WPYO (95.3 FM), is a

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 radio ...

licensed to

Maitland, Florida Maitland is a suburban city in Orange County, Florida, United States, part of the Greater Orlando area. The population was 19,543 at the 2020 census. The area's history is exhibited at the Maitland Historical Museum; the city also hosts the Mai ...

. The station airs a Spanish contemporary hits format, and is branded as "El Zol 95.3.” Owned by

Spanish Broadcasting System Spanish Broadcasting System, Inc. (SBS) is one of the largest owners and operators of radio stations in the United States. SBS is also invested in television and internet properties, deriving the majority of its income from advertising through i ...

, it serves the

Greater Orlando The Orlando metropolitan area, commonly referred to as Greater Orlando, Metro Orlando, Central Florida as well as for U.S. Census purposes as the Orlando–Kissimmee–Sanford, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area, is a metropolitan area in the ...

area. The station's transmitter is located in Pine Hills.

History

Prior to

Cox Enterprises Cox Enterprises, Inc. is a privately held global conglomerate headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, with approximately 55,000 employees and $21 billion in total revenue. Its major operating subsidiaries are Cox Communications and Co ...

buying the station in 1999, the station was WTLN-FM, a contemporary Christian outlet. But after the sale that same year, on January 15, it flipped to

Dance Top 40 Dance radio is a format that consists of current and recent dance and electronic music. While the format is popular in Europe and Asia, it has yet to make an impact in North America, although there are several top 40 and rhythmic radio stations ...

as ''95.3 Party'', and became a success in the market with its mix of dance and hip-hop music. By 2004, the station had shifted to a hip-hop-driven direction, and rebranded as

rhythmic contemporary Rhythmic contemporary, also known as Rhythmic Top 40, Rhythmic CHR or rhythmic crossover, is a primarily American music-radio format that includes a mix of EDM, upbeat rhythmic pop, hip hop and upbeat R&B hits. Rhythmic contemporary never uses ...

''Power 95.3'', restoring the format to Orlando since the flip of WJHM (now WQMP) to

urban contemporary Urban contemporary music, also known as urban music, hip hop, urban pop, or just simply urban, is a music radio format. The term was coined by New York radio DJ Frankie Crocker in the early to mid-1970s as a synonym for Black music. Urban contem ...

in the 1990s (WJHM returned to Rhythmic in 2012, but changed to CHR in 2014). On April 27, 2018, WPYO flipped to CHR, maintaining the ''Power'' branding and some of its airstaff. The change came in response to WQMP's recent flip to

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

, which briefly gave

WXXL WXXL (106.7 FM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Tavares, Florida, and serving the Greater Orlando - Central Florida radio market. The station airs a Top 40/CHR radio format and is owned by iHeartMedia. The studios and offices on Maitla ...

a monopoly in the format within the Orlando market. In 2019, Cox Media Group transferred WPYO, along with

Tampa Bay Tampa Bay is a large natural harbor and shallow estuary connected to the Gulf of Mexico on the west-central coast of Florida, comprising Hillsborough Bay, McKay Bay, Old Tampa Bay, Middle Tampa Bay, and Lower Tampa Bay. The largest freshwater in ...

sister station WSUN, to CXR Radio, LLC, a divestiture trust run by Elliot B. Evers. The transfer followed the sale of the remainder of Cox Media Group from Cox Enterprises to

Apollo Global Management Apollo Global Management, Inc. is an American global private-equity firm. It provides investment management and invests in credit, private equity, and real assets. As of March 31, 2022, the company had $512 billion of assets under management, ...

; Cox had owned five FM stations in Orlando, one over the FCC limit of four, and the sale eliminated this

grandfathered A grandfather clause, also known as grandfather policy, grandfathering, or grandfathered in, is a provision in which an old rule continues to apply to some existing situations while a new rule will apply to all future cases. Those exempt from t ...

status. On February 9, 2022,

(SBS) announced it would purchase WPYO and WSUN from CXR Radio for $12.5 million. The deal marks SBS’ entry into both markets. A version of the ''Power'' format without on-air personalities moved to one of

WCFB WCFB (94.5 MHz) is a commercial FM radio station licensed to Daytona Beach, Florida, serving the Greater Orlando area. WCFB is owned by Cox Radio and airs an urban adult contemporary radio format. Its studios and offices are located on North Jo ...

's HD Radio subchannels, running as a commercial-free stream through the station's former app and website under the rebranded name "Power Orlando". The flip left

as the only CHR station remaining in the Orlando-Winter Haven market until country station WOTW flipped to rhythmic contemporary as WFYY in August 2022. On the station's final day as "Power", the station paid tribute to the run of "Power" and "Party" with an all-day live broadcast from 5:30 a.m. to midnight deemed "The Last Damn Show", where longtime listeners and former DJs dating back to the days of "Party" called in the station to give their personal station memories and give their own final farewell; in addition, the station would give a final run-through of their playlist, playing music through the day from each era of the station (from the dance music of "Party" to the hip-hop and pop music of "Power"). At midnight on April 1, 2022, after the entire airstaff gave one final goodbye before playing " Raise The Roof" by

Uncle Luke Luther Roderick Campbell (born December 22, 1960), also known as Luke Skyywalker, Uncle Luke and simply Luke, is an American rapper, promoter, record executive, actor, and former leader of the rap group 2 Live Crew. He also starred in a short- ...

(the first song that played on the station when it launched as "Party”; this was immediately followed by a final

station identification Station identification (ident, network ID or channel ID or bumper) is the practice of radio and television stations and broadcast network, networks identifying themselves on-air, typically by means of a call sign or brand name (sometimes known, ...

and the playing of a final bumper for "Party" and one for "Power", which would fade out on an echo effect, followed by a moment of silence), the station flipped to a temporary simulcast of former sister station WDBO. On April 29, 2022, SBS officially closed on their purchase of WPYO; around 9:00 a.m. that day, the station began stunting with a loop of songs featured in their new Spanish contemporary hits format, which debuted May 9 at 6:00 a.m. local time as "El Zol 95.3," with “ El Incomprendido” by

Farruko Carlos Efrén Reyes Rosado (born May 2, 1991), better known by his stage name Farruko, is a retired Puerto Rican singer and rapper. He rose to fame collaborating with Daddy Yankee, J Balvin, Don Omar, and J Álvarez. He came to prominence in 201 ...

being the first song played.

References

External links

PYO ''Pyo'' ( my, ပျို့) is a Burmese form of poetry and was a major Burmese verse form from the 1600s to 1700s. The earliest surviving poetic literature found in the Burmese language dates from between 1450 and 1550, and is largely in the f ...

Radio stations established in 1968 1968 establishments in Florida Spanish-language radio stations in Florida Contemporary hit radio stations in the United States {{Florida-radio-station-stub