

WBOB is a commercial AM radio station in Jacksonville, Florida. The station airs a talk radio format and is owned by Chesapeake-Portsmouth Broadcasting Corporation. Weekdays begin with a local news and information show, followed by mostly syndicated programming, including shows from Mark Levin, Mike Gallagher, Dennis Prager, Jay Sekulow and Red Eye Radio. Most hours begin with Townhall News. Some hours are paid brokered programming. The station calls itself "Talkradio AM 600 & FM 101.1 WBOB".

WUBG is a Spanish CHR station licensed to serve Methuen, Massachusetts. It has an FM translator, W287CW, at 105.3 MHz. The station is called "LatinX". The WUBG transmitter is located in Andover, while W287CW's transmitter is in Medford. The station is owned by Costa-Eagle Radio Ventures Limited Partnership—a partnership between Pat Costa and The Eagle-Tribune

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KFAB</span> Radio station in Omaha, Nebraska

KFAB is a commercial AM radio station in Omaha, Nebraska, with studios and offices on Underwood Avenue in Omaha. It broadcasts a news/talk format and is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WAMG</span> Radio station in Dedham–Boston, Massachusetts

WAMG is a radio station in the Boston market licensed to Dedham, Massachusetts. It is owned by Gois Broadcasting. It broadcasts in Spanish, and plays bachata, merengue, salsa and pop music. WLS in Chicago is the dominant station on 890 AM; WAMG must reduce power during the nighttime hours and uses a directional antenna to protect the nighttime skywave signal of WLS.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WWNL</span> Radio station in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

WWNL is a commercial radio station in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. It broadcasts a Christian talk and teaching radio format and is owned by Steel City Radio, Inc. Programming is supplied by the Wilkins Radio Network. WWNL features local and national religious leaders, including Charles Stanley, John MacArthur, David Jeremiah and Michael Youssef. WWNL is a brokered programming station, where hosts pay for time slots on WWNL and may seek donations to their ministries during their shows.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WDAE</span> Sports radio station in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States

WDAE is a commercial radio station licensed to St. Petersburg, Florida and serving the Tampa Bay area. It is owned by iHeartMedia and airs a sports radio format. WDAE is one of the oldest radio stations in Florida still broadcasting today, going on the air in 1922. The studios and offices are on West Gandy Boulevard in South Tampa. The transmitter site is located near the Gandy Bridge in St. Petersburg.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WRBQ-FM</span> Classic hits radio station in Tampa, Florida

WRBQ-FM is a commercial classic hits music formatted radio station in Tampa, Florida. Owned by Beasley Broadcast Group, its studios are in St. Petersburg while its transmitter is in Palm River-Clair Mel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WYUU</span> Radio station in Safety Harbor, Florida

WYUU is a radio station broadcasting from Safety Harbor, Florida and serving the Tampa/St. Petersburg, Florida area. The station airs a Latin Pop format branded as "Maxima FM." Owned by Beasley Broadcast Group, its studios are in St. Petersburg while its transmitter is in Seminole.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WQYK-FM</span> Country music radio station in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States

WQYK-FM is a commercial country music radio station in Tampa, Florida. It is under ownership of Beasley Broadcast Group. Its studios are in St. Petersburg while its transmitter is east of Palm River-Clair Mel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WHFS (AM)</span> Business news/talk radio station in Tampa, Florida

WHFS is a radio station in the Tampa, Florida, area, owned by Beasley Broadcast Group featuring The Dave Ramsey show, the Miller & Moulton Show, The Schnitt Show, and a daily show hosted by program director Kurt Schreiner, among other local and national programming. The station broadcasts at 50,000 watts during the day and 5,000 watts at night, directional towards the east and west to protect Jacksonville's WJXL by day, and New York City's WINS, Toronto's CFRB, and Calgary, Alberta's CBR at night. The station was assigned the WHFS call sign by the Federal Communications Commission on August 9, 2012. Its studios are in St. Petersburg while its transmitter is located east of Mango. WHFS broadcasts a business-oriented talk radio format simulcast from sister station WSBR in Boca Raton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WJFV</span> Radio station in Portsmouth, Virginia

WJFV is a commercial AM station licensed to Portsmouth, Virginia, and serving Hampton Roads. It broadcasts a conservative talk radio format and is owned by the Chesapeake-Portsmouth Broadcasting Corporation. The studios are on Brightwood Avenue in Richmond.

WXES is a daytimer Class D AM radio station in Chicago, Illinois. It is owned and operated by El Sembrador Ministries, as part of its ESNE Radio Spanish-language Catholic Radio network. It airs a mix of talk and teaching programs as well as Christian music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WAMA (AM)</span> Regional Mexican radio station in Tampa, Florida

WAMA is a radio station broadcasting a Regional Mexican format. Licensed to Tampa, Florida, United States, it serves the Tampa Bay area. The station is currently owned by George and Esperanza Arroyo, through licensee Q Broadcasting Corporation.

WJIS 88.1 FM, known on air as The JOY FM, is a Christian adult contemporary station serving North, Central and Southwest Florida, including the Sarasota/Bradenton and Tampa Bay areas, and is owned by the Radio Training Network.

WVJP-FM, branded on-air as Dimension 103, is a radio station broadcasting a Spanish Variety format. The music genres included in the station's programming are "merengue", "salsa", "bachata", "reggaeton", English-pop, pop-rock and "balada-pop".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WJAM</span> Radio station in Selma, Alabama

WJAM is a radio station licensed to serve Selma, Alabama, United States. Originally launched in 1946, the station is currently owned by Scott Communications, Inc., and the WJAM broadcast license is held by Scott Communications, Inc.

WPMZ is a radio station licensed to serve East Providence, Rhode Island, United States. The station is owned by Video Mundo Broadcasting Co., LLC. It airs a Spanish Tropical format. WPMZ is relayed on an FM translator: W271CR on 102.1 MHz. The station has been assigned the callsign WPMZ by the Federal Communications Commission since November 1, 1995.

WBYM is a radio station broadcasting a Contemporary Christian format. licensed to serve Bayamón, Puerto Rico, The station is owned by Pura Palabra Media Group. Now the station has a new, modern and more powerful transmitter to improve the power, the range of the signal and the quality of the sound. The station is shared with translator stations W268BK in San Juan and W251DA in Vega Baja.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WTCX</span> Radio station in Ripon, Wisconsin

WTCX is a radio station broadcasting a mainstream rock music format. Licensed to Ripon, Wisconsin, United States, the station is currently owned by Radio Plus, Inc. and features programming from CBS Radio Network, Westwood One, and Premiere Radio Networks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WSKQ-FM</span> Tropical music radio station in New York City

WSKQ-FM, known on-air as "La Mega 97.9", is a radio station licensed to New York City and is owned and operated by Spanish Broadcasting System (SBS). The station has a tropical format, which consists of such musical styles as salsa, merengue, bachata, and reggaeton. WSKQ-FM's transmitter is located at the Empire State Building.

References

  1. FCC History Cards for WTIS
  2. "New Radio Station". The Tampa Times. Tampa, Florida. December 11, 1946. p. 2. Retrieved April 19, 2022 via Newspapers.com.
  3. "FCC Notification of Suspension of Operations / Request for Silent STA". United States Federal Communications Commission, audio division.
  4. "George Arroyo: fallece un pionero de la radio hispana en Florida Central". Orlando Sentinel. 2022-10-27. Retrieved 2023-06-01.