WSKQ-FM
Encyclopedia
WSKQ-FM, known on-air as Mega 97.9, is a radio station in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

 owned by Spanish Broadcasting System
Spanish Broadcasting System
Spanish Broadcasting System, Inc. 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 its media products.SBS owns the internet portal LaMusica.com...

 (SBS). Currently located at 97.9 FM
FM broadcasting
FM broadcasting is a broadcasting technology pioneered by Edwin Howard Armstrong which uses frequency modulation to provide high-fidelity sound over broadcast radio. The term "FM band" describes the "frequency band in which FM is used for broadcasting"...

, the station has a tropical format, which consists of such musical styles as Bachata, salsa
Salsa music
Salsa music is a genre of music, generally defined as a modern style of playing Cuban Son, Son Montuno, and Guaracha with touches from other genres of music...

, merengue
Merengue music
Merengue is a type of music and dance from the Dominican Republic. It is popular in the Dominican Republic and all over Latin America. Its name is Spanish, taken from the name of the meringue, a dessert made from whipped egg whites and sugar...

, and Reggaeton
Reggaeton
Reggaeton is a form of Puerto Rican and Latin American urban and Caribbean music. After its mainstream exposure in 2004, it spread to North American, European and Asian audiences. Reggaeton originated in Puerto Rico but is also has roots from Reggae en Español from Panama and Puerto Rico and...

.

History

The 97.9 FM facility's heritage goes back to 1941, when the Muzak Corporation
Muzak
Muzak Holdings LLC is a company based in metro Fort Mill, South Carolina, United States, just outside of Charlotte, North Carolina. Founded in 1934, Muzak Holdings is best known for distribution of background music to retail stores and other companies....

 went on the air as W47NY at 44.7 MHz. The call letters changed to WGYN in 1943 and the frequency ended up at 97.9 on the FM band in 1947.

In 1952 the call letters became WEVD-FM. The station was owned by The Forward
The Forward
The Forward , commonly known as The Jewish Daily Forward, is a Jewish-American newspaper published in New York City. The publication began in 1897 as a Yiddish-language daily issued by dissidents from the Socialist Labor Party of Daniel DeLeon...

with brokered ethnic programming, Jewish programming, and some big band
Big band
A big band is a type of musical ensemble associated with jazz and the Swing Era typically consisting of rhythm, brass, and woodwind instruments totaling approximately twelve to twenty-five musicians...

 music.

Norman B. Furman was general manager of WEVD from 1968 to 1972.
He initiated a variety of programs to serve the many ethnic communities in New York.The call letters were announced as WEVD...."the station that speaks your language." These languages included Yiddish ,Hebrew ,Italian, Greek, Portuguese, German, Russian, Japanese and Irish, All serving their various communities.
The "Forward Hour"--the popular variety show was MC'd by Norman for many years.
He had a major role in developing and procuring the most popular of all Jewish jingles:" Joe and Paul a fargenigen......A suit, a coat kenst du krigen"

In October 1983 SBS brought the 620 AM frequency in Newark, New Jersey
Newark, New Jersey
Newark is the largest city in the American state of New Jersey, and the seat of Essex County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Newark had a population of 277,140, maintaining its status as the largest municipality in New Jersey. It is the 68th largest city in the U.S...

 and converted what had been jazz and easy listening
Easy listening
Easy listening is a broad style of popular music and radio format that emerged in the 1950s, evolving out of big band music, and related to MOR music as played on many AM radio stations. It encompasses the exotica, beautiful music, light music, lounge music, ambient music, and space age pop genres...

-formatted WVNJ into a Spanish adult contemporary music station with the callsign of WSKQ. Known on-air as Super KQ, the station was led by Rafael-Diaz Gutierrez, Raul Alarcon
Raúl Alarcón
Raúl Alarcón García is a Spanish professional road bicycle racer. He turned professional in 2007 with UCI ProTeam Saunier Duval-Prodir.- Palmares :* Vuelta a Cantabria - 2 stages...

(former DJ in Cuba), and Adriano Garcia Sr.(CEO of SAR Records
SAR Records
SAR Records was a record company founded by soul music legend Sam Cooke in 1961. The meaning of "SAR" has been disputed; it has been listed as "Sam & Alex Records" and also as "Sam, Alex, & Roy Records" SAR Records was a record company founded by soul music legend Sam Cooke in 1961. The meaning of...

 and father of lead vocalist A.G.(Adriano Garcia Jr. of New York Hardcore
New York hardcore
New York hardcore refers to hardcore punk and metalcore music created in New York City and to the subculture associated with that music. New York hardcore grew out of the hardcore scene established in Washington, D.C., by bands such as Bad Brains and Minor Threat. Hardcore '81 is an album by the...

 band Against The Grain
Against the Grain
- Broadcast media :*Against the Grain , 1993 NBC drama series with Ben Affleck*Against the Grain , an interview program on Pacifica Radio station KPFA, Berkeley, hosted by C.S...

). WSKQ would become the New York market's third full-time Spanish station at that time, after WADO
WADO
WADO is a radio station on 1280 AM. WADO serves New York City and is owned by Univision. The station carries a Spanish language News and Talk format. Its transmitters are located in Carlstadt, New Jersey.- Early programming :...

 and WJIT (now WZRC
WZRC
WZRC, on 1480 kHz, is a radio station owned by Multicultural Radio Broadcasting, Inc. and serves the New York City area by running Cantonese program.-Formation and the early years:...

).

In 1988, SBS negotiated a deal that would enable them to acquire the 97.9 FM frequency that was occupied by ethnic WEVD. SBS had acquired the 1050 AM frequency in October 1988, as the frequency's previous occupants, WFAN
WFAN
WFAN , also known as "Sports Radio 66" or "The FAN", is a radio station in New York City. The station broadcasts on a clear channel and is owned by CBS Radio...

 had just replaced WNBC
WNBC (AM)
WNBC was a radio station that operated in New York City from 1922 to 1988. For most of its history, it was the flagship station of the NBC Radio Network...

 on the 660 AM frequency. Since it was illegal in 1988 for the same company to own two AM stations in a market, there was a problem in regards to what to do with the 1050 frequency. To solve this problem, the FCC
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...

 allowed SBS to operate the 1050 frequency as a non-commercial station. The call letters would be WUKQ, and would play Spanish adult contemporary music without commercial interruptions, while 620 AM would become a Spanish oldies station. Finally, on February 1, 1989, the deal between SBS and WEVD closed, and SBS instituted a Spanish music format with the call letters WSKQ-FM on 97.9 FM, while WEVD moved to 1050 AM.

The Spanish oldies music format on 620 AM would remain for several years after the deal, and in 1995, that station would take on a tejano
Tejano
Tejano or Texano is a term used to identify a Texan of Mexican heritage.Historically, the Spanish term Tejano has been used to identify different groups of people...

 format as WXLX. A couple of years later, SBS would sell the station to One-on-One Sports (now Sporting News Radio
The Sporting News
Sporting News is an American-based sports magazine. It was established in 1886, and it became the dominant American publication covering baseball — so much so that it acquired the nickname "The Bible of Baseball"...

), and it would become a sports-talk station.

As for WSKQ-FM, the Spanish adult contemporary format would initially obtained mediocre ratings. Then in 1993, with the hiring of Vice President and General Manager Alfredo Alonso the station moved to an upbeat tropical format playing a lot of salsa, merengue, and dance music using the name MEGA 97.9. At that point the station would flourish; as of 2005, it is one of the highest rated radio stations in New York City. In fact, its morning show, the syndicated El Vacilón de la Mañana
El Vacilón de la Mañana
El Vacilón de la Mañana is New York City's top Spanish language morning radio show. It is broadcast from La Mega and it is syndicated live to a number of different markets in the US such as Providence, Rhode Island; Miami and Orlando, Florida; Atlanta, Georgia; Hartford, Connecticut; and Puerto...

, has sometimes reached number one out of all morning shows in New York.The shows, such as El Vacilon and its Sunday night programs "On Fuego: The Daddy Yankee Show" and TRL Latino are syndicated by CBS Radio
CBS Radio
CBS Radio, Inc., formerly known as Infinity Broadcasting Corporation, is one of the largest owners and operators of radio stations in the United States, third behind main rival Clear Channel Communications and Cumulus Media. CBS Radio owns around 130 radio stations across the country...

 and ABC Radio Networks.

The Spanish adult contemporary format would be resurrected in January 1996, when SBS would acquire WPAT-FM
WPAT-FM
WPAT-FM, known on-air as "93.1 Amor", is a radio station with a Spanish-language Rhythmic AC format. Located on 93.1 FM, the station, which is licensed to Paterson, New Jersey, serves the New York City Metropolitan area.-History:...

's license and transmitter.

External links


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