WFID (95.7 FM), branded on-air as Fidelity, is a radio station licensed to serve Río Piedras, Puerto Rico, established in 1958. As of 2015[update] it is owned by the Uno Radio Group, and the broadcast license held by Madifide, Inc.
| Broadcast area | San Juan, Puerto Rico |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 95.7 MHz |
| Branding | Fidelity |
| Programming | |
| Language(s) | Spanish and English |
| Format | Adult Contemporary |
| Affiliations | iHeartMedia (2020–present) |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| WUNO, WPRP, WORA, WCMN, WPRM, WIVA, WRIO, WTOK-FM, WCMN-FM, WMIO, WNEL | |
| History | |
First air date | November 17, 1958[1] |
Call sign meaning | Fidelity |
| Technical information[2] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 10063 |
| Class | B |
| ERP | 50,000 watts |
| HAAT | 857.0 meters (2,811.7 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 18°16′58″N 68°58′55″W / 18.28278°N 68.98194°W |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen live (via iHeartRadio) |
| Website | fidelitypr.com |
WFID broadcasts an Adult Contemporary music format.[3]
History
editWFID's predecessor was Fidelity Broadcasting Corporation. The founders, Rafael Acosta and his wife Victoria Suarez, made their first broadcast from their house with a 250W FM transmitter on November 17, 1958 before hiring others. It was Puerto Rico's third FM radio station (along with WIOB in Mayagüez and WKAQ-FM in San Juan).
Originally, WFID broadcast on 95.9 MHz, but this frequency was at that time catalogued as Class A, subject to power restrictions, so Acosta applied for a change to 95.7 MHz, class B, increased in 1962 to 12,500 watts. Acosta frequently travelled to the United States to stay up to date with technology, particularly the Gates transmitters and equipment. Acosta died in 1971, before FM became predominant. In 1962 it became the first FM radio station to broadcast in stereo in Puerto Rico and Latin America. After Acosta's death the station was managed by Suarez, known as Doña Vicky, and the Acostas' son José Julián and daughter Carola. In 1980 Beautiful Music Service began broadcasting music for businesses. In 1983 the recently acquired WUNO was turned into NotiUno, a newstalk radio station. As of 2015[update] the 50,000-watt WFID was owned and operated by Arso Radio Corporation under Jesús Soto, who had been a friend of Acosta's.
Carlos Montalbán, brother of Ricardo Montalbán was the principal announcer in the early 1970s. WFID was the first FM radio station to broadcast salsa in stereo, Saturday nights on their program "El Bailable Don Q". The program switched to Spanish ballads when the first salsa FM station came on the air. That radio station was Jesus Soto's WPRM-FM, SalSoul 98.
Satellites
edit| Callsign | Frequency | City of license | Broadcast Area | ERP | HAAT | First air date | Former callsigns | Licensee |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WFDT | 105.5 FM | Aguada | [1] | 31,000 watts | 560.0 meters (1,837.3 ft) | April 20, 1977 | WRFE (1977–1992) WNNV (1992–2000) |
Arso Radio Corporation |
| WZAR | 101.9 FM | Ponce | [2] | 31,000 watts | 789.0 meters (2,588.6 ft) | March 17, 1966 | WLEO-FM (1966–1979) | Uno Radio of Ponce, Inc. |
.jpg)
References
edit- ^ "The Facilities of Radio". 1979 Broadcasting Yearbook. Washington, D.C.: Broadcasting Publications, Inc. 1979. p. C-251.
- ^ "Facility Technical Data for WFID". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
- ^ "Station Information Profile". Arbitron.
External links
edit- Facility details for Facility ID 10063 (WFID) in the FCC Licensing and Management System
- WFID in Nielsen Audio's FM station database
- Facility details for Facility ID 3251 (WFDT) in the FCC Licensing and Management System
- WFDT in Nielsen Audio's FM station database
- Facility details for Facility ID 52946 (WZAR) in the FCC Licensing and Management System
- WZAR in Nielsen Audio's FM station database