WTNT (730
AM) is a Spanish
hit
Hit means to strike someone or something.
Hit or HIT may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities
* Hit, a fictional character from '' Dragon Ball Super''
* Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization ...
s
radio station
Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radi ...
licensed to
Alexandria, Virginia
Alexandria is an independent city in the northern region of the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of downtown Washington, D.C.
In 2020, the population was 159,467. ...
and serving the
Washington metro area. WTNT is owned and operated by Metro Radio.
730 kHz is a Canadian and Mexican
clear-channel
A clear-channel station is an AM radio station in North America that has the highest protection from interference from other stations, particularly concerning night-time skywave propagation. The system exists to ensure the viability of cross-cou ...
frequency.
The station flipped formats to a Spanish music and talk format dubbed "La Capital" on December 1, 2013.
History
WTNT signed on as WPIK December 10, 1945. For many years this station operated as the AM side to country station
WXRA 105.9 FM, and for another period as WPKX "Kix Country." For a time 730 simulcast 105.9's next incarnation, classic rock, as WCXR. For a short while in the mid-1980s, the station featured a soul oldies format. It was also WRMR with a nostalgia format for a very short while (not to be confused with the
Cleveland
Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
,
Ohio
Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
market
WRMR). In 1987, it took the call letters WCPT, and became WBZS in May 1995.
The station was owned by Metropolitan Broadcasting until 1989,
Westinghouse Broadcasting
The Westinghouse Broadcasting Company, also known as Group W, was the broadcasting division of Westinghouse Electric Corporation. It owned several radio and television stations across the United States and distributed television shows for syndicat ...
from 1989 to 1993, and
Viacom from 1993 to 1997. In July 1990, WCPT adopted a simulcast of
CNN Headline News. From May 1995 to April 1999, WBZS offered a business news brokered financial advice format.
Then, Mega Communications bought the station and installed a Mexican/tropical music format as "Radio Capital." The call letters changed again in October 2000 to WKDL, call letters that were previously held on what is currently
WBQH
WBQH (1050 AM) is a Radio broadcasting station in the Washington, D.C. region, licensed to Silver Spring, Maryland. It broadcasts a Regional Mexican format.
History
The station signed on December 7, 1946 as WGAY, airing a beautiful music ...
. This format, along with its FM sisters, lasted until the launch of "Triple X" in July 2006. The WXTR calls were installed at this point; the call letters were used in the past on different stations in the Washington area on two different stations (at
104.1 FM and
820 AM
8 (eight) is the natural number following 7 and preceding 9.
In mathematics
8 is:
* a composite number, its proper divisors being , , and . It is twice 4 or four times 2.
* a power of two, being 2 (two cubed), and is the first number of t ...
).
In addition, Red Zebra planned to acquire WGYS 103.9 FM in
Braddock Heights, Maryland
Braddock Heights is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Frederick County, Maryland, United States. The population was 2,608 at the 2010 census. The local ZIP codes are 21714 (post office boxes only) and 21703.
...
and
WGMS 104.1 FM in
Waldorf, Maryland
Waldorf is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Charles County, Maryland, United States. Located south-southeast of Washington, D.C., Waldorf is part of the Southern Maryland region. It is an urban area, with a popul ...
via a recent acquisition with Bonneville International, but called the deal off weeks later.
Media Web sit
DCRTV.comfirst reported on July 24, 2010 that WXTR had dropped the Spanish
Sports Radio
Sports radio (or sports talk radio) is a radio format devoted entirely to discussion and broadcasting of sporting events. A widespread programming genre that has a narrow audience appeal, sports radio is characterized by an often- boisterous on ...
programming of
ESPN Deportes Radio
ESPN Deportes Radio was an American Spanish language sports radio network created and produced by Disney-owned ESPN. Programming included call-in talk shows and commentary from hosts about a full range of sporting events, including soccer, Amer ...
and switched to a "pop and soul oldies" format, calling itself "Non-Stop Classic Hits, XTRA-AM". WXTR would quickly pick
ESPN Deportes Radio
ESPN Deportes Radio was an American Spanish language sports radio network created and produced by Disney-owned ESPN. Programming included call-in talk shows and commentary from hosts about a full range of sporting events, including soccer, Amer ...
days later. DCRTV.com would again report that on October 9, 2010 that WXTR would drop Spanish Sports Radio for Oldies. WXTR's Spanish radio website and webstream was down as of October 13, 2010. The web site Radio Business Report reported the flip, quoting a station exec as saying the station would fill "a void in the marketplace". WXTR also revived the "XTRA Oldies" nickname, which was used on the FM dial at the
104.1 FM facility. For the short amount of time the format was carried, it was the only AM station broadcasting English-language music on a full-time basis in the Washington D.C./Baltimore area. However, this change lasted only several days, as Red Zebra announced that WXTR would be sold off to Metro Radio that October 18. The WTNT call letters were moved from the 570 kHz facility, which changed to the
WSPZ call letters, and picked up WTNT's previous conservative talk format, which was dropped for sports/talk in early September.
WTNT must power down to 25 watts at night in order to protect
clear-channel
A clear-channel station is an AM radio station in North America that has the highest protection from interference from other stations, particularly concerning night-time skywave propagation. The system exists to ensure the viability of cross-cou ...
CKAC in
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...
, rendering it all but unlistenable at night. In 2006, while it was still WXTR under Snyder's ownership, it sought to boost its power to 28,000 watts in the daytime and 20,000 watts in the night hours. The power boost would have given WXTR coverage comparable to the other major AM stations in the capital.
On December 1, 2013 WTNT changed their format from talk to Spanish AC, branded as "La Capital".
Translator
In addition to the main station, WTNT has one
FM translator
A broadcast relay station, also known as a satellite station, relay transmitter, broadcast translator (U.S.), re-broadcaster (Canada), repeater (two-way radio) or complementary station (Mexico), is a broadcast transmitter which repeats (or tra ...
to widen its broadcast area.
References
External links
*
{{Washington Radio
TNT (AM)
Spanish-language radio stations in the United States
Radio stations established in 1945
1945 establishments in Virginia
Westinghouse Broadcasting