Toca de To' changes calls to WTOK-FM

[Identnut]

I've just heard that Toca de To' 102.5 has changed its call letters from WIAC-FM to WTOK-FM.

While I do like the new callsign, it is weird that they would change the classic calls... I guess they can do that since they aren't owned by WIAC-AM anymore.

I wonder if, once the sale to Uno Radio Group is complete, WCMN and WMIO (which will become part of the network) will get new callsigns as well. WTOQ and WTDT would be good choices.

 

[Gregg]

Radio and TV stations no longer have to change their call letters, even if they are sold to different companies. For instance, WKAQ-AM-FM and WKAQ-TV are no longer co-owned. Same with WAPA-AM and TV. Of course, some owners don't want to share call letters to avoid confusion.

Two questions... A) WIAC 740 is talk. What is 102.5's format? I'm surprised those WTOK call letters are available, since they sound out "TALK" in English. Oklahoma City's top talk station is KTOK.

B) Why does WIAC, with 10,000 watts full time low on the dial at 740, not make the ratings? Same with 680 WAPA and 1140 WQII. Puerto Ricans like talk stations, with WKAQ and WUNO among the island's top stations and WSKN 1320 high up the dial with a so-so signal also making the ratings. It doesn't make much sense... WKAQ 580 and WUNO 630 are in the top 5, WIAC 740, WAPA 680 and WQII 1140 fail to show?


Gregg
[email protected]

 

[Identnut]

WIAC 740 is talk. What is 102.5's format? I'm surprised those WTOK call letters are available, since they sound out "TALK" in English. Oklahoma City's top talk station is KTOK.

In that case, the call sign couldn't be more ironic: Toca de To' has a CHR format and prides itself on being "Puerto Rico's most music station". The DJ's have muzzles put on them, talk very little, as is the case with Univision's CHR, KQ105, which is their rival and currently, I believe among the most top-rated in the market.

The station used to be an AC station called Sistema 102, but during its last days it looked to be in bad shape. Way too many All-Star vacation ads. Uno Radio Group bought it, but since it already owned 15 stations in the market, it gave the station to its broker, MSG Radio Group, and moved Toca De To' 107.3 to 102.5, while WCMN and WMIO in the western portions of the island became a separate CHR called "107.3 Mi Emisora". When the deal is done, 107.3 and 102.3 will simulcast Toca de To' once more.

B) Why does WIAC, with 10,000 watts full time low on the dial at 740, not make the ratings? Same with 680 WAPA and 1140 WQII. Puerto Ricans like talk stations, with WKAQ and WUNO among the island's top stations and WSKN 1320 high up the dial with a so-so signal also making the ratings. It doesn't make much sense... WKAQ 580 and WUNO 630 are in the top 5, WIAC 740, WAPA 680 and WQII 1140 fail to show?[/quote]

I think the fact has to do that they don't really have anybody who stands out as an influential newscaster. WKAQ, I believe, is the strongest station in this regard, with its lineup of Rubén Sanchez, Normando Valentín, Luis Francisco Ojeda and Luis Dávila Colón. Radio Isla's lineup is also pretty good, with Rafael Lenín Lopez, Julio Rivera Saniel, Jorge Seijo, and the Fuego Cruzado Guys. Noti-Uno has Luis Enrique Falú, Adolfo Krans, Carmen Jovet, and Ernesto ------ Cruz. WIAC-AM is run by Luis Penchi, but... I don't know about the rest of the line-up. Probably nobody who has actually worked in politics or for channels 2, 4, or 11.

Also WAPA, however powerful their signal may be, is way too far right to make a significant impact... they were the station that infamously supported the Pedro Rosselló "write-in" campaing in 2008. WSKN does have a so-so signal, but they have a crapload of simulcasting stations. And WQII has become a part time ESPN Deportes affiliate so... PFFFT!!!

Not to mention that even entertainment based stations like Salsoul and La Mega have their share of news. Politicians get interviewed on El Circo and La Perrera quite a lot.

[Edit: Wow, Ernesto Cruz's nickname got censored by the board. Man, he must be mad.]

 

[davideduardo]

While I do like the new callsign, it is weird that they would change the classic calls... I guess they can do that since they aren't owned by WIAC-AM anymore.

Why would a station want to keep call letters that are synonymous with a lack of success (Sistema) and an old-line, often brokered, AM station?

 

[Identnut]

Why would a station want to keep call letters that are synonymous with a lack of success (Sistema) and an old-line, often brokered, AM station?

You're absolutely right. But wasn't there a time, way back when, when the words "WIAC-AM" meant something?

I do recall them being the original home of Ojeda.

 

[davideduardo]

Why would a station want to keep call letters that are synonymous with a lack of success (Sistema) and an old-line, often brokered, AM station?

You're absolutely right. But wasn't there a time, way back when, when the words "WIAC-AM" meant something?

I do recall them being the original home of Ojeda.

Yes, for a brief period of time. But overall, WIAC over the years has meant a mediocre FM and an also-ran AM.

 

[davideduardo]

Two questions... A) WIAC 740 is talk. What is 102.5's format?

It's one of the classic Latin American CHR varieties under the name of "Toca de To'" which means "Plays everything."

B) Why does WIAC, with 10,000 watts full time low on the dial at 740, not make the ratings? Same with 680 WAPA and 1140 WQII.

You need a network, preferably mostly owned and, thus, controlled, to cover the market. It takes 3 or 4 AMs at minimum to do this. The best networks are WUNO and WKAQ. NotiUno(tm) has San Juan, Ponce, Mayagüez and Arecibo fulltime repeaters, along with some affiliates part-time. WKAQ has SJ, Mayagüez and Ponce. Then, with lesser facilities is WSKN.

WUNO and WKAQ flip back and forth in format leadership, and each reflects one of the two major parties... PNP for WUNO and a half century of association with the PDP for WKAQ.

WSKN is affiliated in ownership and affiliation with the PDP, which keeps it competitive if not in the same share point range.

Puerto Ricans like talk stations, with WKAQ and WUNO among the island's top stations and WSKN 1320 high up the dial with a so-so signal also making the ratings. It doesn't make much sense... WKAQ 580 and WUNO 630 are in the top 5, WIAC 740, WAPA 680 and WQII 1140 fail to show?

WQII is just a wretched signal that does not even cover some of the main sections of the SJ area, and has essentially no coverage out of San Juan, and it has no affiliates. This is a station I rebuilt in 1975, when ratings were San Juan metro only, and it was challenging even then.

WAPA has a net with 1260 in Ponce and several synchronous operations in other areas. But the extreme politics to the ultra right makes this one the subject, even, for "morning zoo" type radio shows to parody it. 680 was a good signal until they moved the site some years ago; it is not as good now.

The WSKN signal in San Juan, similarly, is too little to overcome urban noise... it had trouble when I managed it in the early 70's... and much more so now.

 

[Identnut]

It's one of the classic Latin American CHR varieties under the name of "Toca de To'" which means "Plays everything."

Do you mean that there's other stations named "Toca de To'"? I thought the name came from the slogan Uno originally gave WCMN-FM once they acquired it and changed the name from "Delta 107.3 to just 107.3.

Edith del Mar, Salsoul's former nighttime host came from there. They were also the home of the original "Meneo de la Mañana", from which a lot of famous DJs emerged. In fact, I recall, that the host, Shanom, got called to launch a new show in the afternoons (not as host, mind you, but I believe as a producer or something). Unfortunately for him, he didn't last, but the show definitely did. In fact...

WAPA has a net with 1260 in Ponce and several synchronous operations in other areas. But the extreme politics to the ultra right makes this one the subject, even, for "morning zoo" type radio shows to parody it. 680 was a good signal until they moved the site some years ago; it is not as good now.

Mr. Eduardo was referring to it. The show is La Perrera, which moved to the mornings fairly recently. (Actually, now that I think of it, when did Eric Valcourt come up with his Calanco Pi character?)

You need a network, preferably mostly owned and, thus, controlled, to cover the market. It takes 3 or 4 AMs at minimum to do this. The best networks are WUNO and WKAQ. NotiUno(tm) has San Juan, Ponce, Mayagüez and Arecibo fulltime repeaters, along with some affiliates part-time. WKAQ has SJ, Mayagüez and Ponce. Then, with lesser facilities is WSKN.

WUNO and WKAQ flip back and forth in format leadership, and each reflects one of the two major parties... PNP for WUNO and a half century of association with the PDP for WKAQ.[/quote]

WSKN is affiliated in ownership and affiliation with the PDP, which keeps it competitive if not in the same share point range.

Puerto Ricans like talk stations, with WKAQ and WUNO among the island's top stations and WSKN 1320 high up the dial with a so-so signal also making the ratings. It doesn't make much sense... WKAQ 580 and WUNO 630 are in the top 5, WIAC 740, WAPA 680 and WQII 1140 fail to show?[/quo

WQII is just a wretched signal that does not even cover some of the main sections of the SJ area, and has essentially no coverage out of San Juan, and it has no affiliates. This is a station I rebuilt in 1975, when ratings were San Juan metro only, and it was challenging even then.

WAPA has a net with 1260 in Ponce and several synchronous operations in other areas. But the extreme politics to the ultra right makes this one the subject, even, for "morning zoo" type radio shows to parod

WUNO and WKAQ flip back and forth in format leadership, and each reflects one of the two major parties... PNP for WUNO and a half century of association with the PDP for WKAQ.

WSKN is affiliated in ownership and affiliation with the PDP, which keeps it competitive if not in the same share point range.

To be frank, I don't think this is the case any longer. WKAQ seems like a neutral station to me, far less to the left than WSKN.

I like to compare them to the American cable networks. WKAQ is CNN, the neutral, trustworthy one that's been around forever and that's synonymous with news. Uno is Fox News, a more sensationalistic style that many people seem to like but other people consider a joke. And Isla is MSNBC, which has a more progressive style, but still, there are a lot of people who hate the hell out of it.

I've heard the old Red 96 also leaned PNP. They did have Tommy Schatz in their lineup at one point.

 

[Identnut]

It's one of the classic Latin American CHR varieties under the name of "Toca de To'" which means "Plays everything."

Do you mean that there's other stations named "Toca de To'"? I thought the name came from the slogan Uno originally gave WCMN-FM once they acquired it and changed the name from "Delta 107.3 to just 107.3.

Edith del Mar, Salsoul's former nighttime host came from there. They were also the home of the original "Meneo de la Mañana", from which a lot of famous DJs emerged. In fact, I recall, that the host, Shanom, got called to launch a new show in the afternoons (not as host, mind you, but I believe as a producer or something). Unfortunately for him, he didn't last, but the show definitely did. In fact...

WAPA has a net with 1260 in Ponce and several synchronous operations in other areas. But the extreme politics to the ultra right makes this one the subject, even, for "morning zoo" type radio shows to parody it. 680 was a good signal until they moved the site some years ago; it is not as good now.

Mr. Eduardo was referring to it. The show is La Perrera, which moved to the mornings fairly recently. (Actually, now that I think of it, when did Eric Valcourt come up with his Calanco Pi character?)

WUNO and WKAQ flip back and forth in format leadership, and each reflects one of the two major parties... PNP for WUNO and a half century of association with the PDP for WKAQ.

WSKN is affiliated in ownership and affiliation with the PDP, which keeps it competitive if not in the same share point range.

To be frank, I don't think this is the case any longer. WKAQ seems like a neutral station to me, far less to the left than WSKN.

I like to compare them to the American cable networks. WKAQ is CNN, the neutral, trustworthy one that's been around forever and that's synonymous with news. Uno is Fox News, a more sensationalistic style that many people seem to like but other people consider a joke. And Isla is MSNBC, which has a more progressive style, but still, there are a lot of people who hate the hell out of it.

I've heard the old Red 96 also leaned PNP. They did have Tommy Schatz in their lineup at one point.

 

[davideduardo]

It's one of the classic Latin American CHR varieties under the name of "Toca de To'" which means "Plays everything."

Do you mean that there's other stations named "Toca de To'"? I thought the name came from the slogan Uno originally gave WCMN-FM once they acquired it and changed the name from "Delta 107.3 to just 107.3.

The classic CHR variants in Latin America are 1) all Spanish hits, 2) all English pop hits and 3) a blend of English and Spanish hits.

WAPA has a net with 1260 in Ponce and several synchronous operations in other areas. But the extreme politics to the ultra right makes this one the subject, even, for "morning zoo" type radio shows to parody it. 680 was a good signal until they moved the site some years ago; it is not as good now.

Mr. Eduardo was referring to it. The show is La Perrera, which moved to the mornings fairly recently. (Actually, now that I think of it, when did Eric Valcourt come up with his Calanco Pi character?)

When he was on Salsoul, I believe. There are other parodies of Blanco as well.

WUNO and WKAQ flip back and forth in format leadership, and each reflects one of the two major parties... PNP for WUNO and a half century of association with the PDP for WKAQ.

WSKN is affiliated in ownership and affiliation with the PDP, which keeps it competitive if not in the same share point range.

To be frank, I don't think this is the case any longer. WKAQ seems like a neutral station to me, far less to the left than WSKN.

WKAQ "defends the people" but has always been closer to the PDP going way back to the El Mundo newspaper days. It definitely is not a PNP leaning station.

I like to compare them to the American cable networks. WKAQ is CNN, the neutral, trustworthy one that's been around forever and that's synonymous with news. Uno is Fox News, a more sensationalistic style that many people seem to like but other people consider a joke. And Isla is MSNBC, which has a more progressive style, but still, there are a lot of people who hate the hell out of it.

You are right in the sense that CNN tends to "feel" more Democrat friendly and Fox is more Republican. Since nobody watches MSNBC, its irrelevant... of course, compared to Fox, nobody watches CNN, either. In the case of PR, the two big stations are in a constant average tie, so, like in the elections, there is near parity. I've been involved with NotiUno since it went all news about 27 years ago... I even gave it its name... and it is intended to be more aggressive. WKAQ has a long tradition of being an opinion and news leader, and that is valuable... but comentators like the incredibly good Rubén Sánchez are certainly not shy about how they feel, either.

 

[Identnut]

When he was on Salsoul, I believe. There are other parodies of Blanco as well.

Is it a recent creation, or has the character been there since the "Movida de la Mañana" days?

I just figured out one of the parodies you were talking about, though. I think you might be referring to "Radio Quejas" from Reggaeton 94's "El Despelote", which is a parody of WAPA's "Opine Usted."

WKAQ "defends the people" but has always been closer to the PDP going way back to the El Mundo newspaper days. It definitely is not a PNP leaning station.

I don't think it's that PPD leaning, either, considering that it used to have people like Zaida "Cucusa" Hernandez, Benny Frankie Cerezo, currently has Sergio Peña Clos and just picked up the king of statehood supporting commentators, Luis Dávila Colón. I'd say it's pretty balanced, despite what Dávila Colón might say.

WKAQ is not pro PPD or pro PNP. It's pro good politicians, which is probably why these guys have a lot to say. These people must face a ton of dissapointments.