WTTM

WTTM (1680 AM) is a radio station broadcasting a Latin music and Spanish-language talk format to the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The station has its studios and offices in Philadelphia and its transmitter site in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. The station is owned by Multicultural Radio Broadcasting, Inc and licensed to Multicultural Radio Broadcasting Licensee, LLC.[2]

WTTM
Broadcast areaPhiladelphia metropolitan area
Frequency1680 kHz
BrandingLa Unika (The Unique)
Programming
Language(s)Spanish
FormatLatin music/Spanish talk
AffiliationsTUDN Radio
Ownership
Owner
History
First air date
May 1999 (1999-05)[1]
Former call signs
WAXK (1998)
Call sign meaning
"World Takes, Trenton Makes" (variation of the slogan on the Lower Trenton Bridge)
Technical information
Facility ID87111
ClassB
Power10,000 watts day
1,000 watts night
Transmitter coordinates
39°53′15″N 75°00′05″W
Links
Websitewww.radiowttm1680.com

History

WTTM originated as the expanded band "twin" of an existing station on the standard AM band.

On March 17, 1997 the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced that 88 stations had been given permission to move to newly available "Expanded Band" transmitting frequencies, ranging from 1610 to 1700 kHz, with WHWH in Princeton, New Jersey authorized to move from 1350 to 1680 kHz.[3] A construction permit for the expanded band station was assigned the call letters WAXK on March 6, 1998, although the call sign was changed to WTTM twenty days later,[4] adopting call letters that had just been removed from its longtime home on 920 AM in Trenton, New Jersey.

The FCC's initial policy was that both the original station and its expanded band counterpart could operate simultaneously for up to five years, after which owners would have to turn in one of the two licenses, depending on whether they preferred the new assignment or elected to remain on the original frequency.[3] As a result WHWH went off the air on Friday, April 7, 2006 at midnight. However, WHWH was allowed to return to the air in May 2007 after the FCC relaxed the rule, and both stations have remained authorized. One restriction is that the FCC has generally required paired original and expanded band stations to remain under common ownership.[5][6]

The new WTTM reached the air in 1999 with a sports format, mostly broadcasting programming from ESPN Radio. In 2002 the station was sold from Nassau Broadcasting to Multicultural Radio Broadcasting Inc. MRBI leased the station to EBC Radio to program the station with a South Asian Indian format. The lease arrangement ended in 2005 and shortly thereafter the station's city of license was relocated from Princeton to Lindenwold, moving it into the Philadelphia radio market.

WTTM began carrying ESPN Deportes Radio during the nighttime hours on April 1, 2019; the network's programming was provided to the station by Spanish Sports Productions, who also produces WTTM's Spanish-language Philadelphia Phillies and Eagles broadcasts.[7] The launch came two months before ESPN announced on June 11, 2019 that ESPN Deportes Radio would cease operations on September 8.[8] After ESPN Deportes Radio was discontinued on September 8, 2019, the station became an affiliate of TUDN Radio.[9]

Former logos
WTTM former logo branded "El Pasaporte" from previous format World Ethnic.

References
  1. Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 2009 (PDF). 2009. p. D-281. Retrieved June 11, 2019.
  2. "WTTM Facility Record". United States Federal Communications Commission, audio division.
  3. "FCC Public Notice: Mass Media Bureau Announces Revised AM Expanded Band Allotment Plan and Filing Window for Eligible Stations" (FCC DA 97-537), March 17, 1997.
  4. FCC Call Sign History (1680 AM) (Facility ID: 87111)
  5. "In re: WHLY(AM), South Bend, Indiana" (FCC DA 13-600, released April 3, 2013)
  6. "Re: WDDD (AM) Application for Consent to Assignment of AM Broadcast Station License" (August 23, 2010 correspondence from Peter H. Doyle, Chief, FCC Audio Division, Media Bureau. Reference Number 1800B3-TSN)
  7. "ESPN Deportes Radio Launches in Philadelphia" (Press release). March 27, 2019. Retrieved June 11, 2019.
  8. Tornoe, Rob (June 11, 2019). "ESPN is shutting down Deportes Radio, which just launched in Philly in April". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved June 11, 2019.
  9. "TUDN Picks Up Some Former ESPN Deportes Radio Affiliates", Radio & Television Business Report. September 9, 2019. Retrieved September 9, 2019.
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