City Orlando, Florida Frequency 990 kHz | Branding La Nueva 990 Format Contemporary Christian | |
Broadcast area Greater Orlando/Daytona Beach First air date December 5, 1947 (as WHOO) | ||
WDYZ (990 AM) is a radio station located in Orlando, Florida. Is owned by the Salem Media Group.
Because of its signal strength, WDYZ can be heard throughout central Florida, from coast to coast, and from Sebring to Palatka, using a directional antenna to protect WMYM in Miami and WGML in Hinesville, Georgia. At night, its signal is more directional towards the east, to protect clear channel station CBW in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
History
For many years, what now is WDYZ bore the calls WHOO. WHOO began broadcasting December 5, 1947, as the ABC radio network affiliate for Orlando. Owned by The Sentinel-Star Company, it was a daytime-only station with 10 kw power.
In the late 1950s, WHOO shifted to a Top 40 music format and was a top-rated station in the market until slipping behind upstart AM 950 WLOF "Channel 95" in the mid-1960s. WHOO then switched to country music in 1968 and continued with this format until 1987, when the station switched its calls to WMMA "Magic 99", airing a satellite-fed adult contemporary format from Satellite Music Network which later changed to oldies.
A succession of formats followed over the next several years: the station was briefly WHTQ in 1988, simulcasting the rock format of WHTQ-FM, and then returned to the WHOO calls with a Music of Your Life format later that same year, only to change to classic country in 1989 and then return to simulcasting WHTQ (although still as WHOO) from 1990 to 1993. In 1993, WHOO adopted the syndicated "Stardust" adult standards music format from ABC Radio, which continued until 2001, when the station became WDYZ and a Radio Disney affiliate. The standards format and WHOO calls were shifted off onto AM 1080 in Kissimmee, which continues as WHOO with a sports talk format from ESPN Radio, which also happens to be owned by the Walt Disney Company.
On August 13, 2014, Disney put WDYZ and twenty-two other Radio Disney stations up for sale, in order to focus more on digital distribution of the Radio Disney network. On December 15, Radio Disney Group filed to sell WDYZ to the Pennsylvania Media Associates, Inc., a subsidiary of Salem Media Group. The FCC granted the sale on February 10, 2015. On March 10, 2015, Salem Media CEO Ed Atsinger revealed that WDYZ will be the eighth Salem station to carry its Radio Luz Spanish Christian format. On March 18, 2015, WDYZ dropped the Radio Disney affiliation and went silent. The sale was consummated on March 27, 2015. On April 13, 2015 WDYZ returned to the air with a Spanish contemporary Christian format, branded as "La Nueva 990".