WKAT (AM) explained

WKAT
City:Miami, Florida
Area:Miami area
Branding:Vida 101.9 FM / 1450 AM
Airdate:1947
Frequency:1450 kHz
Translator:W270CV (101.9 MHz, Miami)
Format:Spanish Christian radio
Power:1,000 watts
Class:C
Facility Id:43034
Coordinates:25.8394°N -80.1897°W
Former Callsigns:WWPB (1947–1956)[1]
WSKP (1956–1966)
WOCN (1966–2019)
Owner:Nelson Voltaire
Licensee:Radio Piment Bouk, Inc.
Sister Stations:WQVN
Website:RadioVidaMiami.com
Licensing Authority:FCC

WKAT (1450 AM, "Radio Vida") is a radio station broadcasting a Spanish-language Christian radio format, known as "Radio Vida." Licensed to Miami, Florida, the station is owned by Nelson Volatire, through licensee Radio Piment Book, Inc.[2]

WKAT broadcasts at 1,000 watts using a non-directional antenna. The transmitter is off NE 71st Street in Miami.[3] Programming is also heard on FM translator W270CV at 101.9 MHz, with its tower on SE 2nd Street at Biscayne Boulevard.[4]

History

In 1947, the station first signed on the air.[5] Its original call sign was WWPB and it was powered at only 250 watts. The call letters were chosen to represent its owner and general manager, Paul Brake. The following year, Brake put an FM station on the air, 101.5 WWPB-FM (today WLYF).

Around 2000, the station, known as WOCN, switched to Spanish-language programming. It was branded as "WOCN Radio 1450," broadcasting a talk radio format. It was a brokered programming station which sold its time to hosts who then sold their own advertisements to support their shows. The station was known in the Cuban-American community for its leftist commentators.[6] It later switched to a sports radio format, using programming from the ESPN Deportes network.

Its call sign was changed to WKAT on September 16, 2019.[7] The WKAT call letters were popular in Miami for many years on 1360 AM, which was a long-time English-language talk station that had been an early stopping point for broadcaster Larry King and others. That station is now WQVN, broadcasting to the Haitian community.

External links

Notes and References

  1. https://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/getimportletter_exh.cgi?import_letter_id=65971 History Cards for WKAT
  2. Web site: WKAT Facility Record . United States Federal Communications Commission, audio division .
  3. https://radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/finder?sr=Y&s=C&call=Wkat&nav=home Radio-Locator.com/WKAT
  4. https://radio-locator.com/info/W270CV-FX Radio-Locator.com/W270CV
  5. https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC-YB/1950/RADIO%20&%20TV%20ALL%20YB%201950%20B&W-11.pdf Information
  6. News: WOCN-AM SOLD FOR $6 MILLION. July 29, 2006. Miami Herald.
  7. https://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/pubacc/prod/call_hist.pl?Facility_id=43034&Callsign=WKAT43034 Call Sign History