WSUA

Infobox Radio station
name = WSUA (AM)


city = Miami, Florida
area = Miami
branding = "Caracol 1260 AM"
frequency = 1260 kHz
format = Spanish News/Talk
former_callsigns = WAME (1950?-1969)
WWOK (1969-1978)
WQBA (1978-?)
owner = Grupo Latino de Radio
sister_stations = XETRA
website = [http://www.caracol1260.com/ caracol1260.com]
affiliations = Caracol Radio
W-Radio

WSUA is a Spanish News/Talk radio station in Miami, Florida. It is branded as Caracol 1260 AM. It is currently owned by Grupo Latino de Radio, a subsidiary of the Spanish media conglomerate PRISA. The station is styled from two big Latin American Radio stations, Caracol Radio from Colombia (which this station got its name), and W-Radio from Mexico (which most of its programs are based on, for example: Hoy X Hoy). According to Grupo Latino de Radio, this station is the #1 Spanish language talk station in Miami. Caracol 1260 WSUA has a sister station in Los Angeles which goes by the callsign XETRA, but it is known as W-Radio 690 LA.

History

In the 1950s and 1960s the station at 1260 MHz AM had the call letters WAME. Known as "Whammy in Miami", the station had a top 40 format (prior to the startup of WFUN), and was a daytimer. The station changed formats to R&B and went full time once WFUN proved a formidable competitor. WAME was later sold to Mission Broadcasting after that company divested itself of WRIZ (1550 kHz) in Coral Gables (now WRHC).

In 1969, it traded call letters with then WWOK in Charlotte, North Carolina and adopted a Country Music format. Mission Broadcasting, the station's owners, added an FM signal, WJOK, which was partially simulcast for a time, and later became WIGL with a totally separate format.

In the early 1980s, the station was sold from Mission Broadcasting to Metroplex, owners of top 40 Y-100. Call letters were changed to WHTT and the station broadcast a black olides format, with emphasis on Motown and Soul, with overnight simulcast of Y-100. The station shortly thereafter took on a Hispanic format with the call letters WHTT(radio Hit)(Note: This frequency was never called WQBA; these calls have been on 1140 since the late 1960s. After the station was sold again, the call letters became WSUA, Radio Suave and took on a ballad-oriented format, similar to that of the current Romantica on 106.7. WSUA currently broadcasts in HD Radio.

External links

* [http://www.caracol1260.com/ Caracol 1260 Official Website (in Spanish)]
* [http://www.glradio.com/ Grupo Latino de Radio Official Website]